Floor Score: Who you callin' Travertine?

Ever since Saturday I have been bumbling around in my head about the 170 Sq. Ft. of travertine "noce" or "noche" tiles I picked up at BIG on Saturday morning. They look like this (more or less). 

This photo above is the most accurate photo - the stone is mostly a greyish color but with brick red and a little green muddying it up.

These two are a little over-exposed - the tile is much darker than this (as shown in the photo above), but it gives you a better sense of the structure and design.

 

So, why have I been bumbling?  Well, a few reasons.  In no particular order:

• The look of the stone is a little "splashy" (Lou's word, but very apt).  I really like the grey and the movement, but it has greens and reds and looks a little like a tissue sample from something not healthy (although the same could be said of a lot of nice stone).  So, I'm not sure it is really the look for us.
• I did some reading online about travertine and it seems it is a very porous stone which does not wear as well as marble or granite and requires more care.  Plus, because it is very porous, in order for it to have a polished finish, it has to have been "filled" with some sort of polymer.  Anyway, whatever, it stopped seeming as glamorous.
• I googled prices on travertine noce/noche 12"x12" tile and, although the noce in the photos online did not look anything like the noce I had purchased, it all came up in the $3-5 @ s.f. range and suddenly my $1.75 @ s.f. didn't seem like such a bargain once you add in the truck and the continuing muscle pain in my lower back.  Yes, I am a bargain shopper and value apparently means as much to me as purely aesthetic issues: as the bargain-margin drops, so does the ease of overlooking the other above-mentioned issues.

MY CONCLUSION: We needed to hit re-set on our floor design process. I made an appointment for this morning at the stone yard a few blocks from our place just so that we could see everything and discuss what we would want if money were no obstacle.  V and I walked down there early for an appointment with Joan, the very nice stone lady, who spent 40 minutes showing us various options, all of which are gorgeous and most of which are out of our price range.  But we got a better sense of what we like: honed statuary, bianco gioia, calacatta gold honed, bardiglio, etc.  We like whites and greys.  We like movement. 

It was a useful exercise and the prices on some of the stuff we like is not prohibitive so we are awaiting an estimate.  

But there is more.  I carried a slice of the travertine noche with me and, at the end of our discussion of her offerings, I showed my "travertine" to Joan and she said, "That isn't travertine.  That's some type of marble."  And, wouldn't you know it, all of a sudden my heart opened up and I began to think, "well maybe I could live with this stuff."  

What is wrong with me? 

I'm still partial to big movement with swirling winds of gray so we are awaiting word from Joan on pricing for the stuff we liked most.  She is also going to get back to me on what type of marble my "noche" is.

[UPDATE: Subsequently found out that this is definitely marble and it is called "Montana".   And, to any reader (family member) who might think, "Wait! You mean this whole post about travertine was just rendered obsolete!", let me remind you that I still have 170 sq. ft. of this stuff in a shed and it will re-emerge someday. And nobody was ever worse off for knowing a little more about travertine.]

Thoughts on a Shower Floor (or: Turning our Shower into a Wow!er)

Do you like that? Shower/Wow!er?  That is the kind of cheesy title that would make me stop reading a blog.  But since I have no readership at all, I feel comfortable I'm not scaring anyone off.
 
Anyway, current plans call for the shower pan to be poured this week.  Hopefully, we would have the shower walls built and ready to tile by next week.  But anyway, the point is that it is time to start thinking about how we want our shower tiled.

Happily, the shower floor is not likely to be much bigger than 3'x4' = 12 sq. ft.  Yippee!! At that size, we can pretty much afford anything imaginable (provided our imaginations don't go too crazy).  Even the really crazy stuff doesn't usually go higher than $22 per square foot.

So, for the moment we are thinking that the shower walls will be done in the same white carrara gioia 12'x12' marble tile as the bathroom floor up to about 4 feet high - then they will be glass from there on up.  This is the stuff:

we have 150 square feet of this stuff - not sure that will be enough for the floor and shower walls, but we'll see.  luckily, this stuff is pretty ubiquitous so we can get more if we need to.

And here are some thoughts I had for the floor:
 

1" marble penny rounds

1" carrara marble hex

2" carrara marble hex

Ming Green Jade something or other.  LOVE IT!!!

SCORE: Carrara Bianco Gioia Marble - INVENTORY

I stopped by BIGNYC first thing this morning to drop off some cans of paint and varnish and stuff and I saw they still had these 15 unopened boxes of 12"x12" white Carrara marble tiles which I spied last weekend. We still need flooring for the master bath upstate and V and I agreed last year that we would be fine going with white Carrara so it seemed like a good opportunity to get this procurement problem out of the way.  The price for the whole lot was right and I took them all. 150 Square feet. Done!
Anyway, the photos here are of the actual boxes but the picture of the marble itself is a stock photo from the web. We don't actually know how much movement or shading or spider webbing there might be on them. Won't know until we open all the boxes. I guess that is how it works when you buy natural stone - you get what you get. Fortunately they are all Gioia, meaning that they at all quarried from the same region in Messina, Italy. So at least we know they should have some consistency.
Hooray for BIG NYC.

