TileTown Blog – Page 7 – Your Space. Your Style. Your Way.

How to Design a Multi-Tasking Home

The new norm for most of 2020 and 2021 became doing everything from home – going to work, working out, staycations, and spending quality time with our families. The way we use our homes transformed – somewhat permanently – teaching a clear lesson that staying at home is not as easy as it could be – especially for people living in smaller spaces.

It’s no surprise then, why designing multi-tasking spaces in homes has become a large home renovation trend in 2021 – everyone wants to make the most of the spaces they’ll spend so much of their time in.

Furniture and storage solutions

Making the most of any space calls for mindfulness of the furniture that goes into it. It needs to work with and for the room, not against it.

Foldable furniture that sticks to the walls, like Murphy beds, is intentionally designed for a minimalistic approach. They free up the floors and provide the perfect flexibility to switch the purpose of the room. Now a make-shift office space can also be a yoga room, guest room, or any other kind of room it needs to be. Couches that can convert into beds, stackable storage units, and other pieces of furniture will help make the space multi-functional.

Flooring for different rooms

The flooring is just as important as the furniture it supports. Handling high-traffic activities mean the floors have to be strong.

For most rooms in the house, the two best types of flooring, which are also the most traditional types, are porcelain tiles and vinyl. Their durability, scratch and dent resistance, and diverse looks make them the best choices.

Home-office spaces

Consider the desk, chair, and shelving items that will go into the home-office space.

Hardwood or wood-look tile are two very popular choices; however, hardwood floors are more prone to damage. Wood-look tile is less expensive and easier to maintain than real wood. In the spirit of multi-tasking, this also gives the home-office space flexibility to adapt to purpose.

Missing the comfortable, cozy feel of a carpet? A good rug can fill that void while complimenting tile well.

Home gym spaces

As seen on HGTV, any room can be converted into a home gym or studio space. The best floor support for heavyweights and equipment by far is rubber flooring tiles which absorb shock and save floors from damage.

Beneath that, vinyl and wood are popular options. Considering the equipment being used and the amount of sweat equity, vinyl is a safer bet. It’s easier to clean, won’t damage as easily, and is still a nice feature to have for future uses of the same room.

Kitchen and living room spaces

Traditionally, wood or wood-looking floors are preferred in family living rooms and dining rooms. Luckily, this is very achievable with vinyl and porcelain. Hardwood floorings are high-value in terms of aesthetics and style, but their durability is less than vinyl or tile. Pre-finished wood will provide strength, but wood-looking vinyl meets both strength and durability at once.

Tile Town has a wide range of high-quality porcelain and vinyl tiles to pick and choose from, and our visualizer tool is a great way to see the big picture and test out what works and what doesn’t.

Once an idea comes to mind about the way a room should look and come together, visit a Tile Town store near you for more help to pick the best flooring to suit the needs of your multifunctional room.

Featured: Aspen Grey Ridge 8X48 Wood Look Porcelain Tile.

Scratch & Save is Back This Fall

We’re celebrating our big birthday year with Fall’s 50 Days of Savings Event! Visit any one of our five locations (Victoria, Richmond, Surrey, Edmonton South, Edmonton West) and you might be one of the lucky customers to scratch and save up to 50% off your purchase.

This year our 50th Anniversary Scratch & Save events put smiles on many customers’ faces (trust us – everyone below is grinning from cheek to cheek under those masks!). Our Fall event runs until November 30.

Browse our Tile Collection and start your project today.

Best Tile Flooring Options for Dogs

Whether they’re told to sit, stay, or rollover, our pets are always on the floor. So is the dirt caught in their fur or the hair and dander that sheds off of them. Not to mention the scratch marks they can leave when their nails grow or the accidents that can happen when still being house trained.

We love our furry family members, and our floors need to love them just as much. A strong, durable floor can keep pets comfortable and homes clean.

