Gallery feel achieved with Spanish floor tile
“I’m an architect and have been a general contractor for the past 38 years,” said Logan. “I also own an art gallery. I like contemporary abstract art. I have a lot of art that I wanted to also see. This house was perfect because there were so many places where I could show art.”
Logan explained that he came to learn of the townhouse, which is located in the Galleria area of Houston, when he did work for a client that lived in the residence next door. “Even though I’m an architect, I purchased the home,” he said. “It was next door to a 10,000-square-foot townhouse that I did for a client. This butted up to it. When it went up for sale, I bought it. I gutted it and redid the outside.
“One thing that I didn’t change right away was the floors,” Logan went on to say. “They were parquet, and I didn’t like them from day one. Finally, I said, ‘I had enough.’ I came upon Erick [Calderon of La Nova Tile Importers] and his product, and I fell in love with that tile, so I replaced [the parquet].”
The architect chose the Connec collection from Tile of Spain-branded manufacturer Saloni in the color Bronce (Spanish for “bronze”). To complement this, he selected tile from the Sabbia series by Spanish manufacturer Todagres in the shade of Perla with a natural finish. “I knew that I wanted tile 100%,” said Logan. “I’m not a wood floor advocate. I like that hard contemporary look. Plus, I like the maintenance-free aspect of it.
“What I really love about this tile is the matte finish and that it has no joints,” the architect went on to explain. “It has a dull finish on it. I didn’t want a high-gloss tile with big joints, and more importantly, I didn’t want a busy tile.”
A little more than 1,000 square feet of tile from the Connec collection was used in 24- x 24-inch format for the expansive living room space. “I wanted large format,” said Logan. “It is a big room that kind of goes into side rooms. I knew a bigger format would allow me not to have little slivers [of tile] all over the place. It worked out well in that respect.”
For the entry foyer and kitchen, nearly 700 square feet of tile from the Sabbia series were employed in a 16- x 24-inch format. The slightly smaller tiles were selected because the spaces are a smaller.
Upon entering the foyer, there is a step down to the living room and then two more steps down to the kitchen. “It was deceptive when it was all one [flooring] product,” explained Logan. “The two colors came about from that standpoint. The lighter color for the entry foyer and kitchen and breakfast area highlights the fact of the changing levels.”
Once completed, Logan was very happy with the result. “I have had people come in who don’t really like contemporary and said that they love it,” he said. “Some thought it was concrete that I stained and scored. Houston is not the capital of contemporary homes. I’m limited to how many I get to do. This isn’t a product that I can bounce around too many clients, but I have friends though who are architects, and two have already called [La Nova Tile Importers] to talk about the tile.”
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