Tile progress

Master shower with bianco dolomiti:

Master bath walls:

We're gonna need more tile.

Here's where we started figuring out the tile layout for the kids' bath:

floora installa

Countdown is on!  Not to stress out my GC or anything, okay, a little stress perhaps.  We are heading to Spain tomorrow and all I can think about is the color of the kitchen floor and how it will look with the counter marble.  Whether the cabinets that are being made are white dove or if I made an error months ago and spec'd the wrong thing!  Phew.  No matter.  The house is in good hands and the floors look great so far.  Check it out:

These lovely boards are going to be painted with Farrow & Ball's Arsenic.  Nice.

Inspection passes.

And the sprint begins.  Lots to do in the house & I hope the before and after pictures will astound (me).  

Picked out the Calcutta marble for our kitchen counters yesterday.  

Love stone yards (or in this case, warehouses).  Each slab is like a work of art.  Abstract modernism, watery landscapes, and some exude a piece Pollack would have done had he taken up watercolors.  

I'm a bit of a one trick pony with stone, though. 

I like white marble.   

This looks more grey in the picture due to poor lighting.

This is bianco dolomiti which will be for the master bath vanity(honed).

I also like soap stone and very simple grey-black stone.

This would be good for my parents kitchen.

I don’t love granite. 

But man, I saw this lapis stone that was incredible! “very ‘World of Interiors’,” as we would say at C & J Katz Studio.

It's so blue in person.  It's like a pattern I've seen on a Dries dress.  Inspired!

The kitchen has new walls now!  Blue board is up and the plasterers are on the move on the top floor.  My pictures of the blueboard are less than stellar, so I will not bore you.  Trust me when I say, this is when it all takes shape.  Tiles are going in today in the master bath; and on Friday I expect to have loads of pictures to show you that progress.

Signing off ‘til then.

Oh, and maybe I will share some wedding pics too.  I can’t resist.  It was darn pretty.

xx

the importance of lighting..

...should never be overlooked.  I realize that I will be getting married in four days, but I want to make sure that an outdoor light is ordered for the most fabulous courtyard that will be created at the new abode.
Getting ahead of myself.

Lighting is key.  Anyone (who has walked into a restaurant with expectations of mastery from the kitchen after reading rave reviews in the Wednesday NYTs to find poor garish lighting and has turned on their heel to walk out), knows this.


So you can understand why the choice of each light fixture in one's home has it's own arc in the decision-making process.  Yes, I have personified the light fixture.  geeesh.


The outdoor lighting is key.  There shall be fixtures that subtly uplight the minimal foliage and the fencing around the perimeter.  A glow.  There shall also be the light above the door.  This fixture needs to be in keeping with the aesthetic of the house, vaguely industrial, not too precious and not too modern.  Thus the barn light image above and below.

I am going to go with the classic barn light with classic goose neck pictured.  I am going to go with the french green, the galavanized metal OR the (surprise, surprise) black finish.  It'll look great either way.  Kevin agrees with my first choices of black or galvanized, so you know,  it will be one of the two.

to illustrate my point further.

Once again, my daily dose of Remodelista gives me more Moroccan influences.  This time I am excited because a light fixture that I spec'd had become unavailable last month in the size that I needed.  Lo' and behold, the fixture (or one very similar) appeared in today's post:

I think I will wait until I get to Morocco before I make any more lighting purchases.

Check out the blog for more great picts and Moroccan

http://remodelista.com/

The Villa K's pool and Tom Dixon light make me swoon.

On to other things lights.

This chandelier is great and reminds me of a companion to our beautiful vintage rope and chunky crystal chandelier.

At Terrain, along with the filigree pendant above.

http://shopterrain.com/

Here are some of the lanterns that I got to decorate a large tree at our wedding location:

So, fine, these are from Ikea (first 2) and West Elm, but the tree will be illuminated.

Said tree:

I will try not to go off topic in the next post, but you can expect me to go dark for pretty much the rest of September.  Wedding is in T minus 9 days.  I'll not bore you with too many details, but if it's decor related I may give you a dose.  

Enjoy September!

my mind on morocco and morocco on my mind.

Have you ever noticed that the minute you get a vision for something to do in your home, you can't escape it?  It's as if everywhere I look I see the same idea.  Blogs, magazines, stores.  Mind you, I am not saying that I'm ahead of the curve.  Clearly, it takes a lot more planning to get stuff into stores and into the pages of magazines, but it still makes me scratch my head.

Of course, being part of a collective consciousness is pretty thrilling, but from a design standpoint, it can be downright frustrating.

Two recent posts on Remodelista did just that, but they made me smile in satisfaction. (Every magazine I pick up seems to have an article on Morocco!)  As I gear up for our trip to Morocco, I can't help but dream up ways to incorporate what we see into the new house.  It's not really a new concept, but I hope that my trip allows me to do it all in a fresh new way.

I have always loved Moroccan mosaic tile.  

For our very petite entry way, I hope to find a group of colorful Moroccan tiles.  It will be a welcome mat of color and cultcha'.  Something like this, perhaps?

 

I'll know it when I see it.  

Then of course, there is the riads in Marrakesh.

This is Riad Dixneuf la Ksour (and not where we are staying).

The above happen to also be from Remodelista's post.

White walls and black (or dark trim).  Just like my house.

The below are from Riad Farnatchi, where we are staying.

The orange accents look familiar.  Really glad I have my vintage Moroccan orange leather poufs.  I've not tired of them by a long shot.

I am certain to get much outdoor inspiration while there.

This is the right amount of drama for me.  Minimal palette, very strong.  Nice.

I cannot wait to see it all in person.