Tile and vinyl are the most popular flooring choices by pet owners. Luckily, those are part of Tile Town’s specialties.

Dog napping on a rug on a durable faux wood vinyl floor.

Porcelain tiles, in particular, are durable, long-lasting, easy to clean, water and scratch-resistant, and provide timeless looks that can add value to your home. A cold tile can feel good on our pet’s paws on a hot day, helping lower their body temperature to keep them cool. Equally, on a cold day, pets can be just as comfortable if an advanced under-tile floor heating system is installed before tiling the floor. The heating system warms up tile from underneath and adds heat to your home.

In-floor heating with Schluter®-DITRA-HEAT. — In-floor heating with Schluter^®-DITRA-HEAT.

Avant Garde Piombo, Taupe and Zeeland White 8x48 Wood Look Italian Porcelain tiles. — Featured: Avant Garde Piombo, Taupe and Zeeland White 8×48 Wood Look Italian Porcelain tiles.

Geotech Grigio and Utah Granite 12x24 Italian Porcelain tiles — Featured: Geotech Grigio and Utah Granite 12×24 Italian Porcelain tiles.

Our wide range of luxury Italian tiles and vinyl reflect heat, and are comfortable for all pets, no matter what’s on their fur, where their paws have been, or how far along they are in their house training.

Versa 7.5 Aspen 7x48 Click Vinyl — Featured: Versa 7.5 Aspen 7×48 Click Vinyl

Visit a Tile Town location near you to view a variety of options suitable for your pets.

Find Camaraderie and Creativity at Tile Town’s Richmond Store

Mark Gantly is no stranger to retail management – he’s a veteran in the industry with more than 30 years of experience who has worked his way up the managerial ladder.

“The companies I worked for were good companies and I certainly learned a lot that I took with me. They had excellent management training programs, I gained lots of experience in customer service, retail management as a whole, merchandising, inventory control, all that,” recalls Gantly.

For the better part of three decades, Gantly became very used to working late nights, last-minute schedule changes, and sacrificing family time over weekends and holidays.

“I was looking for a different challenge, as well as something new with hours that suited my lifestyle and lent me more time to be with my family,” shares Gantly. “We started a family a little later in life, and I really wanted to focus on them.”

Gantly jumped at the opportunity to become the store manager of Tile Town’s Richmond location in 2012 – giving him exactly what he was looking for.

“Being able to have Sundays off, and a set schedule where I know when I’m working week-in week-out, not working any late nights or holidays, it gives you a better quality of life.” he professes.

Coming up on nine years as the store manager this October, Gantly describes his management style as one to always establish a team environment. “We tend to have a fun atmosphere. Part of the fun is working in a smaller group of 4-5 staff and developing a close bond,” he explains. “We also develop relationships with our customers and it’s fulfilling when we help them out from start to finish on a project.”

Mark Gantly, Tile Town Richmond store manager, having fun with staff and customers — Mark clowns around with the staff, greets Tyler and a customer at a community event and happily accepts Vancouver Consumer Choice Award.

A large benefit for Gantly has been having direct involvement in many different projects and learning new things every day.

“There’s always something new happening in the industry. There’s been a lot of technological advances and heated floor systems, grouts, thin sets, a lot of improvements over the years,” he says.

“I also really enjoy the creativity I get to do, like putting projects together for a customer, putting colours and looks together for style. In my previous experience, I wasn’t involved in the design aspect. It can be challenging but it can also be a lot of fun.”

Mark Gantly, Tile Town Richmond store manager, helps a customer choose tiles and grout

When customers are looking for help, Gantly’s approach is to walk them through the process of tile installation step-by-step and provide as much support as possible.

“Sometimes customers don’t realize how involved an installation can be. They do appreciate the heads up we give them so that it’s not scary, especially for those doing smaller projects themselves,” he says. “There is also no certification in tiling, but we have worked with a lot of contractors over the years that we can give referrals and recommendations for. It reflects some of our basic principles as a company – being trustworthy and knowledgeable. What we don’t know, we’re honest with the customer and contact the right people to get the answer.”

