How to use this tiles page
This page is the front door to every tile collection on the site. It does not try to replace the pages below it. Each collection has its own guide, with the printed slip, wear and area lines of the tiles inside it, so the quickest way to use this page is to pick the question that matters most to you, follow the link, and read the detail there. The sections below are organised by material, by room, by look, by colour, by size and shape, by range and by cost band.
Three lines on every tile listing do most of the sorting, whatever the collection: the slip rating, the wear rating and the area line. A Perth retailer's slip rating guide explains the first. P ratings come from a pendulum test on a wet, flat surface, with P1 low slip resistance, P2 and P3 moderate, P4 high and P5 very high. R ratings come from a separate oil ramp test, from R9 for low resistance to R12 and R13 for very high. The same guide warns that the highest number is not always the best choice, because a heavily textured surface can be harder to clean, and says to choose a rating for the space. The wear line says how much traffic a floor tile suits, and the area line says where the tile is meant to go. Read all three before ordering.
Start with the material
A Sydney tile maker's FAQs explain the main split. Porcelain and ceramic are made from the same raw materials and baked in a kiln, but porcelain is baked for longer and at a much higher temperature. The result is an ultra-hard, non-porous material in porcelain and a softer, lighter one in ceramic. Because ceramic is softer and lighter, it is usually restricted to wall applications. Porcelain is used on floors, walls and outdoors, and does not need sealing. The porcelain tiles and ceramic tiles pages go into each, with the listings that print wall-only lines.
The same maker adds that glazed ceramic is water resistant and needs only a wipe with warm soapy water, while unglazed ceramic needs sealing. Natural stone is the third material family, and it carries its own care. The natural stone tiles and tumbled natural stone tiles pages hold the real stone, and the look-alike pages below hold porcelain that copies it.
Floors, walls and rooms
The floor tiles page lists tiles printed for floors, and the wall tiles page lists tiles for walls. The distinction matters, because some tiles, such as thin glazed mosaics, print walls only and a wear rating that says not recommended for floors. The room pages sort by use. Bathroom tiles and kitchen tiles cover the two rooms people ask about most, and outdoor tiles covers patios, paths and pool surrounds.
A Brisbane retailer's outdoor guide says porcelain is usually preferred outdoors because it does not absorb moisture and handles temperature changes, with a slight texture for grip, and that lighter colours are often chosen around pools to reduce heat underfoot. It adds that natural stone outside usually needs sealing and porcelain does not. The outdoor page carries the full detail, and the colour outdoor pages, grey, black, beige and white, narrow it by colour.
Browse by look
Porcelain can copy other materials, and a Sydney tile maker notes it can emulate timber, concrete and natural stone with realistic variation in texture and tone. The look pages sort that range.
For stone looks, travertine look tiles give the texture of natural stone without the sealing that raw travertine needs, marble look tiles copy the veining of marble, and terrazzo look tiles give a flecked pattern. The veining on marble looks can vary noticeably between ranges, so a sample is worth ordering. Concrete tiles keep an industrial surface, and a Sydney retailer says a concrete look porcelain gives that surface without the maintenance of real concrete.
For warm and handmade looks, terracotta look tiles bring the warmth of a Mediterranean courtyard, and zellige tiles and Moroccan tiles cover the handmade, glossy end. Brick look tiles and brick bond tiles copy exposed brick, and subway tiles are the classic wall format. Laid in a vertical stack, a subway tile can make a bathroom feel taller. The vertical stack tiles page covers that layout.
For pattern and style, patterned tiles and French pattern tiles cover geometric and traditional layouts, crazy pave tiles cover the irregular format, Japandi tiles and coastal tiles collect tiles by style, and feature tiles collects tiles chosen to be the focus of a wall.
Browse by colour
Colour is one of the first decisions, and the colour pages carry their own guides. White tiles are the lightest choice, and a Brisbane retailer notes that white reflects light, which helps a small or windowless room. Grey tiles sit between warm and cool palettes, per a Melbourne retailer. Beige tiles give warmth without a strong colour and pair with timber and stone. Black tiles bring contrast, and brown tiles bring earth tones.
