jackie dici

I think the best thing any designer can do is embrace original materials. Traditional materials like stone, mirrors, and textiles that have been around for decades. Why do I say this? I take the same approach to the hard surfaces in the home as I do the soft furnishings. If at least one thing in a room is old or original it adds history and character into the space that brings a room to life. Like a plant, but thats a differnt blog.

Hard surfaces like your floors, windows, walls, countertops etc. come in a huge assortment of materials these days. From man made and durable quartz to incredibly deceitful printed stone tiles, and hundreds and hundreds of stones and slabs with unique colors and veining. There is so much to choose from that we forget about the clasic marbles that built greek and roman interiors that designers still ooh and ahh over. My suggestion is to look at all the hard surfaces in the room and choose one to be the original timeless piece that is within your budget. So if you are looking for durability and cost savings in a kitchen for example. Perhaps you opt for porcelain floor tiles, engineered stone counters, and invest in a backsplash in marble, or a free standing island or table with a refurbished stone top to add some character.

About the mirrors, I treat mirrors as one of those added boom for your buck. Let’s say you want the walls to be marble, can one wall be marble and the opposing wall in mirror? It is literally smoke and mirrors trick that makes the whole room feel like it is wall to wall in stone. But just think through what it will be reflecting, you dont want it to relfect the back of a toilet or a refridgerator. Get my drift?