I don’t like the words, “trendy” and “trends” when it refers to kitchen design. Trendy almost always suggests a negative connotation, and it implies that your design will inevitable go out of style. The last thing you want to do is spend a large sum of money on your kitchen then realize it is out of style as soon as
Read moreMy husband and I are in the process of designing a small addition to the back of our brick, 1930s Cape Cod. As much as we dislike the idea of altering the architecture of the original structure, it is becoming a necessity to fit the needs of our growing boys who are headed for adolescence (btw, this scares the crap
Read moreTerrazzo is a custom flooring that originated in Italy. Venetians developed terrazzo floors, because they wanted to reuse leftover or broken marble chips from large, marble slab and/or tile projects. These chips of marble are laid in a pattern, then a concrete or epoxy resin is poured on top of the marble pieces. After the resin dries, the floor is ground
Read moreI recently visited the Serena & Lily website, and I was pleased to find it a great source for dining chairs. I was so pleased, in fact, that I encouraged a friend to purchase the Riviera indoor/outdoor chairs. She loves them. Not to sound cliché, but they remind me of Paris. They add a great pop of color and interest to any dining room. I
Read moreAs a follow-up to my post last week, if tile is not your thing, I have solutions for you: For a kitchen backsplash, I prefer to specify a thinner version of the same material as your countertop. My favorite countertop materials are quartz (a man-made or engineered material), quartzite (a natural sandstone that is heated and hardened), and marble. Silestone
Read moreThis is a frequent question that I hear from my clients. My general rules are the following: For a white marble or ceramic mosaic (for example: hexagon, penny or basketweave) on a bathroom floor, I prefer a light to mid-gray grout, because you don’t want dirt to show immediately and it’s difficult to keep the white grout clean on floors … believe me.
Read morePhotos and a summary of my Miller Beach project can be found here.
Read moreCheck out these painted concrete tiles from Sabine Hill that I recently found while researching tile for my client’s kitchen backsplash. They can be ordered from Artistic Tile – my favorite source for tile because they represent unique product lines. I love the colorways and they are available in gloss or matte (I am specifying glazed tile for the backsplash for easy cleanup). This Seville design has
Read moreHere is a just a sample of my photos of a completed project in a new construction, two-bedroom, two-bath vacation home in Lakeside, Michigan. The owners are an architect and a realtor in Chicago. The architect owner who designed the house took advantage of the site by capitalizing on natural light and views of the property with the use of large, sliding
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Rachael Franceschina 