Stronger colours are covered by blue tiles, green tiles and pink tiles. For floors in a given colour, the colour floor pages are white floor tiles, grey floor tiles, beige floor tiles, black floor tiles, green floor tiles and blue floor tiles. Each lists only tiles that carry the floor tag, and each tells you which listings print low wear or low slip lines.
Browse by size and shape
Size changes the look as much as colour does. A Melbourne retailer says larger tiles give fewer grout lines and a cleaner field, and the same guide says small pieces create more joints, which can add texture and follow curves and falls. The size pages sort by what you can see on the floor or wall: large tiles, medium tiles and small tiles, then by shape in square tiles and rectangle tiles.
For exact sizes, the pages are 100 x 100mm, 150 x 150mm, 300 x 300mm, 450 x 450mm, 600 x 600mm, 300 x 600mm and 600 x 1200mm. For mosaics and small formats, mosaic tiles is the family page, kit kat tiles covers finger tiles, penny round tiles covers circles, octagon and dot tiles covers the period pattern, and diamond tiles and herringbone tiles cover directional layouts.
A Sydney tile maker says kit kat tiles, also called finger tiles, are mostly a decorative wall tile, with some options such as terrazzo and natural stone that can be used on floors. A Melbourne guide says mosaics suit shower floors, curved surfaces and feature areas, and larger tiles suit a broad, simple floor.
Named ranges
Many collections are single ranges, each with its own listings and printed lines. The newest group is a set of five. Avedon and Cairnwell are limestone and stone looks with a P3 matte tile for indoor wet areas and a P5 grip tile for outdoors. Ardenne is a travertine look for wet areas and covered outdoor areas. Briq is an unglazed porcelain mosaic, and Flute is a concave finger mosaic for walls only.
The older range pages sort by look. For terrazzo, there are Southside, Clio and Island, and Frankie is the concrete look. The travertine looks are Tuscan, Nimbus and Valerie. Myra is a limestone look, and Roccia and Auralis are stone looks.
Three more are shape and pattern ranges. Matrix is a marble look, Meander is a fish scale, and St Kilda is octagon and dot, with Settlers as the cobble. Each range page lists its sizes, colours and the slip, wear and area lines printed on its listings.
Real stone or a look-alike?
Several of the look pages exist because real stone asks more of an owner. A Sydney retailer's guide to limestone says real limestone is porous, wants sealing on installation and again later, and is softer, while a look-alike porcelain is printed and fired, near impervious, with a regular mop enough for care. It says the look-alike gives a similar appearance with easier maintenance, greater consistency and better resistance to moisture and everyday wear. A stone interiors firm says real travertine is a porous stone that needs regular sealing, typically every one to two years indoors and more often outdoors. Real stone has natural variation that porcelain can only copy, and the interiors firm notes that its subtle variation means lighting can change its appearance.
The choice comes down to what you want to live with. If you want authentic variation and accept the sealing, the natural stone tiles page is the place. If you want the look with simpler care, the look pages above print porcelain, no sealing required and easy to clean on their listings. Either way, a sample in the room settles it.
Wet areas: what to check
A Melbourne retailer's mosaic guide gives a useful frame for any tile in a wet area. It says wet-area floors should be specified using AS 4586 slip ratings, that Australian guidance commonly places residential bathrooms and laundries around P3 to P4, and that external and pool-adjacent zones generally need higher resistance. It adds that a low-absorption tile cannot make up for poor waterproofing, because the membrane, junctions, falls, adhesive and grout must all be specified and installed correctly. A tile listing's slip line, area line and application line answer the first half of that, and a licensed tiler answers the second.
Matte and textured finishes cope with wet conditions better than polished ones, according to a Sydney retailer, and the same retailer says slip rating matters in bathrooms and outdoors. On the site, the matte and grip finishes are marked in each listing's finish line, and the room pages, bathroom tiles and outdoor tiles, are the first stop.
