Crossville Tile invited me to view their tile in the kitchen of a fabulous designer showhouse, designed by Ulrich Kitchens, deep in the (highly desirable, trust me) woods in New Jersey. The show home, "Hidden Acres Estate" is part of the Traditional Home 2012 National Showhouse Tour.

I don't normally associate Crossville tile with being a luxury tile brand, so it was with a good dose of curiosity that I attended this small but prestigious event.

While I love quality and I love beautiful things, I am always open to good design whatever the cost. Good design does not need to be expensive. Creativity does not need to come with a large price tag. Good design comes by way of making smart design choices regardless of cost (in this case, being open to lower cost products) and being a snob about seeking "the best" in every product or material is not always best for the design.

Sometimes more is less and usually, less is more. So, I'm a designer who has adopted an openness to a high/low price strategy in my design projects and particularly in my home long before the concept made an impact in design publications online and in print. I don't look down at it, I applaud it. Geez, this turned out to be a policy piece! Now for the pretty pictures! Comments below...

Below: I do like the strong continuity of the horizontal lines, but I think I would have brought the upper line up and around, then down, inside the hood section while leaving the lower horizontal line as is. The inside could be left as is or designed with another motif of some sort, tile or a decorative object(s) hung in that spot.

Below: I do love the white grout used in the mosaic tile. This appears as a classic look and it's a smart design choice to use this middle shade of gold/brown which looks great with the granite and cabinetry. Charming!