Marble Madness

The bids for the laundry room countertop came in - Carrara marble beat Group D Corian by over $300 which amazed me. It's the same stone we used in the master bath and fits in the overall color scheme of the house. But still, it really isn't what I envisioned for the laundry room. So for all the times I have ridiculed the overuse of marble and granite in home renovations, I APOLOGISE!


Obviously, we were trying to keep things simple. I could have gone completely crazy and picked one of these grey-toned beauties.


Or changed the color scheme to incorporate the red Porphyry or yellow Giallo Antico marbles.


At least we are stopping before the house looks like this!


All images from last month's visit to the Room of Colored Marbles in the Getty Villa where you can also find this very handy guide to the different marbles used in the room. Click to embiggen!

Stop and fondle the art

Today is phase one of frameless glass shower door fitting. (Try saying that that three times fast).


One panel is fixed to the wall and has to sit for three days before the door is attached. So it willl be a while before I can faire la toilette in the master mistress bathroom.


There's also no sign yet of the marble countertops that were promised early this week, so instead I offer for your delectation this copy of a Canova Venus in the garden of the Getty Villa. A notice nearby encourages you to "Please Touch!". Very much appreciated because I love to stroke the marble. Something I hope to be doing in my own bathroom very, very soon!

Little Phallicies

You know how it is when you are walking around an art gallery or a museum, something unexpected catches your eye;


you wonder if it's just you but it seems that everywhere you look


up


or down


inside


or out


there always a tiny piece of Classic art staring you right in the face


it's enough to make one swoon!

Inspiration after the fact

Shower walls: 8 x 13 porcelain tiles
I think the hiatus on the master bathroom renovation while I went to Palm Springs Modernism Week reinvigorated everyone. By late afternoon yesterday the shower was covered in anthracite Talis in a running bond pattern (the iphone camera makes it look brown) and half the bath walls were tiled in mosaic Eidos Grafito (both by Porcelanosa); perfectly positioned against the vertical Carrera marble slabs.

Master bath walls: 8 x 13 ceramic mosaic tiles
To tell the truth I was a little worried about the marble edge but it seemed the most creative way to solve the dilemma of joining two tiles with differing patterns and thicknesses. I'd never seen it done before - not in real life, not in a modern setting - and I wanted to ensure it looked neither obnoxious nor like the entrance to a mausoleum. After lots of research on the vanity top option I had decided marble would be the best way to keep within the grey/black palette; it also repeats the counter in the powder room and the credenzas in the great room and dining room, and I want to maintain continuity throughout the house. Once I'd settled on that for the horizontal planes it seemed fussy to add another element - wood - for the vertical.

Second floor Women's Restrooms, Gettty Villa: black marble mosaic tile
It's funny how you can worry about the details - even though the tiler, the contractor, the carpenter, the painter and most importantly The Guy assured me it was the simplest solution. I really seconded guessed myself for days and several sleepless night in Palm Springs until I found tranquility and validation in the restrooms of the Getty villa in Los Angeles. Mosaic and marble - classic but uniquely modern.