In today's fast-paced culture, men and women alike have hectic work and home schedules. As adults, we often over-book ourselves with work, or our kids with school activities and birthday parties. Having a calming space at home to recharge may be more beneficial than we realize. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos talks about the importance of a work-life harmony, not balance. Let's check out our own client spaces that strike a cord with harmonious designs.
We may not be able to help you organize your schedule at work, but we can help you at home. Harmonious spaces incorporate design principles like those of Feng Shui. We've all heard the of term Feng Shui, but what is it? Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of using energy forces to achieve harmony. It places an importance on the mind, body, relationships and success. The name itself, 'feng' meaning wind and 'shui' meaning water, includes two forces that move energy. When it comes to interior design, Feng Shui is thought of as the art of placement, because you want to optimize how the energy flows around your home. It's organized into five main principles to promote a healthy mind, body, home and energy: wood, earth, metal, water and fire.
How you arrange or incorporate all or some of the elements into your home creates harmony and flow. You don't want any one element to greatly outweigh another. Incorporating each element also doesn't have to be literal. The color red, for example, can represent Fire. Feng Shui is a highly talked about and researched topic. It takes a quick search on Amazon or Google to know that your options for books and articles are endless. Knowing the principles mentioned here merely scratches the surface. For our purposes, we're OK with that. We like surfaces, especially tiled surfaces. Let's see how our clients' tile renovations, whether a single room or an entire home, promote harmony by way of Feng Shui.
Earth: The 6"x24" wood plank tile used in and outside the walk-in shower, comes from our Lux Wood Collection, and represents the element of Earth well. The dark brown color not only reminds us of rich soil from the ground, but it brings stability and balance to the design by grounding the space. Water: Moving to the wall that does double-duty as an accent in the shower and behind the vanity, our special-order Ambra Collection features natural limestone with a hand-carved relief. The tile's matte and polished finish along with the pattern, creates a water-like movement. Like sunlight dancing off the ocean's surface, the tile's watery effect and light green color promote serenity in the space. Fire: Underfoot, our Vestige Zebrano Collection was used. The 12"x24" marble tile features a deeply brushed finish, similar to a flamed or textured finish, that accentuates its linear veining. Like any marble, our Vestige collection features a range of color variation to be expected from a natural stone. Wood: The floating vanity in the space takes a cue from the water-like tile behind it. Within a space, using the element of Wood fosters creativity and allows for growth. Metal: From the wall-mounted towel bar and hanging sconces, to the vanity hardware and shower controls, the polished stainless metal accents round out the last element in Feng Shui design. Using metal in a design represents logic and intelligence. Don't most great ideas come to you while taking a shower?
Want more moments of zen? Check out our gallery post, Tranquil Master Bath, that features an Asian-inspired master suite.
Earth:Quarried from the earth, this master bathroom retreat features natural stone on several surfaces. The his and hers vanity tops feature Cararra marble slabs. On the main floor, the chevron pattern of our 3"x12" polished Marmara natural stone tile leads you to the large walk-in shower. There, the bottom-half of the shower walls, and the shower floor feature our Bianco Cararra Collection, with the use of the 18"x18" large-format field tile, and 4"x4" mosaic.
Water:Moving up the shower walls, our 3"x6" glass subway tile from our Naturals Collection, mimics water's glassy surface and reflection. The large rain shower head also adds a luxurious water element to the shower area. The color seen here, Storm, reminds us of storm clouds ready with rainfall. Outside of the shower, the element of Water is also evident in the blue-grey finish used on the cabinetry.
When using stones like Bianco Cararra marble, veining and color range is natural. Know what to expect from our blog, Expect the Unexpected from Tile Variation.
Earth: Like marbles used in the previous projects were quarried from the earth, so was our 12"x24" Brazilian Black slate used in a herringbone pattern throughout the home's main level. The natural cleft slate provides a strong and stable foundation from room to room. In the kitchen, pictured above, the pattern of the tile runs the same direction as the base cabinets, keeping the overall look clean and uncluttered. The granite countertops are also clutter-free. The cool grey tone of the counters is in keeping with the dark grey slate floors. Both of which balance the warm rich tones of the surrounding wood cabinets, or the large beams and plank wood ceiling above.
Water:While the elements of Earth and Wood are dominant in the home's design, the element of Water is used less but is still present. The master bathroom's walk-in shower features a blue mosaic tile. The tile's color references Feng Shui's element of Water. Fire:In the living space, a single-slab of granite clads the fireplace. Just as the granite countertops in the kitchen use grey tones similar to the slate tile floor, the fireplace material does too. The installation of the fireplace enhances the home's contemporary feel even
Love this project? See more from this home, with our blog, A Clean Slate: How Rough Slate Can Have a Clean Aesthetic.
For further questions about the tile featured here, or to place a tile order, please contact [email protected]. Want weekly updates about Architessa and our product lines? Join our newsletter here.