Carrying one look indoors and out
A Sydney tile maker notes that many porcelain collections offer a matching outdoor tile, so an indoor floor can run through to a patio without a change of look. Some ranges here do exactly that. Avedon and Cairnwell pair a P3 matte indoor tile with a P5 grip outdoor tile in the same colours, and Auralis, Frankie and Tuscan each print an outdoor option. The surfaces differ underfoot, because the indoor tile is smoother and the outdoor tile is textured, so a sample of each shows how close they read.
A Brisbane retailer adds that some porcelain beige tiles work outdoors when the finish and rating match the space, and the colour outdoor pages above apply the same idea to each colour. For a floor inside, the colour floor pages list tiles that carry the floor tag in each colour.
Matching walls and floors
Choosing wall and floor tiles together is a common starting point. The store's own buying guide says matching floor tiles with wall tiles in the same space is generally what keeps a room feeling cohesive and not assembled from unrelated parts. A simple way to do that is to start from one collection and use two sizes or two finishes of it, and the range pages list the sizes, finishes and colours inside each range. Another is to take one colour family across the room, with the colour page for the walls and the colour floor page for the floor.
The same guide notes that glossy tiles reflect more light, which helps in a small, windowless bathroom, and that textured porcelain offers more grip in a busy entryway or wet area. Both are finish choices, and the finish line on each listing says which a tile is.
Cost bands
The store also groups tiles by cost per square metre, in bands, so you can browse by budget first and by look second. The band pages start at the lowest band, and step up through the next bands to the upper tiers. The tier pages sort tiles by style as well as cost: everyday essentials, beautifully balanced, designers choice, sophisticated living and refined luxury. Each band page lists the ranges inside it and the figures that define it.
Reading a tile listing
Every tile listing prints the same set of lines. Dimensions and thickness say what you are laying. Finish says matte, gloss, honed, polished or grip. Slip rating, application, wear rating and area line say where the tile belongs. Edge says whether the tile is rectified, which allows a fine grout joint, or non-rectified, which needs a wider one. Appearance says how much the tiles in a box vary. Most listings also recommend pairing tiles with underfloor heating for a warmer, drier bathroom, and advise ordering extra tiles over the exact quantity for breaks and offcuts.
A Brisbane retailer notes that gloss brightens a room while matte is softer and hides minor marks better. A Sydney tile maker says all tile types can be slippery when wet, that surface texture and finish play a role, and that floor tiles are assigned a slip rating. Where two lines on a listing seem to disagree, the printed spec lines are the ones to rely on, and the supplier can confirm the rest.
Grout, sealing and care
The care that a tile needs follows its material. The Sydney tile maker says porcelain needs no sealing, glazed ceramic needs a wipe with warm soapy water, and porous materials such as natural stone, concrete and terrazzo need sealing. Small mosaics put more grout lines on a surface, and a Melbourne guide says that grout is part of the cost of a mosaic. It says cement grout is the familiar choice and that epoxy grout can be worth considering in a busy shower for its stain resistance, with the tiler confirming the grout rather than choosing by colour alone.
If you are not sure where to start
Start with the room and the surface, since those set the rules. For a bathroom floor or a laundry, the Melbourne guide's frame applies: choose a tile whose printed slip line suits a wet area and whose area line says wet areas, then check the wear line. For a wall, any tile whose application line includes walls is open to you, including the thin glazed mosaics that print walls only. For an outdoor floor, start from outdoor tiles and check the area line for uncovered areas.
Then choose a look or a colour, and move to that page. If a range name is already in your head, the range page is the shortest route. If a budget is the starting point, the band pages are. A sample of two or three candidates, laid in the room and checked in daylight and at night, makes the final choice.
Samples and ordering
A tile changes with its light, so a sample laid in the room is the best test, checked in daylight and at night beside the cabinetry, paint and fittings that will stay. The listings advise ordering extra tiles over the exact quantity and keeping spares from the same order for later repairs, since colour, size and texture can vary from batch to batch. Use the links above to move from this page to the collection that fits your room, look, colour, size or range.