Gantly sees himself continuing to work at Tile Town for as long as he can, even past retirement age. “Maybe 3-4 days a week because I enjoy the camaraderie and would miss that social interaction,” he says jovially.

When in Richmond, be sure to pop by Tile Town to visit Mark and his team.

Watch Mark take you on a tour of the store.

How to Waterproof Bathroom Tile

Bathroom renovations are exciting projects to undertake. You have the chance to create and customize a mini-spa in your home where you can rest, relax, and completely unwind.

The best part of the renovation process is taking time to pick out the perfect tile that delivers style, feel, and comfort.

However, before getting to that stage, it’s important to first waterproof your new bathroom to guarantee your spa-like environment does not become the perfect breeding ground for dew and mould.

Contrary to popular belief, tile is actually water-resistant, not waterproof – meaning it’s not a good idea to lay it down right away because water and vapour CAN penetrate through it and cause many problems down the line.

Ceramic and stone tiles, as fantastic bathroom tile choices as they are, must be installed in conjunction with a waterproofing system that effectively manages moisture to protect moisture-sensitive building materials and control mould growth.

Waterproofing sounds ambitious and expensive. When using the right product, it can be a fun, cost-effective do-it-yourself project.

At Tile Town, we recommend using products from the Schluter®-Shower system that together form a fully bonded, watertight assembly for tiled showers and eliminate the risk of failure due to water and vapour penetration.

Not only are these products affordable, but installing them yourself saves you time and money, teaches you a new skill, and can help you feel more confident in the final product that is your new bathroom.

The Schluter KERDI Shower Kit provides all the necessary components to create a watertight shower assembly.

Watch this complete installation video to learn how to fit and assemble all of the Schluter shower components from start to finish. An installation handbook provides detailed instructions.

Tile Collection: Mystone Series

Stone look tiles are practical and stylish. They’re durable, easy-to-clean, and come in a variety of colours, textures and sizes.

Mystone Series

Colours: Bianco, Sand, Taupe, Grey
Size: 12×24
The Mystone collection duplicates and redefines stone. The glazed porcelain stoneware tiles, created using digital technology, offer harmonious veins and sophisticated shades. It’s a beautiful solution if you like the natural stone look tile without the added maintenance and labour costs that real natural stone brings.

Mystone White, Sand, Taupe & Grey mimics the natural look of sandstone. With its subtle contoured texture and lines, it gives the illusion of depth and movement that natural stone gives.

Featured: Mystone Bianco 12×24 Italian Porcelain tile.

Featured: Mystone Taupe 12×24 Italian Porcelain tile.

Featured: Mystone Sand 12×24 Italian Porcelain tile.

Featured: Mystone Grey 12×24 Italian Porcelain tile.

Where to Use Stone Look Tiles

Stone look tiles are an emerging trend that keeps growing in popularity as an affordable tile option for both modern residential homes and commercial designs. Tile manufacturers are recreating the characteristic features found in natural stone – such as the veining, blemishes and tonal variation that make them all the more realistic. Whether you like a strong vein, a cross-cut vein, a unified subtle colour to a strong colour variation tile to tile, there’s a style to suit every taste.

Popular stone look tiles

At Tile Town locations we carry a range of quality Italian-made stone look tiles including glazed porcelain, such as the Mystone collection, ceramic and classic travertine (honed and filled), in a variety of finishes such as natural (matt), satin, lappato, glossy and anti-slip.

Porcelain or ceramic stone tiles beautifully replicate the aesthetics of natural stone with the durability of tiles, which means they can withstand wear and tear and retain their original condition longer. And it’s all made possible through the latest advancements in digital tile technology.

