More than 18,000 teeny tiny tiles have come together to form a glittering ode to the place they love to call home.

Phil and Katie Maber are proud “Mounties” living across from the Maunganui Rd McDonald’s, and have spent months creating a unique nine-metre mosaic driveway for local passersby to enjoy.

Inspiration to create this mosaic masterpiece came when Phil and Katie were tripping down south and visited the Giant’s House in Akaroa – a wonderful, internationally recognised mosaic garden created by artist Josie Martin.

“We saw that she had mosaic paths, fences – everything!

"So we came up with the idea that it would be really cool to do something like that at home,” says Katie.

Months of mosaics 

Phil says the whole mosaic artwork took three months to create.

“We started the 22nd of January [2024] and we finished the 17th of April.”

He has individually counted each of the tiles and says there are more than 18,000!

The project tallied up to $6000 for all of the tiles, glue and grout – not including their labour.

When the couple set to work, they put up a big tarpaulin up so people couldn’t see what they were up to.

“Even when friends and family came around [we] would keep it covered, saying: ‘It’s a surprise’,” says Katie.

She is a hobbyist painter and took the artistic lead with the driveway, sketching out the different images with chalk for Phil to then meticulously place each tile.

A real beach baby, the driveway depicts everything from jandals, seagulls and seahorses to a fisherman hauling in a big catch to Mount Maunganui overlooking Pilot Bay and more!

A mosaic imagining of Pilot Bay with the sun shining above. Photo: John Borren.

Arty gift 

“It’s like a present to the Mount people really,” says Katie.

“Just to represent all the fun things and how good it is to live in the Mount.

"We love the Mount.”

When the sun hits the golden pieces within the mosaic, it gives off an iridescent sparkle.

“On a dull day it’s not quite so shiny, but on a beautiful day you can just see the gold and all that coming out of the tiles,” says Phil.

Even though it might look too pretty to drive on, the driveway is fully functional.

“I drive my car on it all the time – into the garage, and out of the garage.

"People park on it even with bigger vehicles and it seems to be absolutely fine. Nothing’s cracked,” says Katie.

After unveiling their creative work with a special ribbon cutting and sausage sizzle, Phil and Katie shared the driveway on mosaic Facebook pages.

“We just got heaps and heaps of comments about how much people liked it,” says Katie.

“In a world where there’s a lot of doom and gloom at times – this is a happy, positive thing.”