Laundry Reveal

Shussssh! Don't tell the master bathroom but I'm cheating on it with this room. I find myself in here more often than is necessary - and for reasons that have nothing to do with laundry...


If I find my hands are a little dirty I'll run here to wash them - even if I'm at the other end of the house and have to pass a bathroom (or two) on my way. There's something about this Grohe K4 faucet that keeps me going back and stroking it every single time I go in the room. Lest you think I'm a crazy sicko, Nancy at the marble fabricator's office also has a fetish for it. It reminds her of a baby's bottom...


Speaking of marble, this is the same marble we used in the master bath and I just want to LICK it, it's so gorgeous. This piece over the Bosch undercounter washer and dryer will be finished when the fabricator cuts me new backsplashes - the installer used the long piece to make a 2" backsplash for the vanity upstairs - oops!


As for the Ikea Applad cabinets, they hide everything neatly away - including the vacuum and the ironing board - behind the softclose drawers and doors. At the moment most of the cabinets are empty but the plan is to use this as a mini-kitchen while we are undergoing the kitchen remodel. Oh, yes, I did just casually throw that out there; no stopping us now - we're on a roll!

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!

Cervaiole Marble - modern or traditional

Suddenly it's everywhere


I first saw mega amounts of it used in this 2006 Phillipe Starck bathroom. De trop, perhaps?


In this newly built Hampton Shingle Style house in the Incorporated Village it's paired with traditional cream cabinets. There's a lot of it and it's not really working for me. Too dark, maybe?


In Boston, this 2008 Watermark Awards winner contrasts the marble with simple teak cabinetry for a really successful sleek but warm kitchen.
Perhaps most successful use of Cervaiole marble is this backsplash and countertop in a modern home that's actually in the Hamptons. It's a multimedia guide so click on the top photo icon in the dining room to see the kitchen. Bright white, spare flat-fronted cabinets and white oak floors are light and airy while the veined marble gives a richness to the whole space. Lovely.

By the way, I'm awed by the New York Times new interactive guides. There's also a great one on Chinese food in Flushing, Queens for all you New York food freaks.