CALACATTA & CALACATTA ORO

One of the most dramatic looks from the Carrara region. The veins are all grey in the Calacatta. When the gold is part of the stone it is called Calacatta Oro. Oro means gold in Italian. The background color of the marble is white which adds to the contrast. This is why I recommend choosing your slab material first, to blend in trims, mosaics and tiles you need to find materials with a white background.

These are book matched slabs and they can be used with either of the long sides matched for shower stalls or this match for long kitchen counter tops. These slabs are close to 60" high so that you can get two counter widths and back splashes or laminate pieces. Book matched slabs are generally more expensive than regular slabs, but there are ways to mitigate the expense. Chinese marble has the same white background and the materials made in China are less expensive. If you blend in mouldings and mosaics made from those materials your overall expense might be similar to non-book matched slabs.

The gold in Calacatta Oro lets you use light gold in the floor and wall materials. Jerusalem Gold also known a Halila complements the marble. Jerusalem Gold is a limestone that is available in polished, honed, brushed and tumbled. From the same Jerusalem quarries is another strata that is called Benjamin Gray and is a great blend with the Calacatta.

Another great choice is Lagos Blue or Azul and Lagos Gold from Spain. This limestone has more movement in the stone than the Jerusalem limestone.

The finishes available on the Calacatta slabs are polished or honed. Personally I recommend marble tiles on the floor be honed or brushed to make them less slippery. Mosaics come in all different sizes and textures. For floors, walls and shower floors there are Calacatta penny rounds, hexagons, bricks and squares available. To change up the classic look you can use glass or metal trim, mosaics or tiles. There are silver glass ovals or rounds from Sicis that can transform the classic to the extraordinary.

A source of some of beautiful kitchens and bathrooms using Calacatta and Calacatta Oro can be found at Velvet and Linen http://brookegiannetti.typepad.com/, please visit and enjoy.

CARRARA MARBLE

When I was eleven, I stood in front of David for the first time, it was a memorable moment. I would love to visit Michelangelo's David more often, but in the meantime I content myself working with Carrara marble. The beautiful gray and/or gold veined marble has been quarried since the time of the Romans. The sculptors who shopped in the Carrara quarries in their day included Michelangelo, Giotto, Donatello and Bernini. When you visit Trevi Fountain or Piazza Navona the marble fountains you see are from the quarries of Carrara.

There are several different grades of Carrara and then other types that are quarried from nearby hills. Calacatta and Calacatta Oro are very popular to use for kitchen and bathroom counters and slabs to put in shower stalls. Because there are so many different shades of Carrara marble I want to encourage you as designers and/or consumers to pick out your slab first and then get the tiles to match. Over the next few days I'll show pictures of the different kinds of Carrara marble and give leads for matching tiles and trims. It's sometimes like a jigsaw puzzle putting all the pieces together for a final unique look but for me that's where the challenge is and the fun.