Stoop Sale Hoorah!! - UPDATED

Well, the season has arrived, as evidenced by last week's New Yorker cover illustration.
I was all set to hit about a dozen stoop sales today, but it was misting so heavily at 10am that about 80% if the sales listed on Craigslist didn't even bother to come out and set up. Anyway, I was even a bit of a wimp and instead of biking around to see who came out, I hopped in the car and drove around the neighborhood - which was just fine since it would have been doubly disappointing to find nobody out had I cycled all over in the rain.
But on with my tale: toward the bottom of my list of sales to visit was one at an address I had gone to a month ago - on the same day I hit the jackpot with the Adlen painting - it was at the same address where I had picked up the lovely Laguiole corkscrew.
I'm all out of order here but here is what you need to know: that day a month ago when I hit that stoop sale (actually, it wasn't even on a stoop - it was indoors in the parlor of an amazing limestone mansion in Ft Greene), I had spied a bronze sculpture on the mantle. I asked if it was for sale and the host said she supposed she would sell it though she hadn't planned to do so. She came up with a price, but it seemed too high to me so I took a picture and her email address and passed on it. Then, over the last few weeks it stuck with me and I began to think I had missed a real find.
So when I got there today at around noon it turned out to be the same lady and I was sad to see the mantle was bare - only to notice moments later that the sculpture was now on the floor in a corner with a price tag on it - same price as before.
Long story short, I got the seller to knock 15% off her price and I bought it. Still too pricey for a stoop sale, but I sort of love it and it is so unlike any other art I own. I know I will never regret it (unless, God forbid, it falls over and hurts someone). It weighs a ton - at least 40 pounds.
The bronze sculpture itself is 24 inches tall and solid bronze.  The base is 4.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches and is solid marble. This thing is a whopper.
Here are a few more pix of the other side - not sure which is the front and which the back.
BTW - the inscription etched into the bottom of the marble base is "R. GIRONDA  69"
What do you think?

Notes on Paris Apartment Insta Post

V sent me an Instagram post.  Original can be found at: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1mb5MYshvS/?igsh=MTl0ZTR1cmp3MHcydg==

Here are the photos with my comments:

NOTES RE. ABOVE:

• Love the pendant light. 
• I like the way the wood lines of the built-ins continue up to the ceiling.  It has a Japanese quality to it. 
• The counter in the built-ins appears to be very thick marble.  I really like this - and the drawers below.  Where could we do this? (if at all)

NOTES RE. ABOVE:

• This vanity is lovely. I like the curves, but particularly the slatted wood. Wonder if this would work with an under-mount sink rather than a vessel as used here. 
• Note that the curtain rod is hidden behind the crown moulding.  The effect is lovely.
• Thinking about the marble wall behind the mirror.  
• The sconce light is not my fave.

NOTES RE. ABOVE:

• YES YES YES. I love everything about the fireplace, mantle, mirror and sconces.
• The mouldings on the walls are really pro looking. 
• By deploying matching sconces on either side of the mantle and again on the opposite side of the door, they created a really cool effect that defies simple symmetricity. Feels organic, not matchy-matchy.

NOTES RE. ABOVE:

• The curve of the arch at the top of this doorway is EXACTLY what I would like between the primary bedroom sitting area and sleeping alcove.
• I think I love the wood paneling on the inside of the door frame. At least I love the contrast and the way it defines a threshold.
• The slatted paneling behind the bar is great. Where could we use this?

NOTES RE. ABOVE:

• Again, the curtain rods hide behind the crown molding. Can we do this in the primary bedroom?
• The headboard and the larger wood panel behind it are GREAT. I really like this approach for our project - even with a shorter wood panel (terminating a few inches above the top of the sconces) so that we can still hang a painting above. 
• Love the velvet (?) headboard.

NOTES RE. ABOVE:

• I particularly like how the pendant lights lead the eye down the hall. I'm not sure sconces would do this as well. 
• Look at the floorboards. We could (and should?) do this V-shape slightly shifted to the left leading up the hall to the kitchen.
• Also, really like the wall trim details. Really clean and tight.

Built-Ins Beside a Fireplace - Preliminary Thoughts

Here we go:

#1 - Lovely, but a little deep and not sure it would work if we only do one side of the chimney breast.  Also, there is no chimney breast here so it isn't our set-up.

#2 - Again, very nice.  I like this more - not as deep - indeed, sort of flush with the front of the chimney breast.

#3 - I love this - I thought I wanted the bookshelves to be shallower than the base cabinets, but this makes me reconsider.  Note however that these shelves are full width - not cobbled together bookcases - and the base cabinets are reeaaaaalllly wide.

#4 - I like the built-ins, but I don't like that they extend beyond the mantle.

#5 - Fantastic layout - and the only thing I've found that has a dining table in front of the built-ins.  So, bravo!  I'm not minding even that the base cabinets are flush with the bookcases.  But the style is a little rustic, beach-housey for me.

#6 - Again, I don't love the base cabinets proud of the mantle.

