are they transparent tiles? you can use an all purpose adhesive and place them one by one if that's what you want. just depends on the tile. and what about the spaces? can you butt join them? otherwise, you will have to fill them w/grout.

why are you doing this design option? you'll have a busy granite, blue/green paint, some mosaic tiles and then this other color paint?

I don't get the blue/green painted portion, and the other color above that? and what is the purpose of these little tiles?

why don't you just tile the green part? use a white glass mosaic if you like. but honestly, that paint color just does not work w/the stone.

either paint the wall one color and leave it, or tile your backsplash down to the counter.

Thanks @JudyG and @Beth H. My question was more about the method of attaching a mosaic tile border - any tips on tiling a small border, or whether it needs the same approach as tiling an entire backsplash. To answer your questions - the colour choice relates to being tired of too many years of neutrals, and wanting to add splashes of colour more in line with my personal style. The blue-green and the mosaic tiles tie in with other accents in the kitchen, not seen in the pic.

Up to you, but why not just paint or paper the entire room.? The swath is not doing much for anything. Despite you may love that color, it's not improving the look of the counter top either. Skip the mosaic, unless the entire splash.

SAM, the three of us are in accord about the paint color. It isn’t doing a thing for the countertop. How about glue on tiles in stead of the blue/green paint? I see purple/lavender in the granite and a black with purple undertones…much like B.M. Dior Gray.

Thanks for the input on colour. What I am really wanting is practical tips on tiling a mosaic border. Clearly I have come to the wrong place!

Sam - for practical advice on how-tos, I usually go to reddit. Subs like r/homeimprovement are usually much better for the kind of advice you need...

If you just want tips on tiles, no you can’t glue the tiles on. They will slip down the wall while you’re waiting for the glue to dry. Or after some time they will pop off the wall. Have you thought about grout and how to finish the edges? You can get self adhesive tiles, but many of them look artificial.

Gorilla glue. Because you won't accept it's sort of a bad idea. : ) It's going to look disjointed. It's going to look "home Joe". It's a project that will leave edges of each tiny tile to be painted as you have to pull them off the mesh,, and you can't grout them to the wall. You may hate the kitchen! You may hate the counters. Start a piggy bank to replace them with white ! Then paint ALL the walls a color you love. You're looking for a stick on fix. There isn't one.

Sam, try the bathrooms forum. There are some tile pros that can often be found there and they should be able to help. I think you will want to mask off the non-tiled bits of wall to avoid getting tile goop and grout on. You'll definitely need grout so it looks right.

I think I would butter the back of each tile with premixed tile adhesive and stick them on individually.

There are adhesive sheets for tile you can buy at the big box stores. They're not cheap, but for a small project it's reasonable. (It's usually about the same price as the small tub of adhesive.) You will still need to grout afterward, and find some way to finish the edges on both the top and bottom.

Try hot glue.

Sam, I answered you question in my first sentence. I told you what you could use. you can also just get pre mixed mastic and use that. I also asked what the mosaics looked like because you may end up w/joint spaces. but you didn't answer that.

so, once again, yes, use a premixed mastic, use an all purpose adhesive (you may have to use tape to hold them in place, or, just mix up a 1/4 cup of mortar thinset, and apply by hand to back of the tile. It's not that difficult. don't know what else you're looking for advice-wise.

Don't do that! Really, don't.

You've got beautiful counters and now you're going to detract attention from the granite and call attention to a mosaic border (very dated) sorry but this is a bad idea. Your home obviously but at least do something that will look well done and well thought through.

Paint the whole wall the same color all the way around the windows. I don't mind a painted backsplash but those mosaics are going to grab attention in not a good way.

Roman shades would look fabulous on the windows ; ) Good chance to add some color. I'm totally with you on adding color.