A flock of mosaic cranes flying toward the window. |
So, the bathroom. It is quite small (about 4'x6') and I wanted to open it up visually. As with so many other things in the cabin, I had to make the best of the layout. I decided to make the bathroom a wet room; tile all walls except one and have everything waterproof.
On the wall with no plumbing fixtures, I thought a mosaic would visually expand the space, and I settled on the simple design of birds flying through a blue "sky" made of 1" tiles. I wanted the birds to be realistic, but simple and decided to try pebble mosaics. Native species were the obvious choice, so the final mosaics are a Gila Woodpecker on the door jam (see below), a roadrunner on the floor (also below), and s flock of Sandhill and Whooping cranes flying towards the window (see photo above).
The New Mexico state bird - the stately roadrunner. |
The mosaics themselves were pretty easy to make. I used a a technique similar to my previously described mosaic, but with pebbles instead of tile. The mosaic sheets were painted with tile sealer to prevent grout from sticking to the cracks and pits of the stone.
A woodpecker will be pecking at the door jam. |
The next step for this wall will be grouting. On the advice of a tiling friend, I will use pale blue grout for the main wall and a medium grey for the mosaics. I admit I'm scared of grouting those mosaics; all those tiny crevices in each stone. Yikes, I'll be using toothbrushes and tiny picks! Oh well, I have to finish what I started.