| Furniture, even accent furniture can be one | | | | simply sanded the top to allow the tile |
| of the top budget busters when decorating | | | | adhesive to grab better. You could also paint |
| your home. Finding a coffee table that is | | | | the entire piece as well to match your decor, |
| affordable, yet interesting can be quite a | | | | but still sand the top. |
| chore. Here is an easy project that can | | | | |
| easily be adapted to fit a variety of styles | | | | I applied a small tub of tile adhesive to the |
| and circumstances. | | | | entire top, then lay the tile quickly and |
| | | | push down gently to set. Make sure you have |
| I started using an old bench as a base for my | | | | the tiles laid out in the way you wish them |
| coffee table. It was narrow enough not to | | | | to appear on the table to save time. (You |
| take up too much space in my small family | | | | don't want the adhesive to set before you are |
| room, and the finish was in relatively good | | | | done!) Clean up any adhesive off the bench or |
| shape. (Plus, I already had it laying around, | | | | tiles with a damp cloth. Allow to set at |
| it was free!) | | | | least 24 hours before using. |
| | | | |
| First I used a hand saw to take two inches | | | | The tile layout can be simple as mine was, or |
| off the bottom of the legs, to bring it to | | | | an elaborate mosaic design. I chose not to |
| the height of a coffee table. Most coffee | | | | grout my tiles as they fit together so |
| tables are between 16-18 inches high. | | | | nicely, but grouting would be best with lots |
| | | | of small tiles. |
| Next, I chose some old ceramic floor tiles I | | | | |
| had leftover from an old project to become | | | | This project can be done on any piece of |
| the new top. It would be easy to clean when | | | | furniture from a bench to a chest to a cut |
| my kids ate on it, yet add a touch of | | | | down dining table. |
| elegance to my cottage style room. The tiles | | | | |
| did not cover the entire surface to the edge | | | | Consider asking your local flooring specialty |
| however, so a quick run to Home Depot yielded | | | | shop if they have tiles that are going to be |
| some edging tiles to fill in the space and | | | | thrown out, or any broken tiles you could use |
| add a finishing touch. | | | | for mosaic. Many times they will let you have |
| | | | them for free. |
| Since the bench finish was in good shape, I | | | | |