Do-it-yourself or DIY folks are rarely at a loss with what to do with left-overs from a recent, or not so recent, remodel project. For example, there are so many uses for a piece or two or three left over tile, and the following ideas are suitable for the most basic skills for nearly all ages.
Clearly the easiest of all to do is place a 12”X12” tile on top of a simple garden pot stand you will find at the local home center. Easy, nothing to it, and this little side table will serve you well for an afternoon cup of tea or an evening glass of wine while enjoying a lovely summer evening.
Another use for a tile is a simple trivet that requires a little cutting of 1/4-inch plywood, some molding, four wooden drawer pulls for feet, and a bit of wood glue. A trivet is a great way to showcase a special tile you may have collected on a vacation or while prowling through a salvage yard or second hand store. You may want to use a left over piece of tile or stone from a counter top or floor job.
If you do not have any tiles at hand, simply go to a home center and purchase one or more pieces to make as many trivets as you wish. You can create a large trivet using four tiles and placing them on a larger piece of plywood. Tiles that make a pattern when placed with the four pieces intersecting to make a pattern and will make an especially great trivet for larger casserole dishes.
The following idea is a bit more complicated. I used an old umbrella stand with very rusted tin plates on which the end of the umbrellas once rested; it was important for its size. This piece became an end table for my crocheting many decades ago; my basket of yarn sat on the bottom shelf created by covering the openings where the tin plates were with a thin piece of plywood and covered with tiles. The mid-shelf was created by using a couple of L-brackets and a cabinet grade piece of oak finished to match the rest of the wood frame; this shelf held any number of needed items.
The top shelf was created by placing a plywood base over the original holes for the umbrellas and affixing matching tiles to form a top shelf for glasses and a beverage. Today this same end table sits beside a chair in the family room and is the dropping off place for my husband’s keys and other things he needs to pick up on his way out of the house.
The bottom shelf is a good place to store newspapers until they get recycled or used for painting projects in our household. Again, that mid-shelf can hold just about anything that might be needed on the way out the door.
A friend of ours tiled the top of some inexpensive bedside tables for the guest room,making them nearly damage proof; guests can leave a glass of water and not worry about leaving a ring on the surface. These are just a few ideas; there are a many more just waiting for you to think of them.