You are absolutely right that using a PNG is the best solution. Just a few weeks ago I did something very similar although with a little different approach.
First I created a dodecagon object split into multiple facets. I initially used room objects and exported this for further processing in Blender. After import in Sweet Home 3D I set different textures to different parts. Since this was for a floor it had to be flat so I didn't have the trouble of having to create rounded elevations. I replicated the resulting objects to form a piece of floor. From that I created a seamless texture that I can set as the texture for the floors. It came out pretty nice.
This was relatively easy although the figure was quite complex to create.
Then I needed something special for the walls. I created two different types of diamond shaped tiles. This also required processing with Blender but the basic forms were created in Sweet Home 3D. The tiles have a small elevation in the center to simulate a real diamond form.
(Here are the tile objects)
These are still objects and you could create a wall like this, the wall functions as the grout for the tiles. But... I did a little calculation and if I wanted to decorate my shopping mall like this then just the tiles would count for close to 300 MB. That's MB, not kB. But of course as the image shows it is easy to create a texture and use that for the walls. Even a simple screenshot gives a nice result and then edit it with GIMP to make it a seamless texture. The great advantage with having the objects is that I can change the tile colors and even play with different pattern by using multiple colors. Then recreate a texture for on the walls.
All in all GaudiGalopin3324 is exactly right with using a PNG and not the actual objects. Instead of a single tile texture I created seamless textures with multiple tiles but the end result is the same.
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