A Modern Look

April is Modern Month. We placed an ad with Florida Design Magazine that features our Modern Fireplace Mantels. Modern Design has been a popular style for many years especially in Cities like Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Denver and Dallas. These mantel designs really lend themselves to tying up the look of a living room going for a contemporary look. Architectural stone is a great choice when designing with a modern theme because of the ability to accentuate sleek lines through out a building.

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S. Ocean Blvd Palm Beach, Florida

This Italian Villa styled Home in Palm Beach was build by Woolems Inc. and designed by Smith and Moore Architects. We were given the opportunity to supply the limestone for the exterior elevations. as well as the marble fireplace in the living room. This style of architecture really lends itself to our work. Often times, it’s hard to believe that these limestone columns, archways, and window surrounds all started as raw block quarried in the central part of Mexico and then carved to fit perfectly where they were designed to go.

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2 Questions to Ask Yourself When Purchasing Fireplace Mantels

Whether you’re having a new home custom built or you’re looking to remodel, you have a lot of decisions to make. And some of the most important choices will come when you are considering fireplace mantels. Sure choosing your fireplace surround may seem straightforward enough, but consider the following questions.

1. Do you want to customize?

First and foremost, you need to decide if you want a fireplace mantel like the neighbor down the street or if you want something customized to your own specifications. Obviously those looking to remodel or customize their homes would be wise to have their fireplace mantels composed to match their space.

2. What material should you choose?

First let’s look at your main options: limestone and wood. Is that even a choice? Wood deteriorates. Wood stains. Wood fades. Limestone does none of those. And let’s not forget that wood can catch on fire, which doesn’t work very well when used around a fireplace…

When you answer these questions, the correct decision is pretty obvious. Choose limestone fireplaces for one of a kind, durable, and safe fireplace mantels.

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How to Choose Natural Stone Suppliers

On the hunt for natural stone suppliers? Here are a few things to keep in mind as you make your choice:

  • Choose a company that specializes in natural stone—Often when people want a door or a mantel, they’ll go shopping at one of those big box stores that specializes in…well…everything. But if you specialize in everything, the truth is that you actually specialize in nothing. When it comes to hand carved stone, you need someone with the skill to pick quality stone and to customize it to fit your specifications.
  • Look for a library filled with a wide variety of designs—Whether you already have a design in mind or not, you want to talk to natural stone suppliers who can show you plenty of examples in different styles. You never know if one of their many designs will change your mind on what exactly you want.
  • Opt for hand carved—What do you get with hand carved stone? How about a unique door, mantel, or a fountain? Something created by a master of his craft for you and only you. Hand carved stone simply cannot be matched in beauty.

Where can you find natural stone suppliers that meet these qualifications? Visit pietradelmar-ca.com today!

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Limestone Wall Cladding

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From the Quarry to your Home

Stone Quarries differ in Geographical location. This particular quarry was dug into the ground. Other quarries we use for Architectural Stone products are dug into the sides of mountains. One can see the magnitude of the quarry by comparing it to the heavy machinery that is is used to escavate the stone. Our quarries are located in France, Italy, Spain and Mexico. Although most of our stone comes from these countries, we have stone sources in Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Portugal depending on the material the client prefers.
After the stone is excavated it usually arrives at our carving facilities as a raw block. Once the carvers know what they are using the particular block for, it is sent to the saw for sizing into the required sizes depending on the product being manufactured. In this case, the limestone block was cut into smaller pieces to be carved in to a Fireplace Mantel.

Once the craftsman has the block wirth the right size and shape, he then draws the particular design onto the stone with pencil before it is carved into a unique work of art.

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Driveways

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Architectural Stone does not just mean limestone fireplaces or stone columns. Barbara Tattersfield Design, Inc./ Pietra del Mar, Inc. provides an array of  Architectural Stone options including limestone fountains, stone kitchen hoods and limestone wall cladding to name a few.

Here is an example of a  beautiful driveway in Jerusalem Cobble with a Beaumaniere Grid…The cobble expands outward in a circular pattern set from the pineapple finial at center. The Beaumaniere grid separates and highlights the driveways while it welcomes incoming traffic.

