Stone Interiors of Gaston, SC, recently served as the stone consultant for an extensive renovation of the bar area of Milano’s Restaurant in White Rock, SC. Susan Cowan of Susan-Interior Design of Sautee Nacoochee, GA, was responsible for the design, which included the use of over 200 square feet of granite for bar tops as well as a fireplace surround, and travertine was also mixed into the design to add flair and interest to the space.
According to Cowan, the goal of the renovation was to bring the restaurant into the 21st Century. “We were going for a very updated, upscale look,” Cowan said. “It was a 1950s or 60s sort of place that basically needed a complete overhaul.”
For the countertops, the designer selected Galactic Gold Dust granite in a 2-cm-thick slab with a bullnose edge. The material was imported from Italy, and it was fabricated by Stone Interiors. A complementary 18-inch-high backsplash was also installed in the bar area.
The same material was also used on the fireplace surround, while Tantrum Glass mosaic tiles were installed around the granite to add contrast to the space. Furthermore, large-format Classico Travertine tiles surround the glass tile to complement the travertine wall tiles, which can be found throughout the entire restaurant.
In addition to granite countertops, a 12- x 12-foot granite piece was placed at the center of the dance floor area, and will complement another eight pieces that will be installed on the restaurant side of the space when it is completed.
Heather Martin of Creative Tile Distributors, which supplied the material to Stone Interiors, worked closely with contractor Jimmy Copeland and Cowan to establish the design for the bar. According to Martin, a new regulation requires all bars to be handicap accessible, which posed a few challenges as far as the installation was concerned. “They require a 5-foot-long section that is dropped to chair height, around 34 inches high,” she explained. “This piece of the stone slab was challenging because we had to figure out how to keep it all looking the same. It required extra bracing to be installed, and then we placed the slab on top of that.”