#7 - YASSSSSS!!! SLAY! I'm ready to have these installed immediately (at Ikea prices of course).  And I love the fireplace surround - marble rocks.

#8 - Shy, proud, shy, proud, shy, proud, shy...  Yuck!!!  And I didn't expect to so thoroughly dislike the way the fireplace surround/mantle is integrated (at least sylistically) with the built-ins.  YUCKO!!

#9 - I like this a lot.  Note that the base cabs and the shelves are flush - not a problem.  I even like the modern mantle treatment.  Right on.  And that boat on the right side is super-cool.

#10 - Same as #4 but with a diff perspective.  I still don't like the base cabinets so far proud of the mantle.

#11 - This one makes the point better - it just feels crowded with the base cabinets sticking out so far in front of the fireplace.  Not my thing.

#12 - I like this a lot, but not so much for us for a few reasons: (a) all custom work so $$$, (b) color is a little too much warmth for what we have going on, (c) too busy for our already busy space, and (d) no base cabinets.  But still, a lovely arrrangement.  Gimme that marble mantle!

Powder Room Moodboard

 

-Moody, dramatic, dark

-Sink either marble with dramatic veining, or soapstone

-Aged brass. Single-handle faucet

-vintage sconces

-limewash walls

-for sink, we like the solution in the top right photo with a small sink on top of shelf. Also thinking about using pullout pantry-style cabinets on either side or just one side (as space allows) as medicine cabinet, with sink spanning all available width of wall (bottom row sink)

DESIGN IDEA: Where the kitchen meets the living room

We have been so distracted by our expansion into the third floor that thoughts and plans for the round house have sort of fallen by the wayside.  But Spring is coming and I want to get thinking and working on it again.  To that end, this post got me really excited about what we can do with simple materials (looks like they stole their pix from a print magazine):

http://vosgesparis.blogspot.com/2012/07/industrial-white-home-designed-by-paola.html

Especially this pic:

There is NO WAY I am not stealing this idea for blending the marble kitchen tile floor into the plank flooring in the LR.  I want it!!!

Also, that dining table is just fantastic.  It might have a few too many legs for my under-table toe-stubbing pleasure, but it looks great.

This bathroom is awesome! Granted, they don't have to deal with the sloping round walls, but the mish-mash of materials works great.

I don't know if I want black shower walls (though they would be a nice tribute to the fire the house suffered that made it affordable), but everything else in this shower is pretty much perfect.

Design Idea: Kitchen - Custom Induction Range Drop-in surface

We haven't put a lot of time into figuring out the layout of our kitchen.  Basically, all I know is that I don't want built-ins.  I want it to feel like an old style kitchen/pantry with everything on legs - thick worn marble floor visible beneath everything.  But we're going to need a stove and we're going to need a fridge... so what then?

Well, the discussion has been that we would get a standard 30" range with induction cooktop.  But that is maybe a little too simple and doesn't really make good use of the space - so I'm re-thinking it.  That doesn't necessarily mean that WE are re-thinking it.  But I am.  I'm trying to come up with some ideas for how we can make the most of our strangely shaped kitchen.  

So here we go...

30" ranges with induction cooktops are pretty boring looking.  Electrolux and Samsung and a few other folks make them, but they look like boring old electric stoves.  See!

BORING! But then I saw this mad delicious new induction range from LaCornue.

Yes, I know, LaCornue is impossibly expensive.  IMPOSSIBLY.  This thing debuted at the Milan home show last year and I can't find a single showroom in NYC to see the thing.  Not that it matters - I finally got a price on it two minutes ago - a big LaCornue dealer in NYC just called me back while I was typing this and he isn't positive but guesses that it will price out in the ballpark of $12-$15,000 (I don't say "ballpark" ever, but I couldn't say "range" without cringing). 

Anyway, what I began to think (aside from WTF?!) is: well wait a minute, what is it that is so special about this LaCornball range?  It isn't the cooktop itself - that looks pretty much like every other five burner induction cooktop.  It's the table!  They turned a range into a sleek, sexy piece of furniture.  Well, if that's all they did then what's the big deal?  Induction cooktops are thin and easy to install.  You can drop them into pretty much any countertop of any material without a whole lot of margin to the sides or back.  Look...

So, with all the kitchen pimping going on out there, why hasn't anyone dropped a cooktop into something a little more interesting than granite or butcherblock?  And, more important, if I could drop an induction cooktop into any surface, what would it be? 

Well, that's easy!  I'd drop it into a Detroit Jewel, right?

Could I remove the top half of this stove and pull out the insides and drop in a new cooktop?  Even if I had to get a piece of stone cut to sit on top of this to make the opening just right, isn't that going to look a little big cool? Maybe?  Am I the only one who thinks so?

Or could I get a cool old set of enameled iron table legs like are on the Detroit Jewel and have a cabinet built to sit on top that the cooktop drops into?


Could I get use fittings stripped off this old Majestic stove to adorn an old oak table with a stone top on it?

I need to get some better photo compositing software so that I can collage together a picture of the thing I have in mind. 
Anybody?