In San Francisco today to look at tile and stumbled into
this gorgeous space…the showroom of François & Co
Founded in 1997, with manufacturing in Atlanta, Georgia,
François & Co has showrooms in Atlanta, New York, Beverly Hills,
Winter Park…and the San Francisco showroom that just opened this Fall…
more here
Beautiful fireplaces, walls, floors…
Up close…the authentic look of antique carved limestone…
Columns, kitchen hoods…
all made with a technique called Scagliola…
Have you ever heard of Scagliola?
“…it is a technique that was developed during the 17th century by impoverished
Italian monks…searching for an economical way to restore their monastery and
discovered that an aggregate of travertine, marble and limestone chips (Scaglia
in Italian), stabilizing agents and pigments could be combined to form a material
indistinguishable from the original stone. Using binding agents and natural
pigments the chips of stone were crushed and mixed to create a paste that was
applied by hand, layer after layer into a mold. After the product was dry, it was
sanded and polished all by hand.” More info here
Their Innova collection of hardwood floors
recreate the look of antique European floors…
They have a beautiful line of mosaics…here
and this empire tub made with the Scagliola technique…
At around $9500…not exactly a budget
tub, but a wee bit better than solid marble…
Beautiful website will get you dreaming here
Decorative lime plaster wall in first photo done by
artist Olivier Garnier…
See his portfolio and publications here