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“We have been working withPeter from The Worrell Group forover 10 years,” states Max Previtiof Portico Tile. “As a custom homebuilder, Pete has always chal-lenged us to be creative and yetremain on budget. Often timesbuilders will simply choose generictiles and textures in order to ap-peal to as many clients as possible,so the challenge has always beento be creative but to do so in apleasing and coherent way.”

Each home is unique, the styleand location for each project hasalways determined Portico’s direc-tion. Working with The WorrellGroup, Previti says “has alwaysbeen a team effort, Peter and his

design team have always beenopen to suggestions but attentionto details has always been themantra.”

This home sits on a beautifullot away from the hustle and bus-tle of the North Shore. It is locatedon a private drive and its splendoris quite apparent as you first driveup to it. The home is not ostenta-tious in the way of many NorthShore properties, but it exudes aserene and welcoming stancewhich can only be described as el-egant.

Therefore, it was importantthat the foyer in this home con-tinue the theme of elegance by theuse of familiar patterns and under-

stated colors. The stone used is arelatively new marble to the mar-ket place. It has a great range ofcolors, which can vary from whiteand gray tones to brown and redtones. For this project, Previti andhis team carefully selected a colorrange that would work in thehome and decided on a classicherringbone pattern which is de-lineated throughout the foyer witha simple white border. The borderperfectly captures the architecturaldetails throughout the home andvisually serves to contain the pat-tern within the foyer.

The popularity of whitekitchen cabinets has indeed chal-lenged many designers in the tile

industry on how to introduce abacksplash design that will com-plement the cabinets, work withthe countertops and yet still makea statement. There are two schoolsof thought on this process. Theclassic backsplash design will al-ways draw the viewer’s eye di-rectly to the area above the stovewhile keeping the remainder of

the backsplash muted. A new de-sign concept allows for the entiretyof the backsplash area to add in-terest to the space while simulta-neously complimenting thecabinets and tops. This kitchen hastwo focal points, the amazing de-tail in the hood above the stove aswell as the gorgeous views fromthe oversized window. “In this

concept, we needed to use a back-splash material that would providea maintenance free surface but onethat would also add a sense ofglamour,” explains Previti. Theglass mosaic does just that; it addspanache to the room and allowsanyone standing in the kitchen theability to take in the many detailsthroughout the room in a casual

Serene elegancePortico Tile brings elements of style to manor home

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JUDY WALKER

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and straight forward manner.Luxury. How else can anyone describe this amaz-

ing master bath? It is easy to walk into a bath likethis and be immediately overwhelmed by the tremen-dous attention to detail. “We needed to come up witha way to make a bold statement,” Previti notes. Thestraight forward layout of the room demanded astrong visual element. The high ceiling, the tremen-dous window and its views and the freestanding tuball needed an anchor, something that would keep thefocus grounded into the room. The bold floor detaildoes an amazing job of focusing the viewer on themain focal point in the room, the gorgeous bath tuband the tremendous views. The remainder of thespace demanded an understated elegance to compli-ment the tremendous amount of detail in the finewoodworking. The marble selected for the showerwalls has subtle veining and a beautiful white back-ground, it perfectly highlights the main detail on theback wall of the shower. The choice to forgo theusual linear border found in many tile installationswas a conscious decision to, once again, elevate theoverall feel of the space by keeping the details smallyet elegant, such as the unusual treatment of the ceil-ing tile detail as well as the simple mosaic layout inthe shower floor.

Luxury and splendor. Personality and practicality.Portico’s custom tile design throughout this homecomplements the craftsmanship of the builder andbrings elements of style to every space.

(Right and top farright ) A classic her-ringbone patternwas used in thepowder room tocomplement thefoyer. Althoughthese colors areoften used to-gether, the real in-terest lies in theway each of thesematerials reflectlight. Portico choseto use a honed texture for the 3”x 6” field tile while themosaic detail is polished. The effect is quite unique andglamorous.

(Bottom right) The biggest trend in the industry right nowis tone on tone. In lieu of additional colors, textural inter-est is created using a variety of materials. The horizontalpebble feature wall, large format porcelain and flat peb-ble mat in this full bath (one of six) make for a stylish con-temporary space.

(Below) The linear glass mosaic uses a combination ofshiny and matte finishes. The pebble shower floor is remi-niscent of a spa bath. The overall result is amazing.