97x97mm tiles at a glance
This collection holds three mosaic tiles from the St Kilda range. Each piece is an octagon measuring 97 x 97mm, with a small square dot set into the gap between neighbouring octagons, and the pieces come mounted on a sheet about 310 x 310mm. The listings describe porcelain tiles with a cushioned edge, a classic period style, and a modern colour palette.
The three listings pair a base colour with a dot colour: white with black in gloss, cream with burgundy in matt, and cream with green in matt. The size is the one thing they share, which is why they sit under this size name. This page covers the format: what a 97mm octagon on a sheet is, what the listings print about wear and use, how the grout and the cushioned edge shape the finished floor, and what to check before you order.
The range itself has its own page at St Kilda tiles, and the octagon shape across other ranges is in the octagon and dot tiles collection. The tiles hub links every other category on the site.
What an octagon and dot sheet is
An octagon has eight sides, and when octagons are laid edge to edge they leave a small square gap where four corners meet. The dot is a small tile that fills that gap, usually in a contrasting colour. The result is a repeating pattern of larger shapes with a small accent between them.
A US retailer's guide to Victorian tile floors calls octagon and dot one of the most recognisable Victorian floor patterns. It says Victorian tiles rose to popularity in the mid-19th century, when mass production made decorative flooring accessible. A Melbourne supplier sells a Federation octagon dot range in matt and gloss colour pairs for floors and walls, including white and black, white and green, white and burgundy, cream and green and cream and burgundy. The St Kilda listings cover three of those combinations in a 97 x 97mm size.
Because the pieces are small, they are supplied on sheets so a tiler lays a whole group at once. The St Kilda listings give the tile size as 97 x 97mm and the total sheet size as 310 x 310mm. One listing prints the dimensions as 300 x 300mm, which is the sheet size rounded, so treat 310 x 310mm as the sheet size and 97 x 97mm as the octagon.
What the listings print
Two of the listings share one format of specification. The material is porcelain, the tile is non-rectified and has a cushioned edge, and the appearance rating is V1, described as a uniform overall appearance with minimal texture and colour variation. The listings recommend grout lines of 3mm or more for a classic tiled appearance. They state that installation must be carried out by a licensed tiler to the appropriate Australian standards. A box covers 2.3226m².
The third listing, cream with green, uses a shorter specification block. It prints dimensions of 300 x 300mm, a matte finish, a non-rectified edge, V1 appearance and a box of 25. Its copy describes a mosaic with an octagonal design and a cushioned edge for a soft, tactile feel, and says tonal contrast between the light and dark accents gives a coordinated look against a clean matte surface.
The listings also carry the standard ordering note on the shorter listing: an extra 15% over the exact quantity, because colour, size and texture can vary from batch to batch.
Wear ratings decide where each tile goes
The wear line is the part of these listings that matters most, because it differs between the three.
The white and black gloss tile is Floor Category 1. The listing describes it as suited to interior wall and floor surfaces exposed to low-abrasion wear with bare or soft-soled shoes, and gives a residential ensuite bathroom with no external entry as its example. It is tagged for floors and walls.
The cream and burgundy matt tile is Floor Category 2. The listing describes interior wall and floor surfaces exposed to regular wear, with soft shoes or bare feet and occasional exposure to abrasive dirt, and gives bedrooms or main bathrooms as common applications. It is tagged for floors.
The cream and green matt tile prints a wear rating of 2, described as suitable for floors in light traffic areas with soft soled shoes, with a high risk of scratching. Its copy says it suits bedrooms and bathrooms in a residential interior. It is tagged for floors.
The reading is straightforward. All three are for light-duty residential use: an ensuite, a bedroom, a main bathroom, a powder room. None is rated for a hallway that takes street shoes or a kitchen with heavy traffic. The gloss white and black tile has the lower category, so give it the gentlest use. If the room has an external door, grit from outside is what scratches a glazed surface, so keep these tiles to rooms that people enter in bare feet or soft shoes.
