Although I just returned home from Phoenix Friday night, I’m headed off to Miami for an incredibly early flight this morning – and as I mentioned previously, my travel doesn’t slow down much until late March. With the back-to-back business trips I didn’t feel like working too much around the house over the weekend. But I can assure you, after today’s trip, I should have one incredible hotel tour to share with you {actually two, however, the Miami one will likely be killer}. One of the few perks of frequent, exhausting business travel – visiting warm locales and great hotels!
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Over the weekend, I did make a quick trip to HomeGoods {you’ve seen these if you follow me on Instagram}. To my surprise they have a bunch of rolls of Serena & Lily wallpaper for $29.99!
And although I don’t plan to use much Radiant Orchid {Pantone’s color of the year} in my decorating, I thought this huge bench was pretty incredible. And it was on clearance for $119!
We also made a stop at Lowe’s and I saw that they now carry a Moroccan tile that is nearly identical to the one we used in our last kitchen backsplash. Plus, they offer a larger version that I also love!
I really enjoyed these posts {part I and part II} from The Wood Grain Cottage about how she found her style. Although our decorating styles are somewhat different, I love her home and a lot of what she said in these posts really resonated with me, particularly in my early decorating days. She also offers tips on how to find your own style. Definitely a work in progress for me!
I’ve also been doing some research on Carrara marble alternatives for our kitchen. There are a lot of great new products on the market that have a similar look and feel without the negatives sides of marble {etching, staining, etc.}. I found this post helpful. Unfortunately some of these products are so new that I am having a hard time finding good pictures of kitchens with some of these products. The ones I plan to see in person are Caesarstone Frosty Carrina, Caesarstone London Gray, Silestone Lyra, Silestone Lagoon and Cambria Torquay. Has anyone out there used these in projects? I would love to see pics in a real space!
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This post was also helpful and the image more clearly shows some of the options I am considering along with a sample of actual Carrara.
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I hope you understand my lack of posts throughout the next few days. I’ll be back Friday for another round of Fabric Friday. I also have a great giveaway lined up for next Monday. Have a great week!
We used Caesarstone in London Gray for our recent reno and couldn’t be happier. Here’s two posts I did about the countertops:
http://alwaysinasouthernstateofmind.blogspot.com/2013/04/ramblings-on-renocountertops.html
http://alwaysinasouthernstateofmind.blogspot.com/2013/11/ramblings-on-renocountertops-revisited.html
one of them should have after pics. 🙂
Have you considered Bianco Macaubas Quartzite? Doesn’t have that “pixelated” look to it.
Let me know if you find any more good info on carrara alternatives! I’ve been doing a little bit of research myself, but it’s hard to find pricing info or reviews for some of them.
I’m not into the Pantone color of the year. I feel like I’ve seen a lot more cobalt and indigo and radiant orchid!
Hi Sarah,
First, just wanted to say that I love reading your blog! I’m totally copying your board + batten wall for our guest room one of these days…
Coincidentally, we had Frosty Carrina installed in our kitchen a few weeks ago & love it so far. I’d describe it as more of a creamy white with subtle light grey veining. I haven’t posted a final reveal yet, but we do have 2 posts that might be helpful to you:
http://duoventures.blogspot.com/2014/02/kitchen-makeover-countertop-sink.html
http://duoventures.blogspot.com/2014/02/kitchen-makeover-choosing-countertops.html
Hope that helps! 🙂
Mel
I have ceasarstone and dandy marble in my kitchen and truly, the etching is troublesome. I love the caesar stone, truly non-porous and indestructible, wish I used it too on my island instead of the marble, but I just have to have the marble si I have to bear the ‘burden’ of it! Have a great trip, we were in Miami over the holidays and enjoyed our stay immensely at Fontain Bleu!
I used the Cambria Torquay in my kitchen Reno and it looks absolutely gorgeous! Here’s my post on the kitchen reveal: http://velvettoolbox.com/2012/06/03/the-kitchen-reveal-before-and-after/
HI I love your blog it is so informative and you have great taste, the company I manage installs and fabricates granite, quartz and marble so I wanted to give you some info on the products I have dealt with first hand. We have carried all 3 quartz lines you mentioned and still carry Silestone and Caesarstone. We do not carry Cambria anymore due to us having several issues with a couple of their products, none of which was the Torquay. The Caesarstone slabs in my opinion look more natural than the Silestone, Silesone slabs tends to look more like a pattern where the Caesarstone veining seems to look more random and natural. I wouldn’t personally recommend marble in any high traffic areas, it tends to stain and scratch a lot easier and a lot of cleaning products ruin the finish. Good luck with your decision, I just wanted to give you my observation of what I have seen at work over the last 6 years. =)