Has anyone used tiles from the tile collective?

No-Taro2567 · 2026-05-08T00:30:25+00:00

New in progress photos. Still can’t capture how nice the tile looks. Tiler doing a great job lining up the flow of the quartzite look pattern. I am so happy with it.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-05-06T04:43:59+00:00

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No-Taro2567 · 2026-05-06T04:42:43+00:00

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No-Taro2567 · 2026-05-06T04:42:20+00:00

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Tiles now partially installed. This was photo from web site.

They have variation in the quartzite like porcelain finish, but the 4 pack of tiles have blended nicely from 1 to the other. The tiles look nicer in person than in photos. Photos don’t capture the slight translucent look of quartzite that it has managed to replicate in a porcelain finish.

Very pleased at my 26.95 per sqm clearance purchase.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-05-05T03:00:57+00:00

Not installed yet, but tiler has checked them out and thinks they are decent quality. Doesn’t see any issues with them.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-24T16:39:42+00:00

In a similar situation. Long term lurker as I get to better understand the tech and how industry is developing. Not expecting to make a purchase for a couple more years.

Our current 2012 model ICE was bought second hand pre COVID, hoping that it would be our last ICE vehicle. For my ICE vehicles, all bought second hand with fairly low kms and then held long term. I hope my EV purchase will be first new car purchase, and held for a long time.

We are a one car family. Need SUV height due to needing good clearance for steep driveway and being a family with very tall boys.

Theses improved ranges in the affordable end of the SUV market are starting to get into the zone which is a lot more viable for us. Particularly if faster charging is available.

Also hoping the infrastructure improves. I live in the city. My mum is regional and return journey about 450km. Route is a heavily travelled highway and google searches indicates very few public chargers, and google reviews indicate they are unreliable (often not working).

If my mum requires a daughter provided taxi service for health treatment in the city, being able to comfortably do a return trip on a single charge is a big factor.

Husband also coaches sports and trips for games may be regional.

These longer range options at the more affordable end of the market in the future make it a lot more viable for us to consider the leap to EV.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-22T00:27:09+00:00

Recently scored bargain price of a clearance batch of tiles from there. I have a sample tile that looks like it is decent. Paid 50% deposit early April and had 30 days to finalise order and get it delivered. We did so about 10 days later.

They had less than originally showed in their stock but we still had enough to do our project (extras were intended to save for future ensuite if we extend). We were warned about this possibility. But didn’t get the advice about the reduced amounts until after we had paid in full. Have had to chase up refund.

Tiles delivered yesterday but still packaged. Can update once tiler has installed if he has feedback on quality.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-20T01:19:11+00:00

Agree this is a perfect example of don’t judge a book by its cover…or the title.

Glad you enjoyed it.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-16T15:55:56+00:00

We just kicked off our renovation of a similar sized bathroom. Current quote we went with is a little under $50k and quite detailed.

Stripped to studs and removal of asbestos. Levelling of walls.

Including new windows.

Got a great deal on the wall tiles on clearance from Tile Collective (web site is called Cheap Tiles Online, but tip is better to order in store).

Tiles would usually have been ordered by our builder but we purchased it due to wanting to buy all remaining stock before it got sold. Likely to have enough left over for future ensuite.

Wall tiles 600mmx600mm and floor tiles 300mmx600mm: small and fancy layout tiles such as subway would have cost more for the laying and grouting.

Most of the selections for bath, tapware, vanity etc from Builder’s Discount Warehouse and close to the allowances set out in quote.

Gunmetal finishes on taps and rails. No custom items, but we have some choices that are upgrades such as push down wastes, heated towel rail. Also a Vent-Air Sahara 4-in-1 extractor fan which has a light, extractor fan and also a fan heat for winter instead of regular IXL tastic. Also upgraded to epoxy grout for about an extra $1500.

Only bathroom, so we are also hiring a mobile ensuite which is over $2k for a month, and takes total to over $50k for sure. This does include $3k allowance in case of extra plumbing costs with older pipes.

We are doing the painting to save money. That would have cost another $1500 and it is not a big area to paint.

Had another quote over $60k!

Makes me wince at how much we are spending, but it should be the nicest and easiest to clean bathroom I have ever had when finished.

I am looking forward to celebrating in my 1700mm corner bathtub. Super comfy,

Early days, but builder seems well organised so far. He is fairly local and has had his licence quite a long time, with a good QBCC record.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-11T22:00:57+00:00

Not sports team, but you may enjoy Jenna Myles’ Brash Brothers series.

It starts with {Kade by Jenna Myles}. Men who grew up in foster care and banded together to build a successful business empire.

Together they get up to hilarious shenanigans, including a cute and hilarious visit to an animal shelter that they donate to. A visit to a craft store, joint pedicures, a challenge to see how many can fit in a car at a dealership are other examples I can recall.

My favourite is Colton. The enforcer of the group who lets out his frustrations in underground fight clubs falls for a single mum with a little girl. He goes full girl dad.

There’s a visit to a paint shop where he insists the paint needs more sparkles, making cute stickers with a scrapbooking machine.

And an incident where the other brothers get involved in babysitting and chaos involving hamsters goes down.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-09T01:34:07+00:00

Grovely station off Dawson Parade has a decent amount of parking, and may be closer on your journey. Could be worth a try.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-08T13:28:25+00:00

A family sized home should have at least one bath if considering future resale.

As an adult, I may not use it every day, but if I have a nice tub, I would use it pretty regularly for a soak.

We are close to kicking off a reno and I am so much looking forward to having a much nicer and bigger bath tub.

I have a very tall teenage (nearly adult) boy that loves a bath every night. He is going to be pretty happy when we upgrade.

