How livingtiles brought European style to Australian shores

It's not everyday a business hits its 20-year milestone, but for livingtiles, that's now a reality. Since its humble beginnings in 2003, founder John-Paul Patane has been helping Australians experience the beauty of European living through quality, stylish tiles.

But you don't hit a significant milestone without learning some important things along the way. John-Paul shares the lessons that have made livingtiles what it is today and a new exciting chapter on the horizon.

John-Paul says the idea of livingtiles came to mind after noticing a gap in the market for durable specialty tiles. While some businesses cast a wide net when starting, John-Paul focused on the commercial market first because "that’s where we identified a need and opportunity".

“The business was born just after the 2003 Olympics, and a lot of developers were using substandard, basic products because of the speed and cost efficiencies needed during this period.  Post Olympics the commercial market was after specialty products that not only performed well but looked great, too. So that’s what we started offering,” he says.

Indeed, European tile products were a rarity in the Australian architectural space at that time. The early stages of the business saw John-Paul and his team directly bringing back products from Italy and Spain.

"When we travelled to the international trade fairs and saw how unique the European products were in quality, size and function, we knew there was nothing like it back home. We generated a whole new market in the Australian commercial space and then expanded into collections for retail customers.”

livingtiles is considered an early adopter of large-format porcelain slabs imported from Italy – a material and style now often in high demand due to its luxurious aesthetics, ease of maintenance and durability. After 20 years, John-Paul and the team at livingtiles are regarded as industry experts in this area.

However, back in 2003, porcelain slabs weren't exactly beautiful in style, as the material was mainly used overseas for lining tunnels and the inside of boats. Yet, it harboured many positive qualities that could benefit homes, such as low maintenance and strong resistance to wear and tear.

"The idea was to take this product and make it beautiful and aesthetically pleasing rather than just be a construction material. We worked with an Italian factory to develop appealing ranges that made it suitable for the Australian market," John-Paul explains.

"We gave the factory ideas on the finishing of the surfaces. For instance, the factory was making over 50 plain colours in greys, whites and blacks – simple colours. So, we added some texture and patterns to give the product movement and life. It was almost like wallpaper given the large size of the slabs. 

The business has since expanded to selling over 200 exclusive Italian and imported tiles for walls, floors, and interior and exterior spaces, with collections ranging from large-format porcelain panels to custom-designed terrazzo. They also have a PROTECT range – an exclusive collection of high-performance, anti-bacterial floor and wall tiles in porcelain stoneware, responding to global demand.

Providing every customer with complete support throughout their buying journey, livingtiles assists them with supplying and installing the product to ensure all customers are happy. 

The business is launching a new showroom called ‘studio livingtiles’ in July. Catered to the architectural and design communities, John-Paul wanted to create a space where industry professionals could bring their clients to see, touch and play with the products when developing a design scheme.

"It's also a space where you'll be able to select special order products or create bespoke products for the right project and order volume," he adds.

To keep in line with their ethos of customer satisfaction, the showroom will always have experts on hand to assist with selections – whether for a commercial or retail project. 

"It's more of a traditional hands-on experience, which is important when selecting tiles. There's only so much you can glean from watching a video on a new collection or scrolling through hundreds of Pinterest images," John-Paul explains.

"At the end of the day, designers thrive on creating mood boards. Some clients may not be great at visualising concepts, so studio livingtiles will be a place where designers can curate a tactile experience.”

Learn more about the products at livingtiles on Archipro today.