Make a Tile Mural at Home!

Making your own tile mural at home or tile backsplash, can save you hundreds of dollars and is SUPER easy and inexpensive to boot! Such a great way to update your kitchen or bathroom at a fraction of the cost of a purchased tile mural.

STEP 1: Purchase your scene of choice in the form of a poster. I bought my poster from Prints Plus at the local mall. The size you purchase depends on the space available in your kitchen or bath. A large 24” X 36” poster was used for my project. 

STEP 2: Purchase your tile. Consider the size of your 'mural' when choosing a tile size. I used a total of 27 4” x 4” tiles for this project, but you can certainly use a larger tile for your mural. Just take your posters’ dimensions into consideration when figuring out how many tiles you need to purchase. In this project, I cut the poster down to eliminate the white border around the picture, and excess picture along the top and bottom that would cause the poster to hang over the tile. After trimming, the finished poster size was 12” x 36”. (This is how I determined the amount of tile needed: I wanted to use a 4” tile, my poster is 12” high…12 divided by 4 is 3. Therefore, 3 tiles will be the height of the mural. Next, the poster is 36” wide, with a 4” tile I’ll need 9 tiles. (36 divided by 4) So my mural is now 3 tiles high, and 9 tiles wide. 9 x 3 = 27. So I will need a total of 27 tiles for the mural.)

STEP 3: Trim the poster down to the desired size. Now turn the poster over and with a pencil draw a grid with the boxes the same dimensions as the tiles that were chosen. (4” x 4” tile/ 4” x 4” squares on my grid) Make sure to number the pieces, starting at the upper left-hand corner. The first square would be one, the square to its’ right a two, etc. This is for ease of placement later. Next, cut the poster following the grid lines. You will now have 27 pieces of the poster, all 4” square. Lay out all the tiles and number them on the back the same way you did the poster pieces. Lay the poster pieces on each tile in the proper numerical order, just like it will look on your wall.

STEP 4: For this project, the next step was to slightly burn the edges of each 4” x 4” picture piece, giving it a more rustic look.

STEP 5: Next, I decoupaged the poster pieces to each tile, using Mod Podge, making certain that the back of each poster piece was completely covered with the glue from edge to edge. This is very important since any spots not covered will bubble up on the finished mural. Once dry, apply a laquer to protect the front surface of the mural, following manufacturers’ directions. I used a spray-on with a matte finish. More than one coat is a good idea, considering moisture will be a constant issue, whether the mural is in the kitchen or bath.

STEP 6: Now you are ready to tile!

Center the mural first, then tile outward.

I used blue painters tape to keep lighter grout from getting into the 'frame'.

All done!! Our son-in-law, Pj, did all the tile-laying for us.