Commercial Fixing Expertise, Now Available for Residential Projects
For twenty six years our crews have laid tile and stone through some of Sydney's most demanding commercial builds. That same team now installs in homes, and you can price your job online in about two minutes.
Design Tiles Commercial
Size up your space for an instant quote.
Tell us your rooms and rough sizes and see an indicative price straight away. No site visit needed to start the conversation.
Takes about two minutes
Design Tiles now offers residential tile installation in Sydney. The tile and stone crews who have worked on some of the city's most prestigious award-winning commercial buildings are available for homes, covering bathrooms, kitchens, laundries, living areas, alfresco, pools and outdoor cladding, and you can get an indicative price online in about two minutes.
The short answer
Design Tiles Commercial now takes on residential tile and stone installation across Sydney. It is the same trade-qualified team that has fixed tile and stone through award-winning landmark buildings, the same set out and the same tolerances, applied to homes. We supply and install, or install materials you have already chosen.
Price your job with the instant quote builder, or read the full residential service page.
What is changing at Design Tiles?
Since 1999 we have been a showroom. You come in, you choose your tile and stone with our design team, and someone else lays it. That last part was always the gap. We would spend hours pairing a travertine-look porcelain with the right grout and the right slip rating, then hand it over and hope.
Alongside the showroom, our commercial arm has spent those same years fixing tile and stone inside some of Sydney's most prestigious award-winning commercial buildings, the ones most Sydneysiders walk through without ever thinking about the floor: No 1 Martin Place, T1 International, Westpac Place, the MLC Centre, Grosvenor Place. Landmark towers and airport terminals are unforgiving work. The tolerances are tight, the programme is fixed, and the finish is inspected by people whose job is to find fault with it.
That work is now being recognised closer to home. Design Tiles is a Finalist in the 2026 Master Builders Association NSW Excellence in Housing Awards, which is the residential side of the industry judging residential work.
From today those two halves are joined. The commercial crews take residential work, so the advice you get at the front counter and the hands that do the job belong to the same business. One team, one point of accountability, from selection through to final clean.
Why does the tile fixer matter as much as the tile?
Because they are one decision, not two. A beautiful material laid carelessly and a flawless install of the wrong material for the room fail in exactly the same way: you do not get the room you chose. Match your material to a craftsman who understands it, and both halves do their job.
The install is also the half you cannot change your mind about. Stone in the wrong hands cracks, lips, sounds hollow underfoot or sits a few millimetres out of true forever, and it is the one element of a renovation you cannot correct without ripping it out and starting again, which is why it usually stays wrong.
Good fixing is mostly invisible. It is a substrate made flat and square before a single tile is bedded. It is a set out planned from the sightline you actually stand in, so the cuts land at the edges rather than through the middle of the room. It is a waterproof membrane laid to AS 3740 and allowed to cure properly, and tiling to AS 3958.1. It is the right slip rating in the right room, and the right grout in the right joint width.
What a proper tiling scope should include
A single lump sum tells you very little. If a quote will not break down into those lines, you cannot compare it with anything, and you have no way of knowing whether the waterproofing is in the price or quietly out of it.
Four rooms, one standard. Bathrooms, kitchens, living areas and outdoor spaces from recent Design Tiles projects.
What does residential tile installation in Sydney cover?
Everything we sell, and materials you have sourced elsewhere. Porcelain, natural stone, handmade and zellige-look tile, mosaics and large-format slabs all ask for a different hand, and each has its own bedding, cutting and sealing requirements.
Waterproofing, falls to waste, niches and hobs, mitred returns and slip-rated floors.
Full-height splashbacks, slab returns and floors that carry through to the living areas.
Hard-working surfaces detailed to the same standard as the rooms guests actually see.
Large-format floors with minimal grout, fireplace surrounds and feature walls.
The same material inside and out, with the finish changed for grip and the levels set for drainage.
Waterline tiling, coping and surrounds specified for wet, barefoot traffic.
Stone and porcelain cladding fixed to facades and feature walls, with the fixing system engineered for it.
20mm pavers and heavy-duty porcelain bedded for vehicle and foot traffic.
If you have already been through our showroom, the material is the easy part. We know what you chose, why you chose it, and what it needs underneath.
Who leads the residential team?
Ibrahim, our founder and tiling director, with more than thirty years in tile and stone. He has run the commercial side of the business through the award-winning buildings listed above, and he runs the residential crews the same way: trade-qualified installers on our own books rather than subcontractors, site supervision, structured quality checks and defect management carried straight across from commercial into your home.
That matters most on the materials that punish a shortcut. Travertine, limestone and marble need handling, sealing and setting correctly. Mosaics and zellige need setting true across an uneven handmade face. Large-format slabs need lifting, bedding and finishing with almost no grout to hide behind.
How do I get a price?
Start online. The instant quote builder asks for your rooms and rough sizes and gives you an indicative labour price straight away, no site visit required to begin the conversation. It takes about two minutes. If you are not sure how to measure, our wastage formula guide covers it in a page.
From there we confirm the detail, walk the project, and give you a firm quote itemised line by line. Design Tiles supplies tile and stone Australia-wide from our Rockdale showroom and online, and the installation service covers Sydney.
Design Tiles Commercial
Ready to put a number on it?
Scope your rooms in the quote builder and see an indicative price now, or read the full residential service, the process and the project gallery first.
Sydney installation · Australia-wide supply
Frequently asked questions
What makes a good tile fixer?
Preparation and set out, more than speed. A good fixer makes the substrate flat and square before bedding anything, plans the set out from the sightline you stand in so cuts land at the edges, waterproofs wet areas to AS 3740 and lets it cure, and tiles to AS 3958.1. Ask to see finished work in person, ask who actually attends site, and ask for the quote itemised rather than as a single lump sum.
Is waterproofing included, and does it meet Australian Standards?
Yes. All wet area waterproofing is carried out to AS 3740 and itemised separately, never buried inside the tile price. Tile and grout on their own are not waterproof; the membrane beneath them is what protects the building. We document the work so it stands up for insurance and for any future sale of the property.
What is lippage, and why does it matter?
Lippage is the height difference between the edges of two neighbouring tiles. You feel it underfoot before you see it, it catches light along a wall, and on a floor it becomes a trip point and a place where edges chip. It is caused by an uneven substrate, poor adhesive coverage or rushed levelling, and large-format tiles show it most. It cannot be corrected after the fact without lifting the tiles.
Can I supply my own tiles, or do you supply and install?
Both. We are a full supply and install service with access to premium local and international ranges, and we are equally happy to install materials you have already chosen elsewhere. Either way it is one team and a single point of accountability, from set out through to sealing and final clean.
How long does a bathroom take to tile?
As a guide, a standard bathroom runs from a few days to around a week once waterproofing cure times are allowed for. Larger or whole-home projects are staged. Cure times are not padding, they are what makes the membrane work, so a programme that skips them is a warning sign. We map the stages up front so you know the sequence before we begin.
Do you install outside Sydney?
Installation is a Sydney service. Supply is not. Design Tiles sells tile and stone Australia-wide, with sample packs posted anywhere in the country and virtual design consultations for interstate customers, so you can use the showroom and the design team wherever you are and arrange your own installer locally.
Skip the designer fee, come straight to the experts
Our in-house experts at Design Tiles give you free, personal design guidance, in our Rockdale showroom or virtually anywhere in Australia. You get designer-level results and keep the budget for the tiles. Order sample packs to any state, or book a free consultation with the team.
