From Vacation Memory to Art: Custom Palm Tree Mosaic
Nora*, a client from Bahrain, wanted to embellish her house with something that reminded her of a 2019 family vacation to the Philippines. There, they stayed at a serene, surreal resort called Villa Escudero, surrounded by a lush plantation, palm trees, river view balconies, a museum and a restaurant at the bottom of a waterfall! Scenic Villa Escudero is situated in Tiaong, Quezon region of the Republic or the Philippines.
Nora’s interior designer proposed various ideas and options for a Villa Escudero inspired wall art for the family’s residence. From hand woven tapestries, to realistic paintings and even a semi abstract digital art based on photos from the family’s vacation album. Glass mosaic stood out for its durability and vibrant colors.
Caption: Close-up of the commissioned palm tree mosaic art
Designing a Unique Tree Mosaic
Our team at MEC was thrilled to collaborate on this project. The mission was to transform the wall recess into a focal point of the living space. Together with the client and her designer, we created an online mood board, sharing ideas and preferences.
We prepared some digital collages to assess the preferences of the client. They leaned towards naturescape scenes and serene colors. From our discussion we realized that a beautiful sky and palm trees were elements that were a must-have for the final design.
The final design featured a beautiful sky and majestic palm trees, capturing the essence the serene landscapes of Villa Escudero.
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The client shortlisted some wonderful tree mosaic drawings and finalized one featuring a tall delicate looking (but sturdy) tree, an ombre sky and tropical flora including banana palm leaves. Loaded with fruits, the main tree, standing tall amongst smaller plants, depicts abundance and standing steady in face of adversities.
They chose an abstract border with a bold color scheme including black glass to surround the main tree mosaic. The border added a beautiful contrast to the custom glass mural design.
Palm Tree Mosiac Glass Tile Color Palette
The idea was to draw inspiration from nature, so there were a lot of organic greens, aquas and blues. The glass mosaic tile colors were a bit more vibrant than the real life photographs from Nora’s family vacation album, as per the client’s wishes.
Caption: Murano Glass Tile Palette
Glass mosaic is the perfect medium to add a touch of life and for making the space feel brighter and bigger. The mosaic skyscape was more than just a scenery backdrop. The color palette was selected from breathtaking Filipino sky photos Nora shared with MEC. The client’s interior designer did not want the calming ombre effect to get lost as we stylized the scene to mosaic art. So our team meticulously hand painted some options using the mosaic colors we had in stock and made mosaic physical samples. The client and her interior designer picked their favorite option from the samples – and we proceeded from there.
Did you know: You can request custom made mosaic samples based on your project’s requirements for free!
Material Used for Tree Mosaic Mural
90% of the mural was made with hand cut Murano glass tiles (a contemporary version of smalti glass). The Murano glass palette consisted of Bloom and Iris variants mainly. For the woody parts like the tree trunk, the MEC artists used the Serie Nature variant (which has a more grainy texture and finish) from our Vertex glass library. The reason; to give wood a more organic and natural look. Overall, about 90% of the tiles used for this tree mosaic mural consisted of recycled glass.
Caption: Behind-the-Scenes photos from the workshop during production stage
Installation of Commissioned Tree Mosaic
The mosaic was installed by a professional using clear epoxy grout to let the design shine.
The custom tree mosaic was put up by a professional tile installer. They used clear epoxy grout by MAPEI because they did not want the grout color to take any focus away from the mosaic itself.
Caption: Freshly installed Palm Tree Mosaic Scenery Niche Art
The Final Reveal
Here are some of the preliminary photos that Nora shared with us after the installation. Her family loves the mosaic. The space is still being renovated, so stay tuned for better photos of the custom mosaic mural in its new home. Handcut glass pieces glisten when light falls on them, giving the appearance of a thousand tiny gems. Barely any photography could do justice to the real life beauty of handcrafted glass mosaic.
Caption: Palm Tree Mosaic shown in another interior design setting – for more ideas on where this mosaic design can be used, get in touch with us.
Commission Your Own Custom Mosaic Art
If you have a special memory or a favorite photo you’d like to immortalize in mosaic, get in touch with us. Share your project idea and budget, and let us create a unique piece of art for you. Book a free session with an MEC design consultant today!
we have a blog called 34 Inspiring mosaic ideas for walls. for This blog gives you a complete explanation on how to use mosaic art as wall decor and shows you 34 amazing mosaic ideas that will turn your walls into stunning works of art. It shows a range of themes, from floral and abstract designs to custom paintings. This shows how versatile and beautiful mosaic art can be for both indoor and outdoor areas.