The prospect of retirement doesn’t just signal the end of a career; it offers the chance to recalibrate and re-prioritize in life.
Romancing the Stone
October 19, 2012
From the warm tone of travertine to the pitch black of Indian granite to the industrial edge of gabions, natural stone products lend a lot to the tactility and mood of a structure.
The house at 157 Congress Run in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming was a fine little place, a sturdy 1940s brick Cape with trim, boxy rooms and an undulating yard punctuated with old trees. The flooring in the kitchen and living area is honed travertine from The Great Indoors. The kids gather around a Heywood-Wakefield dining set, which resident and architect Terry Boling purchased from Mainly Art in Cincinnati.
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Originally appeared in Home Schooled
Locally sourced Italian slate covers the ground floor rooms of this farmhouse-turned-modern-residence; the coat rack near the entrance is from Zanotta. The walls are a yellowish sandstone called pietra gialla con sabbia erega, which is indigenous to the region and had special significance. “There are stonemasons in this area who have spent their entire lives working with this stone,” explains the architect, Filippo Caprioglio.
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Originally appeared in A Renovated Farmhouse in Northern Italy
A Vespa-riding dentist and curator, Dr. Kenneth Montague is one of a kind—and his home is equally unique. In the guest bathroom, a mirror, soap dish, hand towels, and a tray hang from a modular floor-mounted Autopole shelf system by Alu. The hardware adds an industrial note to the look of the room and takes up less area than a cabinet. The wall and floor are clad in a stone called Indian granite.
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Courtesy of
© 2012 Naomi Finlay
Originally appeared in Party-Friendly Apartment in Toronto
On the edge of a tiny island accessible only by boat, this buoyant summer home lives the life aquatic. Inside the sleeping cabin, a fireplace built of local granite marks the midpoint between two bedrooms and a bathroom.
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Originally appeared in Floating House, Lake Huron
Only glass separates the shower from the backyard of this modern home in Venice, California. The shower floor is ipe wood; the walls are covered in one-inch-square travertine mosaics.
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Originally appeared in Venetian Vicissitude
The modern kitchen is the focal point of this Austin home. Stainless steel appliances, including the Sub-Zero refrigerator, Fisher & Paykel dishwasher, and Viking oven and cooktop are seamlessly integrated with the natural maple paneling. The marble used for the countertops is Bianco Carrara. “It’s just a very clean palette,” resident Erik Gonzalez explains.
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Originally appeared in Home Cooking
The tiny budget used to build New Zealand home still allowed room for some strategic splurges, such as the vivid green Verde Ming marble in the house’s only bathroom.
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Originally appeared in The Great Compression
In the process of renovating this Cambridge, Massachusetts, house, architect Beat Schenk discovered native flagstone in the basement when he tore away the old wood wall lining, and fell in love with its rough and cool exterior.
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Originally appeared in Four Houses and a Future
A new owner with a light touch has kept Marcel Breuer's 1959 Hooper House II a marvel of the mid-20th century whose life will extend well into the 21st.
A large rectangular cut in the back wall of the house creates views from the entrance through a courtyard to the trees and lake beyond.
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Originally appeared in Marcel Breuer Hooper House II
This modern home on New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island boasts a covered terrace to encourage outdoor living in the locale’s temperate climate. The gabion walls are filled with local stone.
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Originally appeared in Bach to Basics
A striated concrete wall designed by Pollen Architecture & Design contrasts with the rough limestone rock of the Balcones House's existing stair column.
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Originally appeared in Hillside Mid-Century Home Renovation in Texas
The house at 157 Congress Run in the Cincinnati suburb of Wyoming was a fine little place, a sturdy 1940s brick Cape with trim, boxy rooms and an undulating yard punctuated with old trees. The flooring in the kitchen and living area is honed travertine from The Great Indoors. The kids gather around a Heywood-Wakefield dining set, which resident and architect Terry Boling purchased from Mainly Art in Cincinnati. Photo by Chad Holder.
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