Room Tour: The Tiles That Transformed Our Custom Home

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Hi everyone, it’s Twilife.

When building a home, “tiles” are one of those materials that can instantly elevate the quality of a space.
Just flipping through thick catalogs makes your imagination run wild with what kind of space you can create. It’s so exciting!

In our home, we incorporated carefully selected tiles in various areas:

• 1st-floor living room floor
• Courtyard floor and walls
• Kitchen backsplash
• Workspace floor (partial)

Even though we used tiles so extensively, we are incredibly satisfied and truly glad we chose them.

Today, in this “Room Tour: Tile Edition,” I’ll introduce our favorite, carefully selected tiles and explain our design philosophy for each space.

The Tiles We Used in Our Home

▼ 1st-Floor Living Room Floor

Tile Used: Hirata Tile “Carriere” (Beige)

For the living room floor, we wanted a refined yet warm atmosphere akin to an overseas mansion or a resort villa, so we took the plunge and tiled the entire floor.
Rather than opting for ultra-luxurious, marble-like tiles, we specifically looked for pieces that felt handcrafted by artisans.

We ultimately chose Hirata Tile’s “Carriere.”

Beyond its beauty, it has the massive practical benefit of allowing you to easily wipe away food spills and dirt.

Furthermore, thanks to the natural color variations unique to fired ceramics, minor dust and small crumbs don’t stand out much—a very welcome perk for everyday life.
We also feel that the light pouring in from the windows reflects off the tile surface, making the entire room look brighter and more expansive.

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▼ Courtyard Floor & Walls

Tile Used (Wall): Hirata Tile “Villanare” (Sumitomo Forestry Exclusive Color)
Tile Used (Floor): Hirata Tile “Carriere” (Beige)

For the courtyard “walls,” we used Villanare tiles, which feature beautiful color variations and glaze textures unique to fired ceramics.
The way they softly change expression depending on how the sunlight hits them gives the space a wonderfully warm vibe.

And for the courtyard “floor,” we used the exact same Carriere tiles I just introduced for the living room.
By continuing the same flooring material from the inside out, the eye is drawn outward naturally, creating a comfortable sense of expansion and unity in the space.

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▼ Kitchen Wall

Tile Used: Nagoya Mosaic “Cotment”

For the kitchen backsplash, we used large-format, highly expressive Cotment tiles.
Even with a simple system kitchen, just adding large tiles to the wall instantly elevates the atmosphere of the entire space.

The truth is, we chose these tiles because their pattern and texture closely resembled the “Carriere” tiles we laid on the living room floor.
We wanted to create a unified material palette across the entire space, so we ordered numerous similar-looking samples and carefully scrutinized them.
After placing them side-by-side with the Carriere samples, Cotment was the one that blended in the most naturally and felt just right.

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▼ Workspace Floor

Tile Used: Hirata Tile “Tibur”

For the workspace, we chose Tibur, which has a slightly stronger personality.
Our workspace features Dopamine Decor, so it’s overflowing with colorful items.
We were looking for a tile that could hold its own against those items while still highlighting them perfectly, and that’s when we found Tibur.

It’s originally intended for outdoor use, but bringing it indoors intentionally gives this room a completely different vibe from the rest of the house, acting as a reliable foundation.
It plays a huge role in creating a special space that helps me flip the switch into “work mode.”

Why We Chose Tiles for Our Home

Tiles come with hurdles: they can be cold, hard, and expensive.
Even so, the reason we chose them for our main living room is quite simple.

Because for the first-floor living room, we wanted to prioritize the “worldview” above all else.

A handcrafted beauty akin to a Southern European resort that just couldn’t be fully expressed with wood grain alone.
Tiles require both budget and courage, but we felt that our ideal space existed just beyond that leap of faith.

Balancing the Space with Different Materials

We didn’t tile the entire house, though.

For our private spaces—like the “second floor” and our “cozy first-floor retreat”—we used engineered and solid wood flooring, which feels gentle on the feet.
By using different flooring for “spaces meant to be seen” and “spaces meant for relaxing,” we created a comfortable balance throughout the home.

Thank you so much for reading to the end.