April 1st, 2010 . Posted in Manhattan Beach 18th St Project | No Comments »
The translucency of glass is a nice contrast to a plain wall or the matte texture of honed stone tile. When light hits the glass it appears to “pop”, and catches the eye.
I love the mix of stone & tile in these mosaics. There a several color choices of these little gems.
Wow! I love this! Who knew volcanic rock could be this fantastic! This is called Basalt, very polished Basalt. The random modular pattern makes a nice texture. AND-because it is polished it glistens in the light.
This lovely stone tile is more interesting than your typical brick pattern. It’s natural stone, so there is some variation in the color, and the pieces are off set and a at differing widths for more texture.
Both of these mosaic tile blends remind me of Gustav Klimt, who happens to be one of my favorite artists. Why wouldn’t I love this?! This may have to be in the Powder Room as a focal point.
April 1st, 2010 . Posted in Manhattan Beach 18th St Project, Plumbing | No Comments »
There are many choices when specifying bathroom faucets. Some considerations are functionality, design aesthetic, finish availability, and availability of other plumbing components. Here you are first thing in the morning and at the end of the evening, in your bathroom.
The 18th Street project is a contemporary design with multiple bathrooms, five to be exact. I like to start with the lavatory faucet and work from there. The lavatory faucet is the most highly seen and used faucet in the bathroom, so it should be aesthetically pleasing to look at, especially the most highly used baths. With choices from deck mount to wall mounted, and two handle to single control I chose to mix things up with a selections from each category. I gravitate towards lever handles, as they are generally easier to use if we have gunk on our hands, or as we get older and our grasps are not as strong. Because this house is a contemporary style home I chose to go with a satin/brushed nickel finish on the faucets. I like the satin/brushed nickel finishes as they are not high shine so they don’t show fingerprints or water spots as noticeably. Chrome, I’m told is the most durable finish, but the downside is the reflective finish shows those water spots. Some makers of contemporary faucet lines do not use any other finish than chrome, so I knew if I had to use a chrome faucet at some point it wouldn’t be the end of the world. I also considered the other bath components required.
There are two bathtubs. One is a tub/shower combo filled from the wall and the other is freestanding tub filled via a filler on risers through the floor.
There are three showers to consider with the many, many choices of components. Those being pressure balance mixing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, shower heads from the wall, shower heads from the ceiling, hand held showers, and body sprays. Most plumbing manufacturers have complete plumbing suites to make it nice and easy to select the other plumbing components. The secondary bathrooms were straight forward. In the master bath I went outside the plumbing suite on the shower to a completely different manufacturer than on the lavatory faucets. As long as the two makers have the same finish (I always see a sample of each finish to compare) I feel safe mixing manufacturers. In the master bath the shower and the lavatory faucets are on complete opposite ends of the room, so if there is a slight difference it’s not noticeable.
March 17th, 2010 . Posted in Decorative Accessories, Kid Stuff | No Comments »
How cute is this? Wee Gallery has a variety of adorable wall graphic themes to choose from. All are self-adhesive & removable so your walls won’t be destroyed if you decide that instead of going on safari your child would rather live under the sea. Another bonus is they are made of eco-friendly polypropylene. In addition to the wall graphics, Wee Gallery has other decorative items for a dream nursery or kids room.
March 17th, 2010 . Posted in Lighting | No Comments »
Inspired by the agave plant, the Aloe collection by Jeremy Cole, is fun and sophisticated. Each fixture is constructed of handmade porcelain leaves. The arrangement of the leaves around the light source allows light to filter through as well as reflect off of each individual leaf. The fixtures are available in two color ways and can be ordered or customized in different sizes and styles.
February 21st, 2010 . Posted in Lighting | No Comments »
The Shoal Collection by Scabetti. Each fish is 6″ long white glazed or unglazed bone china. If you’re into fish Scabetti also has Goldfish and Glass Shoal collections. Each fish is made of reflected material or color, which allows the light not only to be filtered by them but light is also reflected from them.
Propeller Design’s Century chandelier made of art glass or eco-resin is 20″ in diameter and 42″ in length. I love this chandelier because it’s really warm in color and has a lot of movement.
Lindsey Adelman Studio’s “branching bubbles” light fixtures are very customizable. You can choose the number of lights you need and select from a few metal finish choices and several glass options to get the light fixture you envisioned. How cool is that?!