Backstory - The Tile Selection Appointment

A bit more of the construction backstory here, and advice on the Tile Selection appointment...

Generally, your section of tiles occurs after your colour selection appointment.  However, due to the relatively short timeline we agreed to get our contracts signed, we were asked to select our tiles prior to the colour appointment.  In the end, I don't think it actually makes too much difference, but like all the interior colours and choice you make, selecting the tiles in isolation ends up being a bit of a leap  of faith.

Decisions to be made at the tiling appointment include (obviously) the tiles you intend to have in your bathrooms and powder rooms (and any other rooms you plan to tile).  You also need to select grout colours and edging options (polished or matt aluminium).  If you have a balcony or other outdoor tiled areas, you will also need to select the tiling and grouting for these areas.

We did not really  have much interest in the tiling range that was listed as 'standard'.  However,  neither did we have much interest in the more expensive options.  For us (especially with the kids), our bathrooms need to be functional rather than fancy.  We actually ended up being pretty boring and selecting the same basic tile for both the bathrooms and the powder room.  We were also pretty conservative with the tile that we chose for the balcony.

Some Advice
For what it is worth, here is the advice I would offer for your tiling appointment.

Visit prior to your appointment - If you have the time, it is worthwhile visiting the tiling centre prior to your appointment to start to gather ideas about what you want.  The staff there will be able to point you in the direction of the different ranges of tiles, from 'standard' to expensive and you will at least be able to get some ideas (they won't provide you with pricing).

Look at the tiles under different lighting - The mounted lighting in the tiling centre is quite powerful and (according to the staff) designed to emulate natural light.  In my experience, tiles can change their hue quite a lot under different artificial lighting conditions, so it is worth moving the tiles you are considering around to see them under different lights.

Don't Take the Kids - There is sort of a kids room at the tiling centre, but my kids would have gotten bored in there after about 10 minutes and there is very little else for them to do or anywhere for them to go.

Ignore the Simulator - Once you have selected your tiles, the sales rep may want to show what your selection will look like in a computerised simulation.  Don't bother with this - it is worse than rubbish.  The tiles we selected looked completely different in the simulation  and, as a result, we went back to the drawing board and ended up doing the whole process again - only to select the same tiles again and trusting ourselves that we were right and that the simulator was wrong.

Get Proper Coffee - When we went, there was complimentary coffee on offer - it was truly terrible.  :-)