Trash to Treasure Mosaic Table

6 Materials
$30
6 Hours
Medium
My Mosaic Table is a true trash to treasure love story.
One that was a few years in the making.
If you want to read the whole love story and not just the project...
Make sure to click on the blog link at the end of the this project post.
Several years ago, my daughter found a set of red toile dishes in a thrift store. Due to an unfortunate accident, several of the large plates got broken. I decided to keep the plates for a future project or two.
(make sure to see my Creating a Garden Stepping Stone)
I also had this base from a broken bird bath.


I’m ashamed to admit how many years that base has been sitting around.  (it was a lot!)
I used the rest of the broken dishes along with the base and a 20″ round wood top cut from cabinet scraps to make the Mosaic table.
To start my project…


I gave the base a simple cleaning and painted it with Deco Art Outdoor Living Paint in picket fence*icon
After the base was fully dried, I dry brushed the base with Deco Art Color Stain in Ash Grey.
To make the mosaic table top…


  • Lightly sand the 20″ wood circle to prime it to accept paint and glue.
  • Paint the sides and bottom of the 20″ wood circle with the white outdoor living paint used on the base.
  • Glue the broken pieces of china onto the wood base using a good glue specific for mosaic tiles such as Glass, Metal & More Premium Permanent Glue* or Weldbond Adhesive.
  • Try to use flat pieces of china whenever possible.  You can smooth the sharp edges of the china using a Dremel tool.
  • I used unsanded grout because I didn’t want to take the chance of it scratching the china.
  • Mix the grout as directed and follow the package instructions when applying the grout onto the top.
  • Wipe off excess group with damp sponge.
  • Confession Time…I did not smooth the edges of the China before gluing them onto the top.  After the grout had dried,  I decided that some of the pieces were too sharp.   After it was grouted I  went over the sharper pieces with a Dremel tool.  The table isn’t completely flat.  But that doesn’t matter for  how I plan on using the table.
  • Seal Grout with Grout Sealer.
Mosaic Table Product Information:                   (*affiliate link)


For the full trash to treasure love story (with plot twist) make sure to click on blog post link below.
Resources for this project:
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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Nin10568853 Nin10568853 on Mar 27, 2018

    how did you attach top to base? Beautiful!

  • Joy Joy on Apr 04, 2018

    Is there anyway to smooth the glass pieces without a dremel tool? I have two stained glass lamps that where shattered beyond repair and I want to use the pieces to make a mosaic table top with. If anyone has any other suggestions for my glass pieces I would love to hear your ideas

  • Joy Joy on Apr 04, 2018

    Is there anyway to smooth the glass pieces without a dremel tool? I have two stained glass lamps that where shattered beyond repair and I want to use the pieces to make a mosaic table top with. If anyone has any other suggestions for my glass pieces I would love to hear your ideas

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2 of 53 comments
  • Debbie Debbie on Jun 03, 2019

    This is beautiful. I've been planning to do something mosaic and this looks like I may try it! Thank you for sharing.

  • Shelly Moore Shelly Moore on Oct 20, 2022

    There were Two birdbath bases in the yard of the house we bought. I've never found tops for them. This would be an Awesome way to use them!!! Great idea!!!

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