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Lessons We Learnt About Choosing Tiles
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One of the first surprises was the cost. Most IDs would quote tiles at around $3.50 per square foot, but in reality, the tiles we liked were either cheaper or much more expensive depending on the design. Maybe it’s just us, but it’s good to mentally prepare that you might need to top up. Some IDs might be nice enough to waive small extras, like if you chose a $3.80 psf tile, but it really depends. Thinking back, maybe we should have clarified this earlier with our ID too. And if you are planning to get bigger tiles for lesser grout lines, be prepared to add at least a few thousands to your quotation depending on the area size. 
We spent hours walking, crouching, carrying heavy bags of samples and standing under bright showroom lights. By the end of each visit, we were completely drained from the sensory overload and decision fatigue. One thing I would absolutely tell anyone starting this journey is to wear closed-toe shoes. It sounds like such an unnecessary thing until something happens. A heavy tile sample slipped and landed on my foot, and of course, I was wearing slippers. It took about a week before I could walk properly again. So just be a little more careful than me, or have less slippery hands. Another thing that helped us was bringing along the tile samples we had shortlisted previously. It made comparing new tiles a lot easier because you could immediately see which ones fit better with what you already had in mind. Wearing comfortable clothes made a difference too. There’s a lot of bending, lifting and shifting tile racks around. Being comfortable really helps, especially after a few hours on your feet. We also realised it’s better to leave your rings at home. Both my husband and I kept wanting to feel the tiles properly using our palms, but our rings would accidentally scrape across the surfaces. It sounds minor, but it made it harder to just relax and focus on the texture without worrying about damaging the tiles or the rings. Something we quickly learned is not to hesitate when it comes to taking samples home. If you don’t, you’ll just end up making another trip, and after a long day at the showroom, you really won’t have the energy for that. Every shop we visited was pretty generous with samples, usually just asking for basic contact info. And once we brought them home, we started seeing a completely different side of them. Under the bright showroom lights, everything looked polished and perfect. But under the softer morning light at home, or the warm glow in the evening, some tiles looked dull, patchy, or overly glossy. We moved the samples around the house, looked at them at different times of the day, and even tested them with water and soap to see how slippery they would get. We stepped on them barefoot and feel the tiles on our feet. All these little experiments made a huge difference in helping us make choices that felt right. 
Along the way, we picked up some technical knowledge too. Slip ratings, for example, are more important than we expected. R9 tiles are quite slippery, R10 is moderately safer, and R11 and above are best for wet areas like bathrooms. Then there are variation ratings from V1 to V4 that show how much a tile’s pattern or colour can vary from piece to piece. Some V4 tiles looked stunning in photos, but when we imagined them across a whole floor, it felt too messy for our style. It really reminded us that what looks good in theory doesn’t always feel good in reality. Another big thing we learnt is not to rush the process. There’s a lot of pressure to make decisions fast when you’re renovating, but tiles are something you live with every single day. It's worth taking the time to really sit with the options, move the samples around, and get a feel for what fits your home, even if it means slowing things down a little bit. There’s such a huge difference between picking something that's good enough and choosing something that truly feels like home. We also learned the importance of having backups. Tile stocks can run out faster than you'd think, especially for popular designs. Having a second or even third choice that you also like makes things a lot less stressful if your first option sells out. We were lucky that our ID had accounts with places like Hafary, SBH and LSH, which made it much easier to reserve our selections early and not worry about last-minute changes. Looking back, even though it was tiring and overwhelming at times, we still feel it was worth it to visit all the different tile shops, gather as many samples as we needed, and trust the process a little. It really helped us make decisions we’re genuinely happy with~ decisions we’ll be living with for many years to come!
6 August
