Welcome to Color Calling! A blog about residential color, style, and entertaining.
PURE countertop at Z-Tile, Santa Rosa Beach, FL
image via Facebook
The PURE countertop type is so new that it isn’t to be found anywhere on Google.
And, the only fabricating company that I know of installing this product is
in northwest Florida.
A quick check to the staff at Aqua Sushi confirmed that they all “love it.”
It just looks so fresh and clean.
(A similar product that I have been keeping an eye on is called Nano,
but I am hearing that PURE is a better product).
Bossy granite is what I try to steer clients away from.
Bossy granite = lots of color and/or movement.
Even though granite was all the rage for the last 15 years (after the Corian trend played out),
Suzy, the owner of Z-Tile, where I first saw PURE, is Green-Certified. She says that PURE is
considered a very environmentally-friendly product.
Yoshino cherry tree
Still waiting for spring. It is still very cool and rainy here in Alabama.
I have a trio of Yoshino cherry trees in front of my house.
They are at peak, but need a little sunshine to set them off.
A Viburnum is just behind the pictured cherry.
Its lime-colored globes (which will later turn white)
are gorgeous in back of the pastel pink cherry.
The spring colors of nature.
If you have noticed that many shelter magazines are showing not one, but two,
chandeliers over a dining-room table, you are picking up on something.
And, that something is a trend.
For a classic, timeless, look, stick with a single chandelier over your dining room table.
Save the pair for a long hall .
Trust me on this one.
This is a trend, it will not last, and in five years it will announce:
Save the two chandelier/two lantern look for something like the above.
That is a timeless look that never goes out of style.
for the gift of Your love.
May I be a shining
example of that love to others.
Amen.
Welcome, Happy Morning!
My Easter Menu:
Honey Baked Ham
Crêpes with chicken and gruyère
Asparagus
Salad
Panna Cotta (click for recipe) with blackberry garnish
A French friend gave me her authentic crêpe recipe which I will share with you:
“CRÊPES de Laurette
1 1/2 – 2 cups flour [note from Ellen: I used 2 cups]
1/4 tsp. salt
2-3 TBS. oil
3 eggs
4-5 cups milk [note from Ellen: I used 4 1/4 cups]
Put flour + salt in bowl.
Make a well in the middle and add eggs.
Start beating and slowly add 1/4 cup milk.
Make a paste to get the lumps out.
With a mixer add the rest of the milk until well blended.
Let batter sit for 1/2 hour.
(It can last for 3-4 days in fridge)
Over medium high heat put vegetable oil in pan and pour
a little batter in center.
Swirl batter to sides of pan immediately.
In 1-3 minutes flip crêpe and cook side 2
for another minute or two.
Apply oil before you cook each crêpe. They can be stacked
and reheated.
Add cheese to cooked crêpe (swiss cheese) and salt.
Roll crêpes.
Dessert crêpes can be room temp.
Laure can make 40 in one hour!
(or 2 pans 80 in one hour!)”
(recipe of Laure Graves)
Purple Bunny
I am no good with all the wrist-y finessing required for a stove-top crêpe pan,
but I can do pretty well with an electric crêpe maker!
Readers, what are your Easter plans?
Did you know that different types of marble have different densities?
The more dense the marble, the less porous it is.
Higher density means less staining.
Alabama White (quarried just a few miles from where I live) is one of the whitest, densest, most beautiful marble types.
It is considered equal to the famous Italian Carrara (frequently misspelled Carrera) marble.
Alabama White marble was used in the Washington Monument.
The bust of Abraham Lincoln at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda? Also, Alabama White.
(I believe this is the right one, there are several marble busts of Lincoln at the Capitol building)
The Lincoln Memorial? My source says that the ceiling is Alabama White. Not sure you can see it, though!
U.S. Supreme Court Building? Interiors are full of Alabama White.
Here is a marble top I just received in Alabama White.
To go on this antique French garden table.
It will be permanently outdoors. I consider it a little slice of history to have Alabama White.
Alabama White is prized for its crystalline structure. It will be fine outdoors.
The {movement} is lovely and not too overwhelming.
For a table-top or small counter, ask your fabricator if there is a scrap piece
which is large enough. You will get a much better price than a slab price.
Alabama White. From my Sweet Home Alabama.
Daffodils $1.99 a bunch at my local Whole Foods.
That late 1970s/early 1980s disco song keeps rummaging
through my head.
You see, we just installed this darling marine bell at the beach home of a family member.
ring my bell
We installed it to relate to the door, without being too close to interfere
with normal comings and goings.
It has the nicest, most welcoming cling-clang.
Solid brass.
Adorable anchor-motif backplate.
Genuine marine-grade rope pull.
So much more “beachy” than a regular electric doorbell.
You can ring my bell.
Well, if you are Suzy, they certainly do!
Suzy, the owner of a brand-new tile center in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida,
showed me that your toes can indeed match your bath tile:
Suzy’s shimmery toes!!!
Suzy is hard at work selecting the tile for the upcoming Maison de Vie,
the showhome opening this summer at WaterColor resort in the Florida Panhandle.
Her company is the lead sponsor of the home:
She gave me a sneak preview of some of the hard surfaces she will be using.
Here is the floor tile she has selected for the master bath:
flooring
It feels incredibly smooth and cool underfoot. Perfect for a beach home.
She will be using this one in the home as well. Loving the soft beach colors:
wall tile
Look at the same tile as above with dark gray grout, for a completely different look:
gray grout
Another display in the showroom:
Q-tile vignette
I fell in love with this gorgeous cross-cut marble piece:
crosscut marble
Here are some other beauties:
This one looks like a coastal sunrise. Subtle and shimmery. And, very glamorous:
shimmery
What about this subway tile with an opacity that sets it apart? Stunning.
opaque subway
Moorish Arch
moorish arch
And another Moorish arch in marble:
marble moorish arch
Here is a new product I saw in Suzy’s showroom, which is green-certified, and makes a great surface used as a bath or kitchen slab. Suzy told me that a local fabricator installed this product for her, called “Pure.” It is a glass product which looks like the whitest marble.
I have seen similar slabs called “Nano,” but was not familiar with the “Pure” brand. I will be keeping an eye on this as the next big thing, and I would love to use this in a bath installation. It really looks like pure white marble:
Pure slab
Suzy, thank you for allowing me to take photos of your beautiful new showroom!
Susie
Can’t wait to see the showhouse when I come to the beach this summer!
This is not a sponsored post, just thought you would enjoy seeing some of the latest trends in the high-end tile market.