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Via Mizner Bench

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Last week we installed 5 gothic benches, designed by Barbara Tattersfield Design, in the historic Via Mizner location on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach.  They are hand-carved from natural Vicenza stone from Italy and an antique finish was applied to each to give them an aged appearance.  Each bench has a different base design; a griffon, a howling face, a dragon, a lion and a gargoyle.  If you are in the area, please stop by to take a look.

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Outdoor Living Spaces

As Spring and Summer approaches, homeowners naturally start to think about spending more time outdoors. There has been a trend over the last few years to create outdoor living spaces that are specifically designed to entertaining guests and family….  not just as a means for throwing the occasional barbeque. Barbara Tattersfield from Barbara Tattersfield Design, lead designer of the renowned architectural stonework firm in West Palm Beach, has noticed a significant trend with clients designing or remodeling their patios, loggias, terraces and poolsides to better accommodate the company they love to keep.

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Del Lago Mantel

Through international travel, upper echelon homeowner’s have become culturally savy and more refined in their preferences to incorporate natural stone as a means of function and design. Architects and landscape architects alike are further developing available square footage to enhance exterior lounges and outdoor kitchen areas which call out for appointments in natural stone. These outdoor living spaces have furthermore migrated from simple patios to principal seating areas with distinctive stone features. Garden settings are becoming more defined by integrating stone planters and carved benches, ravishing fountains and period urns. Fully functioning limestone fireplace mantels have also become more widespread within these custom home projects.

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Corso Mantel

Barbara Tattersfield Design and Pietra del Mar have been able to help clients bring these living spaces to fruition with the use of custom designed architectural stone. Thanks to its versatility to withstand all types of weather, natural stone is a great high-end option for your outdoor living space. The different color and texture options available allow for a seamless transition from your home to the outdoors.

Outdoor fireplace mantels are a nice way to extend the enjoyment of outdoor living well into the evening while creating a cozy conversation area for family and friends to gather around. There is a warm and romantic ambiance that surrounds a fireplace, inviting guests to sit, relax, converse and simply enjoy. A cleaning service ensures your space is always organized and prepared for future use.

Mattia_Mantel

Mattia Mantel

An outdoor fountain will bring relaxation, beauty and tranquility to your environment.  Architectural accents such as urns, columns and statuary can provide an element of elegance to your surroundings.  Planters and troughs are a convenient way to add greenery and lushness to your stone surroundings.  Have Barbara Tattersfield Design and Pietra del Mar help you design the ultimate outdoor space for your home.

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Palm Beach Project Completed!

Barbara Tattersfield Design recently completed an almost year-long project and one of its largest ever.  The 30,000 square foot home on the island of Palm Beach, Florida is a Palladian architecture estate with contemporary/minimalist interiors designed and constructed by J.P. Brennan Properties.  Barbara Tattersfield Design was awarded the contract as the sole supplier of the exterior, interior and the landscaping natural stonework which covered 80,000 square feet of vertical wall space and approximately 15,000 square feet of hardscape, namely flooring and pool coping.

The stone of choice was the Coquina shellstone from the Mayan peninsula of Mexico.  The stone is of a light cream color containing fragments of shell and sand but very uniform in color, a perfect choice for this contemporary architecture.

The project began with the exterior cladding using a combination of large 24” x 36” rusticated and flat slabs with Doric entablatures, pilasters and columns.

The project then progressed to the interior with additional wall panels in the same Coquina material.  The walls blend in beautifully with the bleached woodwork on the ceilings and the Jerusalem stone pavers.  In addition, a slab style fireplace was installed in the Great Room.

Finally, the work moved to the exterior with a spectacular pool area decked out with 24” x 30” x 2” thick Coquina pavers.  The pool and spa edging were also outfitted in the Coquina stone as was the dock on the intercoastal.  At the edge of the pool on the far end facing the water, an infinity edge wall streams water down to a pebble-laden reservoir.  Nearby is a Palladian style gym building cladded with rusticated slabs, Doric entablature and pilasters.  The balconies overlooking the intercoastal are decked with Doric piers with glass railings.

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