How to DIY Mosaic Floor Tile

Week 7 of the One Room Challenge was supposed to be a really satisfying after shot of our completed tile work. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that our pink tile finally delivered after 2 months of waiting, only for it to be dropped off the truck bed by the delivery drivers. Yes, they underestimated how much a pallet of tile weighs and dropped it. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but it was a really dumb mistake. The company is replacing the tile, but we have no idea how long it will take for the new tile to deliver. So instead of showing you a beautifully tiled bathroom, I’m going to share how to DIY mosaic tile floor.

When I started designing this bathroom, the floor was my biggest pain point. I knew we were doing pink 4 x 4 tiles on the walls, so the floors needed to compliment the pink. Many 1950s bathrooms had pink walls and pink floors, but we were already working with two different tones of pink between the bathtub and shower tiles. Adding more pink sounded overwhelming. Since I really loved how my painted floor turned out for the bathroom refresh, I started looking at mosaic options. Despite hours of hunting online, using the Daltile mosaic tool, and checking stores in person, I couldn’t find anything I liked in our budget. If you know me, you know where this is heading – DIY time!

We purchased white and mint 1″ hex tile for this DIY mosaic floor tile. There is mint and white rosette mosaic tile on the market, but I couldn’t find it for less than $20/sq ft. The tile I purchased was about $9/sq ft. I know that my time = money, but this savings felt worth it to me. If you go the DIY route, I highly recommend laying out your tile ahead of time. The process of removing white tile to add green rosettes took about 3 hours, so you definitely will not have time to do this while you are laying tile. I also recommend laying out each piece on your floor prior to tiling. You can number every piece and then easily place the tile once the cement is laid.

Tools

Razorblade
Cardboard and/or floor cut to size

Directions

Cut the cement board floor to the size of your room (alternatively, you could use cardboard cut to the room size)
Lay out your main tile to fully cover the board
Use your accent tile to try out different patterns and layouts – you can use this website for ideas
When your pattern is finalized, use the razorblade to cut out the accent tile pattern
Lay your accent tiles over the main tile in the pattern you have chosen
Cut out the pieces of main tile that will be replaced with the accent tile
Trace every piece of tile on your cement board and assign a number to each piece of tile
Number the cement board to match the tile numbers for easy installation

The DIY mosaic floor tile route is definitely not the easiest, but it is a great option for people who can’t find what they want in the market. It is also perfect for people on a budget, like us! It takes more time and effort, but the results are worth it. Plus, your floor will be one-of-a-kind! Let me know if you have any questions about creating your own mosaic floor pattern. We have a very basic style, but the old house community is full of inspiration! Make sure to check out what all the other participants have completed this week for the Spring 2022 One Room Challenge. See you next week at the finish line!