There is nothing as beautiful as a well-designed tile wall tiles. Tile walls are normally found in bathrooms or the splash guards of kitchen cabinets, but they can be used decoratively anywhere you want to tile a wall. Although the idea of installing a tile wall on your own may be daunting, you can break down the process into parts to make it seem less overwhelming, including measuring and cleaning the walls, deciding on a pattern, hanging the tile on the walls, and applying the grout.

Apply a 1⁄8 inch (0.32 cm) layer of adhesive to the wall. Start applying the adhesive in a bottom corner, about 1 tile length away from the bottom and side of the wall, leaving space for the edge floor tiles. Scoop out a golf ball sized amount of adhesive onto a notched trowel, and spread enough adhesive in a thin layer over the wall to hang 2-3 tiles at a time.

You may need to move the trowel over the adhesive a few times to ensure that it’s thin and level. Pre-mixed adhesive tends to be less expensive and work well for wall tiling. If you purchased a powder adhesive, mix it according to the directions until it’s the consistency of peanut butter.

Use the trowel to add grooves to the adhesive. Hold the trowel at about a 45-degree angle from the wall. Move the trowel horizontally across the wall to make the grooves, applying consistent pressure as you spread. This will create the necessary ridges in the adhesive to allow for the tile design to stick to the wall.

Check the packaging of the adhesive to make sure you’re using the right sized notches for the ceramic tiles to stick to the adhesive. Most trowels will have 2 sets of notches that are different sizes.

Hang the first marble tiles and continue the row with more adhesive and  tiles. Carefully line up your first tiles, and press it into the adhesive, wiggling it slightly to create suction before positioning it in its spot. Then, continue adding tiles in rows or columns following your pattern. Once you’ve covered most of the adhesive on the wall, apply more and continue hanging tiles in your pattern.

Remember to work in small sections at a time, only applying the adhesive where you’re tiling. You may need to wipe off adhesive that oozes out from between the polished tiles with a damp cloth.