Finding Tile Suppliers in Singapore
Some might say tiles are the staple of each home. If you actually think about it, that is indeed very true. The design of your tiles inevitably determine how your home would turn out to look. Furthermore, to add to the importance of your tile selection process, they are to be installed permanently and would turn out to be either an everlasting pleasure or a lifelong mistake.
We have done our homework to visit many tile suppliers in Singapore and we have narrowed all options down to the 7 best places to find tiles in Singapore. Please note that we are in no way affiliated to any of the following companies, but we did purchase our tiles from our favourite one:
Malford Ceramics
Established in the 1980’s, we have been told that Malford was previously a full fledged projects tile supplier in Singapore supplying only to main contractors. They have recently opened their doors to retail customers (in the form of home owners) and offer fantastic prices while also providing top quality Italian tiles. They even give discounts off their already low retail prices. It was crazy to discover that they have Italian tiles as low as S$3.00 p.s.f.
No other showroom that we went to had staff who displayed such high level of expertise and knowledge. They are able to solve your technical problems and give you valuable advice to how you should pick your tiles.
Through them, we learnt that choosing tiles is a very complicated process that can be made easy. The many things to consider are for example, the design permutations the tile series have, its grade of anti-slipperiness, how stain resistant it is, its suitability for each area, and joint width recommendations.
The size of their showroom is smaller than the others whom we visited, but do not let that result in you passing a wrong judgement against them. They offer a huge variety of Italian made tiles. The only set back is that not all of their tiles are available in stock, and some require a 5 to 6 week indent period. They compensate for that with amazing rates. They also stock many large format thin tiles from Italy that we used to make some counter tops and feature walls. We felt that this was a very innovative technology as it looked so much like real marble, we could not tell the difference! To add on to that, the large slabs would mean lesser or no grout lines.
We ended up getting our tiles from Malford and we were extremely satisfied with the overall process. To top it all off, they also have a very nicely done website that is very informative!
Website: www.malford.com.sg
Address: 80 Genting Lane #01-01 Ruby Industrial Complex, Genting/Green, Block) Singapore, 349565
E-mail: [email protected]
Taugres
Taugres has a decently sized showroom located at Defu Lane. They focus heavily on retail and they even have their own brands from China. They are known to have many connections with renovation contractors and their range of tiles stretch from countries in Asia to Europe.
The good thing about the showroom is that in spite of its size, it does not have that many people. It is therefore pretty spacious and comfortable. We have been to other showrooms of the same size and we feel pressured to move away when there are other customers also viewing the same display piece. However, when it comes to more intricate details, the staff may have to get back to you on anther day, which may delay your process should time not be on your side.
The prices of the Chinese made tiles at Taugres are also competitive.
Address: No.7 Defu Lane 1, Singapore 539482
E-mail:Â [email protected]
Lian Seng Hin
The Lian Seng Hin showroom located at Crocodile House is very impressive. We believe that they may actually be one of the first few tile suppliers to have been established in Singapore. Their huge showroom showcases all of the tiles in at least 2 pieces per colour, so that you can understand better the characteristics of the whole series. Tiles these days often have very extravagant veins in the form of prints to mimic natural stone or timber.
Another impressive thing about Lian Seng Hin was their collection of Chinese made tiles. Most of their tiles are from China and they look very similar to Italian tiles we have seen elsewhere. The rates are mostly around S$3.20 p.s.f. According to our research, one big difference between Italian and Chinese tiles apart from the difference of quality is that the Italian tile would have more design permutations, while a Chinese tile would appear to look more repetitive. Therefore, a marble looking tile from China may not look as realistic as an Italian one if the patterns are going to repeat itself. However, given that homes these days are not that big, we feel that this can be a forgivable difference. They do have a good portion of Italian and Spanish tiles, but we found them to be pretty expensive.
The staff at Lian Seng Hin are very helpful and they are good at guiding the customer in their big showroom when it comes to providing suggestions.
Address: 3 Ubi Ave 3, #01-01, Crocodile House, Singapore 408857
Telephone: +65 6252 2222
Soon Bee Huat
We enjoyed our time at Soon Bee Huat. They are very strong tile retailers in Singapore who carry not only tiles, but slabs of natural stone too. The 2 storey showroom is located in the west side of Singapore and they are actually currently building a third storey. The tile industry must be booming!
The range at Soon Bee Huat is predominantly Chinese and Spanish. However, they carry mostly 30 x 60 cm tiles in size. While that may be practical to most homes, we preferred something larger and they did not have many options for that. That being said, we cannot ignore the fact that their range is huge. The prices are also very attractive. The have Spanish tiles as low as S$4.40 p.s.f. and these designs look very similar to natural wood.
Some of the staff at Soon Bee Huat are very knowledgeable. We were lucky to have met a ‘Senior Client Advisor’ who could advice us very well.
They also have a cool device that allows you to do instant rendering of your home with their tiles. We saw that some families enjoyed it a lot.
Address: 3A Toh Guan Rd E, Singapore 608834
Telephone:Â +65 6564 1900
Hafary
Hafary is definitely the biggest tile supplier in Singapore. They are a public listed company and have a building with a basement carpark. The showroom is on the second level and it is definitely one that is the most tastefully designed. Out of all the tile suppliers that we visited, their range and number of concept mock ups is second to none.
The best thing about Hafary is that they have many concept mock ups. This shows you in real life how one tile would look with another in the presence of actual furniture. As laymen ourselves, we personally feel that it is very difficult to visualise how tiles would look when the renovation job is completed.
The only problem we had with Hafary was how huge it was. It was confusing to walk around. Thankfully, we were guided by a very friendly and patient staff. We found it very impressive that she knew where every tile was.
We feel that Hafary’s focus is mainly on their European made tiles, which was what we were going for anyway. However, they have an equally large selection of Chinese made tiles, just that they are not displayed in the form of a concept.
The prices at Hafary are generally higher but given the effort put into decorating the place and presenting their tiles, we feel that many would find that it is worth it.
Address: 105 Eunos Ave 3, Singapore 409836
Telephone:Â +65 6250 1368
GF+A Global
Definitely the tile shop with the most premium street address. Stepping into the showroom of GF+A at Mohammed Sultan Road gives you the vibe that you are stepping into one of a designer hand bag store. They focus mainly on Italian tiles but they also have a good share of items that requires a waiting time as they would have to ship it from Italy.
The staff who handled us were very knowledgeable and they even offered us coffee! The only problem we had was that the prices were pretty steep as compared to everywhere else.
Address: 24 Mohamed Sultan Rd, Singapore 239012
Telephone: 6222 2112
Rice Fields
Another supplier in Singapore who focuses on mainly Italian tiles. Rice Fields has 4 storeys worth of concept mock ups of very tastefully designed rooms. Visiting their showroom is like visiting multiple well designed show flat units. Just like Malford and GF+A, they also have a fair share of products that require indenting. They seem to work more closely with renowned architects and designers and it is not difficult to understand why when you enter their building.
They have a level whereby there are many cut samples of tiles that were not within the concepts. While they have catalogues to show you how the tiles look like when laid out, it sometimes is better to look at the big piece. Their prices are also much higher than the rest of the suppliers we visited. However, they do have some collections that they are clearing off at a cheaper rate.
Website: http://www.rice-fields.com/
Address: 213 Henderson Road, #01-03, 159553