Where to use stone look tiles

Stone look tiles are perfect for high-use surfaces and high-traffic areas such as bathrooms and kitchens, due to their hardwearing quality and low-level maintenance. These tiles can be applied to various surfaces, making them well suited to any room in the house or commercial space.

If you want to create a great first impression, placing stone tiles in your entryway or hallway provides the real wow factor. Adding porcelain stone tiles to your kitchen or bathroom exudes a sense of luxury, and if you’re looking to create a rustic look and cozy atmosphere in your living room, then there’s a stone tile that will do just that.

Featured: Utah Granite 12×24 Italian Porcelain tile.

Why you should choose stone look tiles

Stone look styles are practical and stylish. Porcelain floor and wall tiles are some of the hardest flooring materials available and can withstand any type of abrasion, discolouration, stains, scratches, bending or chemical reactions.

Stone tiles also:

Require zero upkeep – low maintenance means you don’t have to constantly look after the condition of your tiles (aside from general cleaning). For those of us with hectic lifestyles, it’s the perfect choice.

Great conductors of heat – when your feet touch a tile floor, the tiles will remove the heat from your foot quickly. This is why your feet are generally always cooler to touch on tiles than say carpet. This is what makes tiles such an appealing choice for many homes, particularly during the summertime.

Timeless style – natural stone walls and floors have been around for centuries, so if you’re not the type who likes to renovate and redecorate based on trends, then a stone look tile is your safe bet for longevity.

Featured: Fitch Fawn 12×24 Italian Porcelain tile.

Explore our wide range of stone look tiles

With more than 50 years of industry experience, the expert team at Tile Town can help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

Looking for inspiration? Browse our range of stone look tiles or visit our showrooms today.

How to Choose Durable Tile for a Mudroom Floor

Having fun in the sun is the meaning of summer – swimming at the beach, hanging out in the park, going on a hike, and spending countless hours outdoors.

Inevitably, it means bringing home sand, dirt, or mud. Having an easily accessible mudroom to greet you at home is the perfect place to remove dirty clothes or shoes, which means it needs to be an easy-to-clean area built with materials that are just as easy to maintain.

While space needs to be well-organized for maximum functionality, durable flooring is the main element of a mudroom. Without it, the rest of the room will not function properly, and the flow of moving from outdoors to inside the house will feel disrupted.

When choosing durable flooring, porcelain and ceramic tiles are very popular go-to choices for obvious reasons, which Tile Town has a variety of collections to choose from – such as Geotech, Massive, Nohva, Formwork, Utah and Mystone. These tiles provide good slip resistance, can be easily cleaned, are moisture and scratch-resistant, and last long.

An added bonus are tiles that are chosen for style. Darker colours and patterns not only provide an elegant and timeless look but are also better at hiding muddy footprints.

Featured: Nohva Black, Utah Slate and Massive Dimgrey porcelain tile.

Featured: Geotech Nero, Utah Granite 12×24 porcelain tile.

Featured: Formwork Anthracite, Mystone Grey and Nohva Grey 12×24 porcelain tile.

Not all houses are big enough to have separate rooms. In these cases, floor mats are a great first line of defence to help trap dirt.

It goes without saying, avoid a full carpet layout for that same reason – they’re harder to clean and maintain.

If you are planning to take on a home renovation project, it’s worth the investment to create a designated space for a mudroom. It can be part of a laundry room with a direct entrance from the garage or part of the side or back entrances that is easily accessible when coming home. Some homes even have mudrooms at the main entrance of their home. It can be any space you designate.

Once you have an idea for your mudroom in mind, visit a Tile Town near you so we can help you with the rest!

Colourful cabinets add playfulness to a family mudroom.

Trending Colours and Styles with Chevonne Woolley

With a passion for fashion, Chevonne Woolley is a true style expert. Before Woolley joined Tile Town as a Design Consultant, she worked in retail fashion.

“Over time, I became way more interested in what homes looked like than the clothes that I was wearing,” recalls Woolley. “So I took home and interior design courses and changed my career path.”

