I am so excited about this project I just completed — and I have a tutorial for you – let me introduce the Large Tile Trivet:
This is great for holding a line of hot dishes. Next weekend we are having a bunch of family over for lunch, and I wanted to get these made before then. We usually do buffet style, so now we can line up all the hot dishes, like so:
This was really easy to make – I did it! (Trevor cut the trim, but that was it.) I was sent some Bondera – tiling adhesive and it was perfect for this project. Basically it is a roll of stickiness that will adhere tile to surfaces. So instead of messy mastik (the hard stuff you slather on under tiles – weird that I know what it’s called) you just unroll the Bondera and cut it to fit. So easy that I tackled the project myself.
I grabbed a couple of scrap boards from the garage and cut the adhesive to fit.
Then peel the backing off and stick it down. Then peel the top clear protective off – it’s a little tricky to grab, but they provide handy stickers to grab the corners – worked perfectly!
Then just lay down your tiles and press them into place. It doesn’t get easier than that. We had tiles leftover from our Kitchen Remodel, so these trivets will obviously coordinate with my kitchen quite nicely.
After that, you just need to grout them sometime that day. Don’t be scared by grout – it’s just like spreading icing. You want it to be the consistency of peanut butter – then spread on:
And after it sets a little while (maybe 30 minutes) wipe the tiles with a sponge. You might need to do that a couple of times.
Then I had Trevor cut me some trim pieces. I painted them and then used wood glue to just glue them to the sides of my trivet. Clamps to hold the trim in place while the glue dried – overkill??
I think they turned out pretty good:
Don’t forget to put felt pad things on the bottom so they don’t scratch your counters – it gives the illusion that the trivet is floating just a little:
I know you’re supposed to be able to put hot pots directly on my counters, but it still makes me nervous and I use hot pads. Now I’ll use my pretty trivets. And on my table as well:
And yeah, the longest part of this tutorial might have been cleaning my kitchen so I could take pictures:
So – have you ever attempted tiling?? Either way, you should give Bondera a try – it was super easy to use and made tiling a project that even I could tackle! You can do it!
I love this project! I need to check out that product, too.
And yes, typically the hardest part of the project for me is cleaning so I can take pictures! That was the best part of the post…I so relate!
I KNOW this is not the point, but thanks so much for showing your “real” kitchen as well. I nearly fainted with immense envy when I saw the first few photos and thought “oh man, I am SUCH a *insert expletive of choice here*, LOOK at that place!”
Phew… glad we can still be friends and I don’t have to burn my house down for all the shame 😉
I never knew that product existed- sounds good enough to me! I am not afraid of tiling, it’s something I’d love to try in a spot behind our oven where the landlord cleverly put NO tiles. Makes sense.
Anyway, with this Bondera stuff it sounds like a total walk in the park and a job I can do in an hour or so… nice one, I gotta go find me some!
I love this idea! We just went through a kitchen remodel and have waaay too much extra glass tile (that I love!) This would be a great project for our home– but also for gifts.
Beautiful! They match perfectly 🙂
The best part of this tutorial is the shot of your kitchen at the end though. It made me chuckle because that’s something like what my office looks like right now (without the breakfast cereal or whatever those bits are on the table lol – I’d be in trouble if I allowed myself food in the office!) Seems like I’m not the only one who identifies with that seeing the previous comments 😀
Thanks for sharing that product – I have some scrap tile that I’ve been meaning to use so this was very helpful.
This is just pure awesomeness! Just found your blog on Little Miss Momma! Love your blog.
New follower! Follow me back via GFC?
Oh! I definitely should make a couple of these, how fun 🙂
Those are great! Also love those green casserole dishes!
This is a great idea for those of use unfortunate enough to not have gorgeous countertops! Are those Quartz? If so, I know you said you know you can put hot stuff on them and it makes you nervous but let me tell you, you can do pretty much anything to quartz and they will be fine! I’ve seen some demonstrations (I’m an interior designer and the reps for these companies give courses on their products) and how they are made there is NO air pockets in the material (like granite has because it’s an organic product), those air pockets are what damages natural counter tops. The heat gets into those air pockets and it expands and can cause cracking.
Also if you ever scratch quartz or it just starts to look dull from wear and tear after several years, it can be sanded and polished to look brand new. Can you tell I love love love quartz?
I will definitely be on the look out for that sticky back for the tile!
Thanks,
Tamara
Fabulous gift idea…and you made it look so easy too! Thanks…PS, Fab Kitchen!
This is so adorable and creative. I love the choice of mosaic tile you used. It doesn’t really seem like too hard of a DIY either. Thanks for sharing!
This is such a cool idea. I’m not as creative as you but I reckon i could do something like this.
Love these, Mandy! Glad I read your blog before tackling my own trivet making project, because I may have been about to overcomplicate it. I assumed I could not use a Bondura type project or wood glue under a trivet, because of the heat of the dish being so close to the glues? So I had planned to use a special heat resitant glue that must be mixed before use. Your way looks easier, and uses materials I already own and feel comfortable with. Have you used your new trivets, and have you had any issues with the wood glue or the Bondura?