Tag Archives: Inspiration

I simply love stone. From counters in the kitchen to fireplaces in the living room, stone is the perfect material for nearly every room of the house. Its beauty lies in its variation and imperfections, its organic range of shades and tones and its environmental qualities. It is available in countless modules from 1″squares to large 4′ x 7′ slabs. It can have straight or ‘antiqued’ chiseled edges and textured surfaces. It is durable, versatile and easy to maintain. Like a chameleon it can blend in with its surroundings; it can be sleek and modern or rustic and traditional. And, while this post extols its praises for all manner of residential installations, you will find stone in airports, hotels and commercial spaces.

  /     /     /     /     /     /     /     /     /  
0

It has been several years since I attended the Cersaie Ceramic Trade Fair in Bologna, Italy held each September. I find it refreshing to return after an absence as new trends become more readily obvious. This year was no exception.

  /     /     /     /     /     /     /  
0

On my recent trip to Israel I planned some extra time to see just a few of the thousand or so Bauhaus stucco buildings that still exist in Tel Aviv. They are not hard to find or identify. Their distinctive features–from balconies, vertical glass stairwells, horizontal bands and rounded forms to the unmistakable stucco exteriors–are dotted all over the city. Clearly, some have had sensitive renovations and others are in a complete state of disrepair.

  /     /     /     /     /     /  
1

I simply love mosaics–from the earliest ones I’ve seen at Ephesus, Herculaneum, St. Mark’s and other Venetian churches, to the charming creations in the foyer of early 20th century Paris apartment buildings as well as modern interpretations of any of these designs. I always look for elegant cuts, artful arrangements and placement of the tesserae, the tonal value of the palette and the skill of the artisans. The beauty of mosaics is in the detail. Whether simple black and white or multi colored, mosaics use thousands upon thousands of small and precious tiles to tell their stories, assessing the effect of light and shade or exploiting complementary colors.

  /     /     /     /     /     /     /     /  
0