Most of the mosaics we make start as something else: a photograph, a sketch on a napkin, a family crest, a logo, or a corner of a room that needs something. People often ask what happens between that first idea and the finished piece arriving at their door. Here is the journey of a custom commission through our Beirut workshop.
1. The idea
A commission begins with whatever you have: a photo of a design you love, a picture of your space, a drawing, or simply a description. The more we know about where the mosaic will go, the better: its size, the light, the colours around it, and whether it will be on a wall, a floor, in a shower or outdoors.
2. The master sketch
Our designers turn that idea into a master sketch, a drawing of the finished mosaic at its real proportions, showing the main lines and colour areas. The sketch is free, and it is where most of the important decisions are made. You can ask for changes to scale, colours, shapes or details as many times as you need until it is right.
3. Choosing the materials
Once the design is approved, we choose the materials: natural marble for its soft, earthy tones, glass for brighter colour or for water, or a combination of the two. Where colour matters most, we match each area of the sketch to real stone and glass rather than to a screen.
4. Cutting and setting by hand
This is the longest part. Our artisans cut each tessera by hand, mostly with mosaic nippers, and keep the hammer and hardie for pieces that call for the traditional method. They lay the pieces row by row, following the lines of the design so that the background flows around each figure the way it did on ancient floors.
5. Preparing it to travel
Depending on its size, the finished mosaic is mounted in sections on a backing so it can be reassembled exactly as it was laid out in the workshop. It is then packed and shipped, fully insured, anywhere in the world.
6. Installation
When it arrives, the sections are laid out, checked against the plan and set into a prepared wall or floor. Most clients work with a local tile setter; smaller pieces are often installed by the owners themselves.
What helps us most at the start
You do not need a finished design to commission a mosaic, but a few details help us produce a useful first sketch:
- Measurements of the wall or floor, and the size you have in mind for the mosaic.
- Photos of the space in daylight, including what sits around it.
- Where it will be installed: indoors or outdoors, wall or floor, dry or wet area.
- Reference images of designs, colours or styles you like, and any you do not.
- The feeling you want: classical or modern, calm or bold, a focal point or a quiet background.
Questions we are often asked
Can I change the colours of an existing design? Yes. Many commissions start from a design in the collection that is recoloured to suit a room.
Can it be made bigger or smaller? Yes. Designs can be resized, and the master sketch is where we check that the detail still works at the new size.
Can I see it in my room first? Yes. Our designers can place the design in a photo of your space, and Mozaico’s visualizer and AR tools let you try it yourself.
What if I am not sure about the details? That is what the sketch stage is for. It is free, and you can refine it until you are happy before anything is cut.
Why the sketch matters
A mosaic cannot be redrawn once the stone is cut. Every decision about proportion, colour and line has to be settled on paper first, and that is why we spend so much time on the master sketch. It is also the stage where a design that started as a photograph is translated into the language of mosaic: simplified where stone cannot follow every detail, strengthened where an outline needs to read from across the room, and balanced so that the background moves around the main subject.
Ideas our clients bring us
Custom commissions come in every shape. Some of the most common are family crests and monograms for an entrance floor, company logos for a reception area or shopfront, portraits of people and pets, reproductions of a favourite painting, a view of a hometown or a meaningful place, and religious icons for a home or a chapel. Others start from a feeling rather than an image: a calm sea for a bathroom, a burst of colour for a garden wall. Whatever the starting point, the process is the same, and the master sketch is where the idea becomes a design.
Start your own
If you already have an image in mind, you can upload your own design through Mozaico and our designers will take it from there.