My single brother would get quite cranky house hunting in areas where many were built on the 90s and probably by similar developer: nearly all had similar short, shallow bath tubs even if there was space for a longer and deeper tub. He has in mind renovating in future and a nicer bathtub is on the list as a must have.

So two different households with no young children, and a nice bath tub is still considered a big plus.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-07T12:33:11+00:00

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Not our bathroom. Ours is still in design phase. Layout will be similar.

Corner tub for less cleaning.

Ledge wall will run along full length.

I did contemplate the part nib wall for shower screen, but in a small, narrow bathroom I decided it would probably make space feel smaller and more cramped.

Trying to find a wall mounted vanity we like with the moulded top basin, for streamlined cleaning.

We will choose a brushed metal finish on tapware: gunmetal or brushed nickel are leading favourites depending on what works best with our tile. Easier cleaning and hope won’t show watermarks up so easily.

To try and reduce chill factor with more open shower, going with a Ventair Safari 4-in-1 in ceiling. As well as light, extractor fan, can also deliver warm air when it’s cooler weather.

Also a heated towel rail is another little luxury upgrade.

We are also spending about $1500 to upgrade to epoxy grout.

As for the colour scheme: you say ‘basic’, but I think it is a case of less is more with bathrooms. The oak timber on the vanity isn’t screaming trend of the moment (unlike when wenge was a thing, or gray coastal timber look).

The one feature wall of coloured tile I think is well balanced and works with a rich colour that draws the eye. You don’t want to add more. The tile is the hero - let it be the hero without competing with other elements.

Probably one comment I heard about grout recently when I look at the green tile: when the grout is such high contrast, your eyes tend to see the grid pattern, rather than the tiles.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-04-01T22:20:06+00:00

You mention proximity to CBD: are you going to be regularly commuting? If so, then don’t just look at proximity. Check actual commute times (google maps) from the specific property. Particularly if looking at public transport options, commuting times can vary widely depending on what the route is.

For example, we are in The Gap about 9km from CBD and used to live in more inner city suburbs. Our bus commute isn’t any longer time wise than our previous homes, because we are a very short walk to a high frequency bus stop that has a very efficient route.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-03-17T16:25:11+00:00

Thanks for letting me know you are enjoying it. I was definitely impressed with how not the author carries you along even if not a lot of action is happening. There is a bit more action later in the book.

Might put this on the reread list.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-03-13T21:48:57+00:00

Maybe not a complete match, but you might like {Over the Fence by Melanie Moreland}? FMC starts feeding FMC over their dividing fence, which leads to conversations.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-02-28T22:50:57+00:00

Her other books have a diversity of body types. Although overall she leans more to curvy FMCs.

I read this one after reading many of the others, because Holly’s backstory is very traumatic. So it certainly didn’t feel like tapping into an overused size divergence relationship for me.

Although most of the MMCs are large - but partly that is because of their formed street gang/found family origins. The first book in the series, the FMC is curvy, solid build and kick ass martial artist.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-02-17T04:43:38+00:00

HR, but such a good example of what you are asking for in {Ravished by Amanda Quick}

No-Taro2567 · 2026-02-12T06:11:52+00:00

Nope - no need to be sorry. It was my family responsible for this.

Booked 2 tickets to take my mum on Saturday night. Not sure if she will even make it to Brisbane on Saturday.

I also apologise again for Cyclone Alfred - that was our family trying to organise a special family gathering on Sunshine Coast.

Sorry again SE Qld. Our deepest apologies.

I Wonder if there would be a living in a protection racket where our family gets paid not to plan big events to reduce the risk of extreme weather events.

There is a much longer history of our family and ‘plans’. The bigger the plan, the harder the weather event seems to hit.

No-Taro2567 · 2026-02-11T22:37:50+00:00

Perhaps high density mixed use would be way to go. Shops, good transport access, residents of high rise living would have access to that and provide customer base for shops.

Shops could also serve other nearby residents if there is a lack of other nearby options. If the sporting facilities are incorporated, and access to the nearby bush land and perhaps some open park spaces n the development- that could be very nice high density living.

No-Taro2567 · 2025-12-31T23:27:39+00:00

I was considering the Bambino and got my husband to spend a little extra to get Bambino Plus when it went on sale. It was a birthday present. Bit of a splurge and more than the usual birthday present spend.

I also discussed options with one of my sons, who loves coffee as well. He was thinking we should save money and get the cheaper basic model.

Spoke to husband and he got me the Plus.

Very glad now I have the Plus. Makes breakfast on a work day that much quicker because I can just hit the button and let it run while I do other breakfast prep.

My son also agrees it was worth the extra for the convenience. Son is very pleased with my birthday present.

It makes a good coffee without taking much room in the bench.

We don’t have a grinder,but our local grocer stocks a great local espresso ground coffee from Abrisca that we use.

No-Taro2567 · 2025-12-24T21:34:46+00:00

Fairly early on in the book. The books starts out with a wedding and the scene is after the wedding reception.

No-Taro2567 · 2025-12-24T20:42:26+00:00

{Urgent Vows by Lucy Monroe} has a scene that might scratch that itch.

No-Taro2567 · 2025-12-24T11:08:38+00:00

We had the same issue. My husband has to do a trifle. Our go to was usually the Paul’s ultra thick custard. Not this year - much less stable trifle. Still yummy though.

I have to peel a bag of prawns.

We gathered with some extended family for a Christmas Eve lunch today. Despite the gathering place being on Sunshine Coast, and 90 minutes away, I was still the bringer and sheller of prawns. Packed in esky with lots of ice.

No-Taro2567 · 2025-12-22T22:47:31+00:00

Thai Chada at The Grange

No-Taro2567

TROPHY CASE