Tile Table Top Triumph!

I've had this drum table from World Market for a few years and love it, but it needed "something". It was also showing some wear from my always present glass of iced tea; water rings are not attractive.


It had this little lip around the top edge and the top was inset just enough, really perfectly enough, for some tile love.  And I've been hankering to try my hand at tiling,  so it was a match made in DIY heaven. 

Here is the before: trying out my first pattern with the tiles.  And yes, it was the proverbial "trying to put a square tile onto a round table" type of thing.


It took a few days of arranging and playing with different ideas to get settled.  They got knocked off a few times, until my son said "Mom, please, when are you going to glue your jewels down?" 
Well, first I had to make a decision.  I knew the square design wouldn't work, so I took each tile off of its webbing and placed them one by one (by one....by one.....)



Then I had different variations of this..... which I liked until I got to the center. But I kept playing with it...

...until I was reasonable happy. 

The next challenge was this:
How, exactly, (now that I am happy with how the placement of almost three hundred tiles) am I going to get them off and back on again without going through this painstaking process?


Like with many projects, the answer was: painters tape (or masking tape or duct tape....)

I plastered each 1/2 of the table top with multiple layers of painters tape, until I felt pretty confident that it would come off in one piece: And it did! 

This is the first half that came off, flipped over, and pattern still intact! Woo!

Next it was time to commit: I trowelled on the adhesive.  How did I know what to do? Well, first, I've watched 100 people do this on various DIY programs; then I went to Lowe's and bought tile adhesive; read the back of the tile that said I need a 3/8" trowel; then, I just crossed my fingers that this would actually work.  Otherwise, I was going to have a table that was really cool with a really messed up top. But that figures into my "what's the worst that could happen" line of DIY questioning, and I was OK with the risk.
I carefully, flipped over the two tile sections onto the adhesive.  I had to replace a few tiles that fell off the tape in the middle, but overall I was pleased with how easily it fell into place.
Next step: grout.  Again: I read the fine print.  Obviously there are two types of grout: unsanded, for small spaces between tiles, and sanded, for larger spaces.  Hmmm.  I had both. So I went for the unsanded.
And in the interest of saving a few bucks, I did not have a grout float. So I used the next best tool I had on "hand":  

Yes, it was messy, but I had a blast! I could feel where I needed to get the grout in, and then just scooped up the excess and wiped off the tiles.  Then I repeated (scooping and wiping) until the only remnants of grout were between the tiles.  It's very important that you removed all traces of the grout on the tiles; when you see a haze form, wipe again.  I used a regular sponge for this.

Finally....I was done! I went from a plain (but likable) store bought table into a unique, one-of-a-kind piece that is even more usable and lovable!

DIY is always a learning process: Next time I will:

1) buy a grout float;

2) splurge on a colored grout to better match the tile;

3) use a square table for square tiles.

But for now, it's time to sit back, relax, have a glass of tea, and dream about what type of table I can find to use my new Habitat Store tile find from last week!