Is There An Advantage To Shopping For Tiles Online?
Material sourcing online
Pre-pandemic design life was pretty different when it comes to material sourcing. During the first wave of lockdowns, a lot of us were still working on projects but unable to visit showrooms to see products first hand. This is a really important step in the design process as it's impossible to compare colours and understand the true visual a material will add to your space without seeing it up close.
So much of our designs can come down to the perfect reflection of a colour or texture, so pre-pandemic I never would have thought to order any materials sight unseen. The lockdowns forced a lot of our suppliers to move online and I think it's for the better. Now you can do loads of research before heading to the showroom so you can have a clear direction when you arrive. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by showrooms as there are so many things to see and we often get distracted by discounts and sales people moving us in different directions.
But what about online only stores? Would you source tiles from an online only supplier?
Lots of people are buying tiles from all over the world via the online only route. We tested out using an online only store based in Ontario called Tiles Inspired and are sharing the experience below, read on!
I can count at least a few times a month where I’m scrolling through Pinterest or Instagram and I see a space with an amazing tile and can’t get the image out of my mind. This process usually leads to an obsession about where to get the tile, how to get the tile, and what space can I recreate my own expression of what I’ve just seen?
Pre-pandemic, I’d scour every local tile store looking for something similar (usually coming up short). Having been burned by hours of shopping with nothing to show for it, I now start my search online. Very often I am able to find the exact tile used but it's only available in Italy or Australia. This usually leads to dead ends. Sometimes the tile comes from an American supplier that ships to Canada but their fees can be astronomical and then you are back at square one.
Recently, I was on my never ending search for a quarter circle patterned tile in my price range. Two photos that I’d seen using this tile are ingrained in my brain, here and here.
In my searching I came across these from Tiles Inspired. I really really really wanted to get this tile thing out of my system. So I went for it, and this is how it went.
The Experience
Tiles Inspired will send you samples (at your door within 3 days or less) directly to your home so you can get a sense of colour, texture and scale. As a designer, we get samples for free so I ordered several samples so that I could see the other items they carry. This service is really great. They come well packaged and are shipped quickly. They also follow up with you right away with an email to see if you need help choosing.
I really love these:
I loved the quarter round so we went ahead and ordered it and that was easy too. Shipping within Ontario is a flat rate of $69.99 which is actually very competitive because it’s shipped directly to your door. Whenever you order tile from local showrooms, you need to pick it up yourself or pay an extra delivery fee ranging from $80-120 to have it delivered to your door.
Delivery
We had the tiles delivered directly to the project site during the pandemic. They do a curbside delivery that you need to be present to receive and called us about 30 minutes before they arrived. The tiles arrive on a pallet and are lowered to your curb. The tiles come in boxes and are usually tied to the pallet and wrapped together. I was nervous about the tiles arriving broken because I’d heard horror stories about tiles shipped from the US arriving shattered but they were fine.
Install
I can’t say much about the ease or difficulty of installation. My tiler did say that his head was spinning from the pattern I gave him! Overall, I’m SO pleased with how they came out. They really make the space and I love how unique and special the sunroom is.
Here’s a summary breakdown of the whole process.
The GOOD
I love that you get samples before you buy and that you don’t have to leave your house to get them. Their customer service is excellent and if they have the tile I’m looking for, I would not hesitate to order from them again.
They are a great source for tiles that you may not be able to find anywhere else.
They have competitive prices and delivery direct to your door
The not so good
If you have never had a tile delivery or aren’t used to dealing with freight deliveries, its not the best delivery experience. If you’re not interested in moving boxes of tile from your curb into your home, you will need to coordinate with your contractor or hire some help to get the tiles into a safe storage space. Having said that, sometimes local companies have the same type of delivery service. White glove doesn’t really exist in tiles.
We loved the Zellige tiles but they came out with a bit more colour variation that I expected. When I shop at local stores, its easy to see this because they usually have a display of many of the tiles. If you get samples, they will give you more than one tile to help you see the colour variation. In this case we worked off of one tile. When you are dealing with colour variation, its best to order more than one tile for a sample, read the fine print and make sure you order a few so that you know what to expect when a whole wall goes up
Read more about the Wiseman home here.
Our conclusion
The overall process was better than I expected and I will continue to use Tiles Inspired as a source. I think it works best in situations where they have a tile that you are not able to source elsewhere. It’s also good to do your homework. When you have a lot of experience looking at different tiles, it makes selecting online easier.
If you’re new to choosing tiles (which is often the case for homeowners) I would recommend using the follow up email service and chatting with the salespeople. They are an enormous amount of help and can give you detailed information about what you are going to order. Nothing can replace this expert knowledge.
If you’re looking for something with colour variation, order more than one sample to be sure you understand what it will look like. In fact, contact them and ask them to make sure you get a range of colours in your sample pack.
I’m a sucker for tile showrooms and I will definitely share my favorite local shops in another post. I can’t speak for other online only shops but our experience with Tiles Inspired has definitely opened my eyes to the world of online tile shopping.
Will I do it again?
Definitely!