This elegant bathroom designed by Soucie Horner is accomplished in so many ways; the deep-hued vanity with matching panels extending to the ceiling, the timeless style, and the book-matched marble tub surround. Book-matching is more commonly seen in wood veneers, but it is just as striking, if not more when done in stone! Book-matching is seen when successive pieces of stone are arranged side by side in such a way that the pieces "mirror" one another. This example above is not only book-matched but can be considered a double book-match, or a "reverse diamond".

"...Such a universe is beyond inagination: a world without color would be a world without light, for light and color are inseperable".
E. Ambrose Webster: Early Modernist Painter
This is the universe of Cristina Rubinetterie, an Italian waterworks company flourishing with eye-popping designs. The Sandwich series offers a shower experience like no other, where you are bathed in soothing colored light as well as intense streams of water. The incredibly thin profile of the over-sized shower head (just 4 mm thickness) compresses the water out, so uniform pressure is a water-saving result. Oh and the red, green and blue lighting? Well I would paint and tile my bathroom black too if I had this showerhead as my muse.

Mosaic stone tiles are becoming more popular and there is more selection out there now than ever before!
Solistone is new on my radar, and they are serving some major hits like this Pebble Mosaic in Balinese Nights.


Want to modernize the pebble look? Try the stainless steel metal mosaic tiles in Astro.
This would work in a bath feature shower, or even as a kitchen backsplash.


For another great metal look, the Folia Glass Tiles in Silver Maple has a true Mercury Glass appeal, very vintage.


The Modular Porphyry is durable enough to be installed indoors or out, what a perfect choice for the floor of this chateau. Simply Ageless. Check out other interesting tiles at Solistone, from punchy grid patterns, to curved subway tiles, they certainly have great selection.

Bandini is an opluent Italian company that carries many striking bath faucets and fittings. Take the Seta for example. The modern broken rectangle design is an elegant composition of chrome. The straight reserved lines of thise faucet has been coxed to bend with the water to the basin, and the operating lever has bent the opposite direction, giving the faucet a wonderful balance.

The Arya follows the same respect to water, with a glass extended lip for water to cascade down below. The wall mounted design offers many fun possibilities, like installed in the face of a mirror.  The clean lines and simple shapes are a minimalists' dream come true.