Tile & Outdoor Wicker Decisions

Amanda Lindroth

 

Have you noticed that when you get involved in a new project, there are an overwhelming number of decisions to be made? A good example is tile. Having lived in the DC area for ages, everyone was all about wood floors. But in Florida, tile is king and I was fortunate to find a home with stunning limestone floors everywhere but the lanai and entrance. I have decided on shellstone for those areas, as shown in the photo above, and then went down the rabbit hole of tile size and pattern. 

Tile size used to be pretty limited - now every tile comes in lots of sizes and shapes and tiles are getting bigger and bigger, with 24" by 24" being very hot. And then there is the issue of pattern - I think I am gravitating towards French or Versailles pattern shown below that uses different size tiles - very European and elegant.

Shellstone in French Pattern

And I am just embarking on the world of outdoor wicker - again I am more knowledgeable about teak and metal; neither are great choices here in South Florida with the salt air and humidity. And I want something very low profile so as to not block my gorgeous views. And I am not a big sectional fan. I love vintage wicker and rattan like in the Amanda Lindroth space above, but it's definitely not as practical.

I think I'll just go out on the boat again and drink cocktails and forget about all this - LOL.

My Lanai Redo

Amanda Lindroth

 

As you may know, my last room to do at CCC is my lanai. My projects include -

1. Painting the ceiling Haint Blue - I have chosen Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue

2. A new ceiling fan 

3. New outdoor wicker furniture

4. A bar

5. New flooring

So, my painter broke his wrist and is all backed up on projects. Luckily I am in my new laid back Florida mode and it will happen when it happens. 

The flooring has been the Magical Mystery Tour. 

After looking at blue and white tile and choosing one, I started looking at porcelain tile and chose a marble lookalike, then still didn't love that and my flooring people have not been available to start yet anyway. I posted a while back before moving here about coral stone after seeing these Amanda Lindroth photos of her Bahamian home. In the photos, the floors and columns are coral stone. I did some preliminary research and did not find coral stone available locally and thought better of shipping in a ton of stone.

Then I was watching HGTV (I am an addict) and a Florida couple redid their home in shellstone. Eureka. I realized that it is a Florida stone and called shellstone here, not coral stone. As soon as I searched shellstone, I found local sources. It has half a dozen names actually including shell/shellstone marble, shell/shellstone travertine, and shell/shellstone limestone.

With my stunning limestone floors throughout the house, a beautiful natural stone is what needs to be in the lanai and entryway. Shellstone is like limestone and shares many characteristics, but is made of shells and coral. It is a natural sedimentary stone found right here in Florida. So today I am off to some stone places to get samples. I am crazy super excited.

Shell Stone

Amanda Lindroth - House Beautiful