Woolley says that her interest in fashion moved to colour.

“Since working at Tile Town, I realized the number one thing I do every day is look at colour. It’s the place to start when making changes within a home,” Woolley says.

With a desire to train her eyes and expand her colour expertise, Woolley found Maria Killam and her blog, Colour Me Happy.

“There were lots of pearls of wisdom that she had learned throughout her career that she generously shared in her writing,” says Woolley. “She offered a three-day course called Specify Colour with Confidence, training us how to identify undertones in neutral colours, and what neutrals work with each other and which don’t. I find it fascinating how the right colours together ‘sing.’ Everywhere I go now, I analyze colour.”

Maria Killam’s blog offers helpful tips on choosing colours.

Customer colour preferences vary, but due to the strong connection between colours and the emotions they strike, people generally have a good sense of the colours they prefer.

“We’ve been in the gray trend for a long time now,” explains Woolley. “Black and white is the freshest look right now, though we are seeing lots of taupes selling, as the general look has certainly warmed up since the grey trend has slowed. Sometimes people prefer more of a blue-gray with a cooler undertone, and that looks different than a shade of gray with a warmer undertone.”

Woolley advises relating colour to something else in the room as the key to a pulled-together room.

Taupe tiles in bathroom — Bathroom accessories like towels, candle holders and containers compliment taupe undertones in tile collection. Featured: Mystone Taupe 12×24 Porcelain Tile.

Seasonal trends

Woolley says spring and fall are the two seasons that customers consider larger renovations projects like fireplaces and outdoor patio spaces.

“I find that fireplaces become big in the fall, as people are thinking about decorating their mantles at Christmas, so they want to re-do their fireplace in time for the holidays. And then others customers look for exterior tiles for patios, so that would be more of a spring project.”

She adds that spring and fall are also peak seasons for kitchen and bathroom renovations, but lots of backsplashes and bathrooms are done any time of the year.

Emerging trends

“We’re starting to see more shades of taupe in the store, like light taupes,” says Woolley. “But, the tile that sells the fastest, we’re noticing, are the lightest grays. Those seem to be the strongest sellers right now.”

When it comes to shapes, Woolley says hexagon tiles are classic.

“Hexagons have been big for several years now and continue to stay big. I don’t see them fading anytime soon. There’s never going to be a time when a hexagon tile looks dated,” Woolley says.

Woolley also says the marble and concrete looks in tiles are current hot trends too.

Featured: Templestone Core 12×24 Italian Porcelain Tile.

Fading trends

“For floors, we don’t see many 12×12 inch porcelain tiles anymore. Manufacturers make tiles based on trends, so they aren’t making 12×12 tiles. Larger sizes are trending – 12”x24” is standard now for floor tile, 24”x24” and 24”x48 are popular as well. And fewer grays with blue undertone; tile colours are warming up.”

Clashing tones

Woolley strongly suggests avoiding pink-beige and yellow-beige undertones because they clash.

“They’ll never look good together; they’ll always clash,” she warns.

Picking colours and tile style

Pick a focal point for your home first. A clear understanding of what the focal point is, will drive the direction for the rest of the space.

“If you want patterns, decide if you want to see patterns on the wall, in your shower or by the tub. Or do you want to see a pattern on your countertop? There’s lots of quartz and granites out there that are beautiful but can be busy prints. Or you might want to see the pattern on the floor,” says Woolley.

Subway tile collection — A subway tile collection blends in with neutral nook. Featured: Lumiere White 3X6 Gloss Ceramic Subway Tile.

“For a classic look, I believe that there should be only one pattern in hard finishes in a room. In decorating, other patterns could be added. They are the things that are easier to change over time when you tire of them. Once you have an idea of your direction, head into Tile Town and start shopping. If you choose to go with a pattern, everything else should work with it, not fight against it.”

