Crossville Tile - Kitchen Luxe

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!

Below: A closer look at how a well priced, simple, tile complements exquisite and formal accessories. High/low done well.

Below: A good look at this different pairing of mosaic and subway tile which just may skirt a "trendy" look - time will tell

Below: Clearly, a formal yet modern look that works

Below: How gorgeous are these chairs??

Below: A lovely arrangement at a gracious entrance from the kitchen to a nearby room

It was a lovely day!

KBIS 2011 Decorative Details

I'm sitting at the gate waiting for a flight delayed quite a few hours. Let's take a look at random, decorative details in no order, seen at KBIS, for no reason other than I have time for a free form "gorgeous" fix.

Below, hardware from Schaub

Below, Calacatta marble from Italy Formica

Below, a fabulous sink by Thompson Traders

 Below, beautiful stools with no name at the Kallista booth

The Intoxication of Paris!

Seven nights in Paris...it's taken me so long to begin this post because I just don't know where to start! How about I start with adjectives? Paris was:

incredible, amazing, beautiful, sexy, charming, colorful, historic, elegant, modern, rustic, delicious...and I'll add another "incredible!"

The view from our apartment below over the Seine:

My husband and I stayed for 7 nights. We rented a luxury apartment overlooking the Seine, decorated in blacks, reds, and browns. It was TRES chic! Ok...the luxury part? My husband received a trip from his employer for many years of service and truth be told, we could have made several nice trips out of the gift and stayed at decent places. Instead, we made one small trip and then, um, decided to BLOW the rest of the travel $$ after airfare, on a fabulous apartment. Yeah....we're glad we did. Sometimes you just have to blow the money, you know?

Which brings up an interesting subject. I never feel a need to stay within bounds of whatever I perceive my "class" to be (don't we all have a perception?)...which changes depending on my mood. Could I afford to stay in that apartment for an extended period of time? No! Should I feel comfortable in a luxury apartment that I could barely afford to rent for a week? Why not? And I did feel comfortable the moment I stepped into the building!

Prior to selecting the apartment, we were feeling responsibly frugal. The more we looked at apartments online, however, the more we were falling in love with the fantasy of living in Parisian luxe for a week!

As a designer, it is an experience to stay in beautifully designed surroundings. Good design that I can live in, even temporarily, is a memory for me and a thrill. I'll always have Paris.... :) For Steve, he, too, said let's do it and we thought Paris was the PERFECT place to indulge! 

The Kitchen Parallel

I can surely make a parallel to kitchen design. When it comes to material costs, of course, you must reconcile what your heart AND your head tell you and that is the tricky part. But, if you fall in love, say, with a walnut wood countertop for an island and if you truly can afford it, take care that your "default worry alarm" does not shut off your dream state, only to select a less expensive (but practical) material, crushing the dream yet leaving you feeling (yes, unnecessarily) responsible. Being frugal in a situation such as this when one does not need to be, in my world, is borING! 

Design beyond your comfort zone. Find creative budget solutions which are always out there to find and feel good about that. I've done that, to the max, actually. But, also feel good when you've just.got.to.have.the.....whatever. Go for it, spring for it, indulge your kitchen fantasy. You deserve it, you're worth it, and yes, the material thing you love does not have a pulse, but I sure get lasting joy from some of my possessions and experiences, even over decades, don't you?

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