After creating some very square tiles, I started to think about ways that I could adapt some of the building aspects and objects to suit the game’s visual style better. What I’ve got so far is something very generic, which could be applied to any game. What I want is something more reflective of the concept art for the game (so far still mainly character designs!)
If you break down any game character, they consist of two contrasting halves. The top half of the character is made up entirely of a large oval-shaped head, which is more or less an equal length to the body, which is straight and thin. In fact, both of these sections were equal until I added some extra length to the legs:

The first thing I knew I wanted to change was the lucky cat statue, as this effectively counts as a game character. Before I had seen it as an object, ad hadn’t given much thought to where it fit into the game’s visual style.

Secondly, I felt as though I should add some more curvature to the building structure somehow, to create this oval shape within the structure somewhere. The most likely place for curves was in the guttering/roof edge, which previously consisted of a tiny little flick and was bound to one tile space.

My first idea was to extend this to cross two tiles, so that I could create a more oval-shape with the curve:

This looked really weird because there was no build up to it. It’s probably also structurally unsound, and would break off of you threw a tennis ball it… So I ended up with a think, sturdy, curvy structure which works really well.

For future buildings, I’m going to start sketching the outside before working on the inside as I have done with this example. As the beginning of the game, the inside is probably more important in this case. Most of the game is likely to be played outside of buildings.
As well as changing and adapting my previous tiles, I’ve added window frame tiles, porch tiles, patio tiles and outdoor objects like potted plants, which seem to be a regularity outside Japanese accommodation! As a business sign, I’ve made a fabric banner, similar to the wall scroll from inside the building. It says Ryokan in Japanese hiragana. Here’s my current tileset for the entire building, inside and out:

And how the building now looks in Game Maker:

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