The Right Tiles Can Unlock Your Home’s Personality – Steve Cordony Tells Us How

Tiles: they’re small, they’re mighty and, at least according to leading interior stylist Steve Cordony, they’re the oft forgotten key to making your home feel like you.

With so many tile options on the proverbial table, it’s tempting to go for the safest choice – or to pick the most out-there tiles. But either approach can lead to years of regret once the grout’s dried. Thankfully, it’s not all on you. Working with a leader in premium home builds like Boutique Homes means your future abode will be full of thoughtful details, considered features and elevated inclusions. Yes, even in the tiles. 

The home builder’s new Portfolio Range offers a premium, tailored build and design experience, which seamlessly creates the opportunity to embed your individual taste into your home. And Cordony’s design wisdom helps bring the range to life, with tiles being one of his key tricks for infusing your home with personality, character and your own unique story.

“Tiles are so fun, because there are myriad possibilities,” he says. Here are his top tips to help you express who you are (and avoid tile regret in the process). 

Steer clear of this mistake 

Cordony says there’s one common tile mistake he sees people make, and it’s thinking that all the tiles they select for their new place need to be different in different spaces. Whether it’s pattern, materiality or colour from floor to wall, Steve warns against getting too eclectic. “I think if you’re being bold, absolutely play with it. But I think the more classic and traditional, that gives you more longevity,” he says.

“Just choose essentially one point of difference from a pattern and potentially a colour, rather than having different scale on the wall, different scale on the floor, different scale as a splashback. I think keeping it a bit simpler just streamlines the whole look.” 

Be practical 

It’s easy to get carried away by tile whimsy, but Cordony reiterates the value of doing your due diligence and focusing on practicality. “Where is it going to be used? Is it indoor, outdoor? Is it going to be high-traffic? Is it going to be on the wall?” 

From there, you can make decisions on how much you want this tile to be a feature. “Is it one focal point, like a beautiful Moroccan tile on the kitchen splashback? Or is it more of a subtle colour story that you’re doing with a zellige tile? Is it something really earthy and you just want a layer of texture on the floor or the wall?” 

Scale is key 

When it comes to tiling spaces, size does matter. “If we’re talking about the confines of any space, whether it’s a bathroom or living space, I usually tend to go for bigger scale proportionally on the floor and then smaller on the wall,” Cordony says. “I just feel like that balance with the bigger tile on the floor grounds and weights any space. And then when you have something smaller on the wall, it tends to give your eye this sense of verticality … A bigger scale floor tile just creates a sense of grandeur and of larger scale, which weights any space.” 

Grout is great 

Grout may feel unimportant, but like many small things, it’s easily misunderstood. For Cordony, it’s an essential step that breathes life into your tiled spaces. “I always tend to go one shade slightly darker than the colour of the actual tile,” he says. “If it’s a charcoal, go for a dark grey. If it’s a travertine, go for a slightly lighter white, like a creamy white, rather than brown. I think, as a general rule of thumb, going one shade darker than the tile is just a foolproof way to make something look chic”. 

Simplify with a curated range 

At the end of the day, Cordony’s job is all about making it as easy for you as possible. One way to do that is to simplify your selection process with  for Boutique Homes.

“I think there’s so many options that it can be overwhelming, but with the Beaumont Tiles range, many options also work together, so a lot of the guesswork has been taken out of it,” he says. “And I think it’s magical, not only because you’re going to get something that looks really well edited, but it’s also easy and takes the guesswork out of a lot of things for the client.” 

It’s the little details

“Pattern for me really should talk to the style of what you’re trying to create,” he says. “I think if it’s something that is bold and Moroccan, then of course you’re going to go for a geometric or floral motif on a tile. If it’s more subdued, or it’s more earthy or organic, then maybe it’s something like a beautiful travertine, or a ceramic travertine lookalike tile that has veins through it and is more subtle in appearance.”

Similarly, Cordony’s big on the finish. “I think it’s a huge one, because you can either have very high polish, which is going to give you something that’s more glam, or you can go for something that’s much more earthy, super matte and almost a bit chalky, and that’s going to take you into something that’s a bit more organic and soulful.” 

This article is produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Boutique Homes. Boutique Homes is part of ABN Group, a leader in property, construction and finance.

Boutique Homes has crafted its Portfolio Range of home designs for the way you live. Designs such as the Grange, Portofino, Barcelona and Toorak provide a well-considered canvas for welcoming people in. To learn more about Boutique Homes’ range of home designs for entertaining, visit boutiquehomes.com.au.