Correcting mistakes

Mistakes and mismatches of colours can happen, but Woolley advises disguising them with decorating if they happen.

“Use a different wallpaper that draws your eye and attention to something else in the room. Or try artwork that combines all the colours that you’re using in that space,” she says.” “For example, a bathroom. If you find artwork with all your colours, you can make your design flaw look intentional.”

Art work in bathroom — Interesting artwork tie in with dark-hued floor tiles.

Test out choices

Woolley says Tile Town’s visualizer is a great tool that can be used to compare different ideas, styles and colours.

“Customers often struggle with decisions because they can’t visualize the result. Our visualizer tool’s been fantastic for assisting our customers with design decisions. It doesn’t take the place of getting samples from the store, taking them home and looking at them to make sure the colours work, but it’s a great tool to help you make decisions on tiles and colours that can work in your home.” Woolley adds.

If you’re working on a home design project and a trained pair of expert eyes in style and colour is needed, be sure to consult with Chevonne Woolley at Tile Town Surrey.

Gallery: A collection of styled rooms based on Chevonne’s tile and colour recommendations.

Over 40 years of Tiles and Smiles for Tile Town Store Manager

For the last four decades, customers visiting the Tile Town Edmonton South location expect to see two things: a wide variety of high-quality Italian tiles and the smiling face of store manager Brad Bellefontaine.

“Lots of customers are surprised to see me in the store; they’ll say ‘you’re still here?’” laughs Bellefontaine.

He began his 43-year long career with Tile Town, a Canadian-owned and family-operated company since 1971, in Victoria, BC, a city Bellefontaine didn’t think he’d ever leave.

“I joined Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry which brought me to Victoria. I loved the city so much that I quit the army to stay there,” says Bellefontaine. “I decided to go to culinary school, and by chance, I was hired as a Sous Chef at the Lieutenant Governor’s residence. I mostly served in-house staff, but I’ve served dignitaries from around the world, including the late Prince Philip.”

As Bellefontaine’s family grew and his income didn’t, he realized he needed to switch careers again. That’s when he found himself as a manager at Tile Town in Victoria in 1978. The only change he’s been through is his location with the company – now in Edmonton as the store manager.

“I’ve moved around the Tile Town stores and had the chance to work with some fantastic people over the years. I’ve worked in all the five Western Canadian retail locations, from training managers in Edmonton to managing the stores in Vancouver and Richmond; it’s been an adventure.”

With a hand-picked dedicated sales team whom he trusts, Bellefontaine is assured that his Edmonton South store is always in good hands. He credits them, and their best-in-class customer service, for the store’s success over the years.

“Be friendly, smile, remember names, and listen,” says Bellefontaine. “Listening to your customer is the most important thing in our industry. They tell you what they want, and sometimes they don’t even realize it. You must pay attention to the customer, and they’ll want to do business with you.”

Sometimes, says Bellefontaine, it means embracing somewhat disagreeable trends too.

“There’s so much choice out there and different places of inspiration. So many people use Pinterest boards to point out what they want,” he says. “Slate was a big one. It was popular until about two to three years ago. I didn’t like Slate as it can absorb water or may not be cut evenly, which can result in installation issues.”

As for current emerging trends, Bellefontaine adds, “Neutral colours and styles are still number one, but trends come in waves. Some styles are coming back, like the 8×8 pattern tiles from 40 years ago, which are made of porcelain instead of red clay. Glass tiles are popular now as they have many more colours and patterns to choose from. Other customers want what’s in stock at the store as we have a pretty unique selection.”

Featured: Monochrome Lotus and Form Ice Deco Clover 8×8 Italian Porcelain tile.

Bellefontaine says, no matter the trend, greeting customers with a smile will always be in style.

“Building relationships and socializing with customers goes a long way. Customers remember where they were and what they bought from you.”

If in the Edmonton South region, be sure to pop by the Tile Town store to visit Brad Bellefontaine. He’ll be there to listen.