Bespoke Tile & Stone
Diamond Interiors recently caught up with Bespoke Tile & Stone of Richmond, Melbourne in their beautiful showroom. Bespoke Tile & Stone specialise in creating wonderfully unusual tiles that can really add that touch of luxury and elegance to any project. Read on to find out more!
On display in the Richmond showroom is this wonderful 21.2m² tile wall panel of the iconic Flinders Street Station in Melbourne. Created using individual handcrafted 15mm glass mosaic tiles, it truly is a sight to see!
Contact
- Ph: 03 9429 9588
- Fax: 03 9421 0366
- Address: 10 Albert Street, Richmond, Victoria 3121
- Email: info@bespoketileandstone.com
- Web: www.bespoketileandstone.com
- Showroom Interview with Vicki Cooper (Sales Manager)
“Choice can sometimes be a problem but it’s lovely to have the choice. I’ve never seen anything like these in Australia before.”
Could you tell us a little about Bespoke Tile & Stone.
Bespoke is a fairly new retail business. We are specifically here to service the Architects, Designers and the retail sector. We tend to be more decorative, more elegant and more classic: that’s a little harder to find every day, so you won’t see it anywhere! Just like the name Bespoke implies: something a little bit special.
Which countries do you source your materials from?
We source from all around the world.
What does Bespoke Tile & Stone offer in terms of caring for the environment?
A lot of the products that we offer are made from natural materials which do have to be quarried however the process is not producing a lot of toxins into the environment. In terms of man-made tiles, I think all processes have an element of that. A lot of our products are also handmade which is another environmental element. We certainly like to use environmental sealers and cleaners; the range that we recommend is all water based and non-toxic.
What types of clients do you usually cater for?
We would be catering to people that are working on high end residential projects as well as innovative or interesting or perhaps quirky commercial and some high end commercial due to the price of some of the items that are more decorative. By nature of the costs involved in shipping, handmade products and natural stone, sometimes it means that we’re more in demand in the top end of projects.
Which are your favourite tiles?
That’s a big one, because I think all of these stone or decorative mosaics are beautiful! Whether they’re the more simple geometric patterns like the Herringbone or the Penny Rounds, I think they all look just absolutely fantastic installed in floors and walls. But, at the same time I think the Rosefield is just particularly beautiful.
“Rosefield comes as a mosaic sheet that we are more used to seeing in a square format. The way we have them made however, means that the modules can go together so you don’t have the square seams or the tile edges that we’re quite used to seeing in traditional tiles. In this way it just flows and you can have an endless field or it could be a small section inset into a floor or a wall for just a beautiful piece of detail.”
What are the key qualities we should look for when searching for the right tiles? What is the most common mistake we make when choosing tiles?
Things like slip rating and longevity of wear are important in a commercial sense as commercial installations have liabilities. In residential projects however, whilst taking care of slip rating factors or the longevity of the tiles, the reality is that a residential environment is generally very soft. If you’re catering to an average family, you have a huge variety of choice in materials. Most materials will work in that environment quite comfortably.
The one thing that I think is worth looking for is something that gives you pleasure in your space, as a beautiful wall and floor tile would. You should not restrict yourself by choosing a basic white tile due to your future plans of selling your home. The next owners are going to rip it out and do their own thing! You might as well be tiling for yourself. It’s for your own enjoyment after all. I really appreciate people coming in and saying “I want this” and don’t care about the next person who might own the house. I think that choosing the tiles for your own pleasure and enjoyment should always be number one; that might be a white tile but most of the time it’s not! Essentially, you should not be designing your home for somebody else in the future, whom you haven’t even met, but rather for yourself and for your own pleasure.
“The beautiful thing with all these mosaics is that they can be made in any colour that will better suit the project. The shape of each is one thing: The stone used can be customised. The flexibility of these is because the panels themselves are all in tile format sometimes it is not quite so achievable to do en masse but will fit beautifully in with the same sort of coordinating tiles. We can then take the colour but use the different formats. You can use an inset into a floor or wall and then continue out with the plain tile of the same stone and you will have a very luxurious installation.” The glass can customised to be whatever glass manufacturers can make. It can be gold foil or it could be a gorgeous colour, so there’s not a lot that we cannot do.”
Bespoke Tile & Stone’s Encaustic Cement Tiles can be described as both cosmopolitan and metropolitan; fun, funky and quirky. These Cement Tiles are an old form of tile. A fun and cost effective range, there are many beautiful colours and patterns available, each with its own individual charm and character.
For more information, click here to visit Bespoke Tile & Stone’s Website.
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