7 Creative Ways To Use Extra Tile

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When selecting materials during our home renovation, we knew that we definitely wanted tile in the bathrooms. We chose to use one inch hexagon tiles in the bathrooms to echo the vintage tile that was original to the house. We also decided to use the same type of tile in our kitchen to convey a French bistro feel. When buying materials for a tile project, it is always best to order overage to cover any mistakes. I don’t know how/if we miscalculated, but we had quite a bit of overage! To save money in other areas of our home we thought of ways to use the tile for pending projects. Continue reading to see where we planned to tile and where the extra tile landed!

When we first moved in, the upstairs bathroom tiles were green hexagons that may have been original. The tiles were very cute and I wouldn’t have minded them to stay, but since we were, moving the toilet and changing the sink, we would need to change the flooring. To keep with the Tudor style and 1920s era of the home, we chose one inch hexagon tiles in white with black accents. You can see the after photo below.

The next space we used tile is the kitchen, which was originally hardwood. Previous owners had installed linoleum over it and used a mastic glue that contained asbestos. Yikes! The remediation company we worked with suggested taking out the floor as opposed to the more labor intensive process of removing the glue. With the prospect of choosing all new floor, we thought about wood, tile and linoleum. As I mentioned above, we were inspired by French bistro floors and chose to tile the kitchen in black and white mosaic tiles. See photo below to view how we executed our vision.

Those are the ways we planned to use tile. Now let’s look at the unplanned ways; the projects done with leftovers. First up is this little table that I bought years ago at an estate sale in my hometown. The home was from the 1800s or maybe early 1900s and was still in the same family! Many of the old homes in my town had been torn down over the years. Developers bought up homes for the lots, then built two or more homes where there had just been one. I was surprised to see this grand house still perched upon what was a sandy bluff. One of the brothers on site said his grandfather had moved to the area early on to serve as one of the town’s first physicians, maybe only physician. The house went to his dad and later when their dad moved, one brother took over. The large house had been split to make way for multiple renters, while the brother lived in the back house. Their dad had passed and they were clearing out to sell. The brother who lived on the property couldn’t afford to buy out his brother (the guy I was talking to) and the guy I was talking to lived elsewhere and not interested in keeping the house. This house did need a ton of work; old homes are not for the faint of heart. I hope they found a seller who loved and restored it. I digress! Back to tile projects! At this sale I bought a little midcentury modern coffee table that was missing the tile top. It was only $5 and I figured it would be a fun project. That was about six years ago and we just got around to it! Check out the photo below to see how we ended up using the table.

Have you ever ordered sample tiles? At our last house we had ordered cement tile samples for our kitchen. We didn’t get the chance to replace the floor there, but I hung on to the samples because the size was perfect for a trivet or to fit under a plant pot. To prevent staining you just need to seal the tile before using. See below for the tile trivet in action.

The next way we used our extra tile is in our back landing. This area is small, but took such a long time to complete! There was electrical work to be done, then drywall, new stair treads, new baseboards in some places. Since it is the only way to our basement where laundry is and our backdoor is in this space, we would have to time projects just right. Because of this timing, we spaced out the aforementioned projects over a long stretch. During the time it took to complete other projects, we (ahem I) changed my mind a few times in regard to flooring choice. We had some leftover wood and thought about using it here. We thought about something like brick that would withstand the mud. One day we looked in our tile stash and realized we still had so much o the black and white left over. We laid it out and played with pattern and ultimately decided to use it since we already had it and it would flow well with the adjacent kitchen. Once all those other projects were done, we could finally tile! See below for the back entry and how we continued the black and white theme.

The fourth way we used the tile is actually the first way we used the overage. When we got to doing the fireplace, funds were very low and creative juices were tapped. That combo lead to hubby suggesting we use some tiles already on hand. He laid various tiles in the hearth space to test how they would look. The leftover black hexagon tiles matched the best. They matched the fireplace insert, and sconces that are on either side of the fireplace, so we went for it. See below for the fireplace decked out in some Halloween decor.

Now to check out some tile projects from some fellow blogger friends’ sites. These would make great gifts for birthday, host/hostess gifts, especially on Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas, Hanukkah- you get the idea!

Chas made coasters with photos! How cute is this pic? I could see grandparents loving these with pictures of the grandkids. Click here for her tutorial.

Rosemary made a pretty and elegant serving tray from ceramic tile! It looks so good. Check out her simple tutorial here.

Here is another way to switch up a coaster project. Cindy made these Rae Dunn inspired coasters and she suggests to customize them according to recipient. Click here to check out her fun project!

Thanks for reading! I hope you are feeling inspired to use up any leftover tiles and/or samples you may have sitting around. Maybe you will even make some gifts for friends, family, and other special people in your life. Do you have any other ways you use tile? Drop me a line, visit me over on Instagram- I love to hear from you! And if you feel like shopping my house, click HERE.