STONE AND TILE

As you look around your home, chances are stone and tile are part of your decorative style. There are small pink squares of shower tile you casually glance at while giving the family dog a bath. There are rocks and pebbles amongst the yellow and white daffodils that stand in the front garden. And there are remnants of a powder blue floor tile hiding beneath the kitchen rug. But contemporary stone and tile can be so much more than you expect.

From Bluffstone to Country Rubble, from River Rock to stacked Stone, modern stone has taken on new colors and new shapes and has become a fresh decorating choice. And as it delves into new possibilities, modern stone is not without its tradition. There will always be something so warm and inviting about a stone fireplace and now this architectural staple has made its way into each room of the home. As you sit reading by the fire on a brisk winter night, you may do so in front of a stone creation that reaches to the bedroom ceiling. Or perhaps a dinner with friends can be warmed with a dining room fireplace.

Yet modern stone need not stop there. It can be interspersed with French doors to create an inviting pathway from your home to the cool blue water of your swimming pool. It can bring strength to a hallway or creativity to a stairway. And as it steps into the future, stone can also bring with it a whisper of the past as it turns a simple basement into a 18th-century wine cellar filled with rich red merlots and spicy scarlet cabernets.

Though traditionally more prominent that stone, tile too has taken on a modern and refreshing approach to contemporary decorating. Still a staple of bathrooms and kitchens, modern tile explores creativity with imaginative magnificence. Colors, patterns, shapes and textures are stretching the limits and discovering endless possibilities.

In the master bathroom vanilla cream tile can create small steps that lead to a sunken white bathtub swirling amongst soft cocoa walls. Downstairs, a tiled patch- work quilt is created to reflect the vivid colors of the flowers that sit in the window still. And in the kitchen, mystic green, hazelnut brown and custard white come together to create a mosaic wonder that transforms simple walls into a stunning display of artistic talent. Much like stone, tile is also appearing in many unexpected place whether it finds itself establishing a solarium rich with plants, sparking afternoon conversation in the living room or climbing to the ceiling to create a midnight blue and dusty beige fireplace. And with new directions design is continuing to pursue, there is no telling where modern stone and tile may turn up next.


Submitted by,
Vinita Mathur
Director of Dezyne E’Cole
Vinita@dezyneecole.com