Glass tile seems to be very popular these days.  Magazines are full of it and stores are starting to carry it more and the prices are starting to come down- a little.  It can still be fairly expensive, which makes it great for an area that doesn’t need a lot of tile like a backsplash.

This backsplash in Bloomington features a glass mosaic that is supposed to have a random look to it.  Of course, it’s not exactly random or the 12″ sheets of tiles wouldn’t fit together, however, the horizontal pieces seem to be placed randomly which gives it a great look that keeps you staring at it looking for the pattern (or is that just me?).

Like many newer glass tile designs, these have small stone tiles mixed into the mosaic.  For many homeowers, the stone pieces can help coordinate the glass with other tiles and textures in the room.

With many tiles, you can purchase a bullnose tile that has one rounded edge and is great for finishing off the perimeter of the tile layout.  Often, there is no such piece for these mosaics and we are left to getting creative.  You can see this photo (right) that I used some of the glass pieces vertically along the ends of the backsplash to finish the sides and help hide the cut ends of the tiles.  This is a simple technique that gives a professional look to the installation.

Cutting the glass is not much more difficult than other small tiles.  However, you may be wondering how you mark it for cutting.  After all, you can’t write on glass with a pencil!  The answer is to get a wax pencil.  They often sell these in different colors where tile is sold.  They come in hand when marking especially smooth tiles like glass or even glazed porcelain.  Stone can usually be marked easy enough with a pencil.  I wouldn’t recommend a permanent marker because you might end up with a mark that wish you could remove.