Mosaics in Reading

Mosaic is one of the oldest decorative crafts and still one of the most striking. If you want mosaics in Reading, Zavoré designs bespoke mosaic art and installs mosaic of every kind, including pieces you have already bought. We are based in Birmingham, and our nearest centre is the showroom and training centre in London, open by appointment. Tell us about the space and we will advise on the material.

Reading houses and the case for mosaic

Reading has a great many Victorian and Edwardian houses, and many of them began life with a tiled hall floor. Where a floor has been lost or covered over, a mosaic border or an inlaid panel at the front door can bring back that welcome. A geometric pattern that echoes the period suits a terrace in Redlands or a larger villa in Caversham.

Newer homes have different needs. Flats and family houses in Earley and Woodley often have a compact bathroom or a plain kitchen splashback, and mosaic follows curves and small areas that large tiles cannot. In a shower, the extra grout lines even add grip underfoot.

Choosing glass, marble or stone

Glass takes in no water, so it is the natural pick for showers, pools and wet rooms, and its colour has a lovely shimmer. Marble is real stone with a softer, warmer tone, but it wants sealing wherever it gets wet or walked on. Other stone and ceramic pieces fall somewhere in between.

Tell us the room and how it will be used, and we will explain what suits it before you commit any money. We are not a tile seller, so our work is bespoke design plus installation of pieces you have chosen. Our mosaics page shows the range of work.

Pools, hotels and feature walls

Hotels, spas and leisure spaces around the Thames Valley use mosaic for pool surrounds, reception floors and wall art. Logos, crests, portraits and patterns can all be made in mosaic. A restaurant might use a bold border behind a bar, while a private house might want a small picture above a bath.

How a mosaic job in Reading runs

Begin with the room, its measurements and your idea, be it a pattern, a picture or a company mark. We draw it to scale and settle colours and materials together. A mosaic needs a sound, flat and suitable base, so we survey before we price and tell you honestly if something must be done first. Photos will often answer the simple questions.

Each piece is laid by hand to the approved drawing. We prepare the base, set the mosaic, grout it and finish it, sealing the material where it needs that. Once you have signed off the drawing and the price we fix dates, and bigger jobs run in blocks of days. See our mosaic installation page for the working steps.

If you would like to learn, we teach what we install, and our training page lists every course. Our decorative work page shows how mosaic sits alongside other finishes.

More decorative work in Reading

Mosaic sits well in a wider scheme. A mosaic floor can sit beside plastered walls, as described under Venetian plastering in Reading, while a hallway could combine mosaic with cornice and coving in Reading. Sculpted features are in bas relief in Reading and sculptural plaster in Reading, and painted walls in murals in Reading. Gold leaf is in gilding in Reading, gloss walls in lacquered walls in Reading, and stone looks in artificial rock in Reading and travertino in Reading. Our decorative finishes specialist in Reading can talk it over with you.

Questions about mosaics in Reading

Do you supply the tiles as well?

Not just now. Our work is bespoke mosaic design and installation, and that includes pieces you have already chosen. Describe the project and we will suggest a suitable material.

Is mosaic suitable for a wet room or swimming pool?

Yes, if the material and the fixing are right. Glass is normally chosen for wet areas, since water does not soak into it.

Could my family crest or photograph become a mosaic?

Yes. A company mark, a family crest, a portrait or a scene can be turned into mosaic. You see a scale drawing first and approve it before work begins.

Will you fit mosaic I have already bought?

Yes. Send us details of what you own and where it will go, and we will price the fitting.

To start a mosaic, email sales@zavore.co.uk with photos, rough measurements and your postcode, or call 07592 929191 from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. Planning a plaster wall beside it? Choose a tone from the sample board.