The listings print no slip rating. For a bathroom floor, ask the team for the slip rating of the exact tile before you plan a wet area, and consider keeping a gloss tile out of the shower base. The bathroom tiles collection shows tiles chosen for the room, with printed ratings.
Gloss and matt
The white and black tile is gloss, and the other two are matt. Gloss reflects light and shows water marks and footprints more readily than matt. In a small ensuite with limited light, a gloss white tile can brighten the room. A matt surface gives a calmer, softer face and is easier to live with underfoot.
A Melbourne retailer's guide to porcelain mosaics makes a related point: finish matters more than colour. It says gloss may show water marks and feel less reassuring underfoot than a textured or matt surface on a shower floor. The listings don't suggest these tiles for a shower base, and the wear lines point to light-use floors, so that caution applies.
The mosaic tiles collection shows the wider range of sheet formats, and the small tiles collection covers other small pieces.
Three colour pairs
White with black is the strongest contrast. The black dot outlines the white octagons clearly, so the pattern reads from across the room. It is the most traditional pair of the three and the one most associated with Victorian floors.
Cream with burgundy is the warmest. The cream base softens the white, and the burgundy dot gives a dark red accent that suits timber, brass and warm plaster. Cream with green is the quietest accent: a green dot against cream reads as a gentle, tonal touch, and the copy describes the contrast between the light and dark accents as refined and coordinated.
The US retailer's guide advises pulling a secondary colour from the tile into the rest of the room, so the floor feels part of the design. A burgundy dot suggests a burgundy towel, a painted door or a small piece of joinery. A green dot suggests a plant, a painted niche or a green hand basin. The white tiles, beige tiles, green tiles and black tiles collections show those colours across other ranges.
Order a sample of each pair you are considering, and look at it in the room's own light. The dot colours shift under warm and cool lighting, and a cream can read as yellow or grey depending on the lamps.
Grout and the cushioned edge
The listings recommend grout lines of 3mm or more for a classic tiled appearance, and the tile is non-rectified with a cushioned edge. A cushioned edge is softly rounded, so the grout line sits in a slight valley between pieces. That gives the floor a hand-laid look and explains the generous joint recommendation.
Grout colour changes the pattern. The US retailer's guide says matching grout softens the pattern and contrasting grout makes each shape stand out. With the white and black tile, a light grout keeps the white octagons clean, while a dark grout makes the floor read as black lines on white. With the cream tiles, a warm grout close to the cream keeps the floor calm.
The Melbourne mosaic guide adds practical points. Small pieces create more joints than large tiles, and the extra joints give soap residue, dust and discolouration more places to appear. It says epoxy grout can be worth considering in a busy shower because it resists staining when installed correctly, and that the tiler should confirm the grout instead of choosing by colour alone. The same guide says a mid-tone grout is often a practical compromise where you want to hide marks.
Laying a sheet-mounted mosaic
The Melbourne guide says a mosaic floor succeeds or fails before the first sheet is pressed into the adhesive. The substrate must be sound, clean, correctly waterproofed where required and formed to drain without ponding, and the tiler needs adhesive, trowel technique and sheet layout that suit the tile. It adds that sheet-mounted mosaics reduce repetitive placement but don't remove the need for skill.
For a pattern like octagon and dot, the same guide's point about sheets matters. The tiler has to check the sheet's joint spacing, cut the backing cleanly, stagger the joins and lift sections to confirm the adhesive coverage. If the joins between sheets are visible, the pattern breaks. The listings say installation must be done by a licensed tiler to the appropriate Australian standards, which fits.
Dry-lay a few sheets before you commit, and look at where one sheet meets the next. The pattern should run on without a visible seam. Ask your tiler how they plan to cut the sheets at the edges. A cut through an octagon leaves a partial shape. The cleanest finish usually comes from planning the layout so the cuts land in the least visible place, such as under a vanity or at a doorway.
