Finally Done!

Last summer 2008, Rachael and I wanted to get a patio table, but Rachael wanted to make a mosaic patio table. Sounds cool! Rachael talks about it in her blog:

http://rachaelbecker.wordpress.com/mosaics/.

I did not realize the amount of effort that is required. So we found a wrought iron patio table base on Craigslist (which is a whole other story) and I made 4 ft diameter table top out of 3/4 plywood and sealed it with oil based paint.

Rachael had some great ideas for the table. She used a piece of pottery she saw in Seattle as inspiration. We use standard brown and eggshell white glossy tiles from Home Depot and mixed in some white tiles with a matte finish.

Then the fun began. Having an idea and executing it to the end are two very different animals. Rachael and I started off well but found the job to be a little demanding. Fall came and went, then Winter, Spring, and now Summer. While Rachael was in Italy, I finished laying down the brown leafy parts. With that done, the rest of the process was easier, though slow-going. Imagine putting a puzzle together when you have pieces from many different puzzles, and you'll have a good idea of the challenge. We had one small hic-up when we ran out of our matted white tiles, so Rachael went searching. Luckily, she was directed to a tile company in Austin called Travis Tile, where they had great salespeople who were very helpful and generous. We got the rest of the tile and worked on it intermittently for the next four weeks. Rachael was never more relieved to lay that last piece of tile!

We still hadn't exactly figured out how to treat the edge, but since Rachael really wanted a metal border, we looked around at a few home hardware stores. We found and painted black two aluminum strips to use as the side border, which turned out great. Lastly, we grouted and sealed. Tonight, we enjoyed our first meal on our new table!

Overall, this project took much longer than I expected, but I am pleased with the results. I am not sure if Rachael and I will attempt another project of that scale, but who knows. I have posted some pictures of the work in progress and the finished results. What do you think?