Six Designs Inspired by Stone

I’ve been working with Floor & Decor on a few posts for the blog around the three main things they carry: wood, tile, and stone. I’ve already shared my experience with wood (and bamboo), and six designs inspired by ceramic and porcelain tiles. Today, I’m sharing another six designs, but this time inspired by stone. I went to my local Floor & Decor and picked up a whole bunch of my favorites, then came home and played around with paint swatches, wallpaper samples, and other elements to create different designs.

Travertine Tile

A lot of people, myself included, hear “travertine” and think “nineties.” It was used everywhere it seems, and it can read as boring (or worse, dated). It has a lovely, earthy quality to it though, and when paired with sharp contrast and/or vivid color, it serves as an organic element to ground a room.

• Argento Brushed Travertine Tile

• Black and White Patterned Ceramics

• Green Lacquered Accessories

• Paint (Garden Spot and Arugula)

Basketweave Marble Tile

Classic. More formal than subway and hexagon tile, but versatile in the same way. It would look stunning in a room with white walls and white painted woodwork, letting the tile be the star, but it could easily take a supporting role too.

• Bianco Carrara Basketweave Marble Mosaic

• Thurman Unlacquered Brass Sconce

• Ceramic Hedgehog Planter (shown with succulents)

• Paint (Swan White)

Slate and Marble Mix

These two almost match, but because they’re different materials, they play off of each other and are more interesting. A change in scale helps too. I would use slate for the floor and line the walls of a glass-enclosed shower with the mosaic marble, then bring in a muted color for the walls. The silver beetle here is representing silver finishes, but go ahead and add a random bug object too. Why not?

• Basalt Linear Marble Mosaic Tile

• Black Decorative Slate Tile

• Paint (Glass 01)

• Silver Rhino Beetle

Geometric Marble Mosaic Tile

Cute, cute, cute. The geometry of the tile with all of its squares and triangles is cut by the looser style of the floral wallpaper. Paint the ceiling pale pink. Bring in a vintage dresser and cut the top for a sink, freshening the whole thing up with a glossy coat of paint. Boom — the most adorable bathroom.

• Gray and White Squares Marble Mosaic

• Rifle Paper Co. Rosa (Persimmon) Wallpaper

• Painted Vintage Dresser as Vanity (Quite Coral)

• Paint (Pink Shadow)

Gray Marble Chevron/Herringbone Tile

They’re calling this “chevron” but it’s really herringbone. Either way, it’s a classic pattern that went through a huge resurgence in popularity over the last, what, five to seven years? Done in a single color (of marble, in this case), it resists being pegged as trendy. Play off of that with a mix of trendy-right-now blue and white chinoiserie and more simply patterned fabrics. Grayish blue on the walls pulls the whole look together.

• Gray Chevron Marble Mosaic

• Blue and White Chinoiserie

• Blue and White Fabric

• Paint (Smokestack Gray)

Graphic Basketweave Marble Tile

You can’t quite make it out from the sample of the wallpaper here, but those are surveillance cameras hidden among the flowers and butterflies. Brilliant, right? The perfect kind of quirk to bring to a bathroom with pink fixtures. Update the walls, bring in a little dark paint on a wooden mirror, use a mosaic on the floor that’s a nod to the designs of the fifties (but much more chic), and leave the pastel tub, toilet, and sink.

• White and Gray Weave Marble Mosaic

• Vigilant Floral Wallpaper

• Paint (Tavern Charcoal)

• Vintage Pink Tub, Toilet, Sink

Do you find yourself drawn more to natural materials like stone, or do you like the options that ceramic and porcelain tiles make possible? I’m more often drawn to the latter category, but then aren’t we all smitten with marble?