Borders, rooms and walls
The US retailer's guide says borders define zones, and that walls should stay simple and neutral so the floor can carry the pattern. In a small ensuite, an octagon and dot floor with plain white walls is the classic arrangement. A border in a single colour around the edge, or a plain tile in the dot colour as a frame, finishes the edge of the pattern neatly.
The white and black tile is also tagged for walls. A wall of octagon and dot is a stronger statement than a floor of it, since a wall is at eye level. It suits a small feature, such as a niche, the area behind a basin or a short wall in a powder room. The wall tiles and floor tiles collections let you compare the format with plain alternatives.
Think about the room as a whole. A busy floor wants quiet walls, quiet tapware and a plain vanity. If the room already has a lot going on, a plain tile may be the better partner. The guide's rule is simple: pick one place for the pattern.
Cleaning and care
The US retailer's guide recommends sweeping and cleaning with a pH-neutral cleaner for patterned tile floors, and says the same applies to underfloor heating, which suits tile. Porcelain is a dense, glazed surface that doesn't need sealing, and the gloss tile wipes clean quickly.
The joints need attention. A 3mm joint between small pieces adds up to a lot of grout across a floor, and the Melbourne guide notes the extra joints collect residue. A soft brush along the grout lines, and a mild cleaner, keep them clean. Avoid abrasive cleaners and hard grit on the glaze, because the wear ratings are modest.
Use mats at the doors of a room tiled in these. Grit carried in from outside is what scratches a glazed floor, and the wear lines on these listings are for light use.
Samples and what to look for
A Melbourne retailer's mosaic guide starts its buying advice with a physical sample. Screen colour varies with lighting, settings and surrounding finishes, while a real sample shows the texture, the gloss level, the grout relationship and the undertone. Hold it beside the vanity, put it on the floor, and check it under natural and artificial light.
For an octagon and dot sheet, look at three things. First, the dot: check how strongly its colour contrasts with the octagon in your light. Second, the edge: the cushioned edge is rounded, so feel how deep the joint will sit. Third, the sheet: look at the mesh or backing and how the sheet's edge pieces are cut, because that is where a seam between sheets will show.
The same guide advises asking for the product data sheet before ordering and confirming the slip rating for the zone, the finish, the sheet layout and how the mosaic will meet trims, drains and skirtings. These listings print no slip line, so that question goes to the team. Tell them the room and whether it has an external door, and ask what they recommend for it.
Quantities and ordering
A box of the white and black or cream and burgundy tile covers 2.3226m². The cream and green listing prints a box of 25 without a coverage figure, so ask for the coverage before you calculate. Measure the room in square metres, divide by the coverage of one box, and add an allowance for cuts.
The listings recommend an extra 15% over the exact quantity. A small room with several corners, a vanity and a doorway creates more cuts than a plain rectangle, and a mosaic sheet has limits on how it can be cut, so lean towards the higher end. Colour, size and texture can vary from batch to batch, so order everything for one room together and keep a few spare sheets for repairs.
Check the sheet size when you plan the layout. A 310 x 310mm sheet with a 3mm joint between sheets is a fixed module, and a room that measures a fraction of a sheet will need cut sheets at one wall. Your tiler can set out the room so the cut sheets fall where they're least visible.
Is a 97x97mm octagon the right tile?
It suits you if you want a period style octagon and dot floor in a small, light-use room such as an ensuite, a bedroom or a powder room, and you accept a 3mm joint and a cushioned edge. The three colour pairs cover a high-contrast white and black, a warm cream and burgundy and a quiet cream and green.
Look elsewhere if the room has heavy traffic, an external door, a shower base or a need for a printed slip rating, because the listings are rated for light residential wear and print no slip line. Look elsewhere too if you want a plain, quiet floor, because an octagon and dot pattern is a statement. The floor tiles collection has plainer options with printed ratings, and the mosaic tiles collection covers the other sheet formats.
