Out by the lake in Chapin, an outdoor kitchen calls for stone that can take whatever the Midlands throws at it, and leathered Steel Gray granite handles that job without complaint. The leathered finish gives the surface a soft, textured feel instead of a glossy one, so it reads more like natural rock sitting outside where it belongs. Under sun or porch light it doesn't throw glare back at you, and that texture actually helps hide water spots and fingerprints that would show up fast on a polished top. Steel Gray is a tough granite to begin with, dense and consistent, and it holds up to the swings in temperature and humidity you get living near Lake Murray. Outdoor kitchens take a beating that indoor counters never see: grills throwing off heat, rain, pollen, the occasional forgotten pot left sitting too long. This stone doesn't flinch. We fabricated and set the slabs with the same care we'd give an indoor kitchen, tight seams, level surfaces, everything templated to the grill and prep layout so there's no guesswork once it's installed. We finished the edges eased, which is the right call for a space like this. It keeps the line clean and durable without adding anything fussy that would just catch chips or wear oddly outside over time. Day to day, this countertop is built for real use, not just looks. Set a hot pan down, wipe up sauce, hose off pollen in the spring, it all rolls off without drama. Leathered granite doesn't need to be babied, and a light sealing keeps it performing that way for years with minimal upkeep. It's the kind of stone that fits right into lake life in Chapin: durable, low-maintenance, and built for people who actually cook and entertain outside instead of just looking at a nice kitchen through a window.

This refaced kitchen is now bright and cheery, reflecting the homeowners personal style. While the home is modest in the range of color choices, it's got lots of style. A sophisticated motif without a lot of clutter. Cabinet refacing saved a lot of their budget allowing them to upgrade change the countertops and backsplash too. When you remodel the kitchen, the more elements you can change the bigger the transformation. Many times when you try to leave in and work off an existing element of the room, it holds you back in terms of design. The countertop color highlights the beautiful walnut glazing on the the cabinet doors. Enriching the space with a subtle undertone of warmth. The Sonora Corian countertops are a warm cocoa color with sublte swirls of gray and brown, contrasting and blancing the rich antique white cabinetry. Corian is a solid surface material that will last for decades. Corian is strong and durable material that is bacteria resistant and doesn't scratch or stain. We continued with the Corian for the backsplash picking up the colors of the cabinets and the countertops with Sandlewood. The swirls of coco, off white and gray, continue with the muted palette. They chose Corian for the backsplash because they didn't want to deal with grout and tile as they did in the past. The Corian backsplash will never need sealing or regrouting, creating another maintenance free component to this updated kitchen remodel. This monochromatic color palette is now rich and inviting.The homeowners love of entertaining are now back and they love showing off their new kitchen! Photographer: David Glasofer

Out by the lake in Chapin, an outdoor kitchen calls for stone that can take whatever the Midlands throws at it, and leathered Steel Gray granite handles that job without complaint. The leathered finish gives the surface a soft, textured feel instead of a glossy one, so it reads more like natural rock sitting outside where it belongs. Under sun or porch light it doesn't throw glare back at you, and that texture actually helps hide water spots and fingerprints that would show up fast on a polished top. Steel Gray is a tough granite to begin with, dense and consistent, and it holds up to the swings in temperature and humidity you get living near Lake Murray. Outdoor kitchens take a beating that indoor counters never see: grills throwing off heat, rain, pollen, the occasional forgotten pot left sitting too long. This stone doesn't flinch. We fabricated and set the slabs with the same care we'd give an indoor kitchen, tight seams, level surfaces, everything templated to the grill and prep layout so there's no guesswork once it's installed. We finished the edges eased, which is the right call for a space like this. It keeps the line clean and durable without adding anything fussy that would just catch chips or wear oddly outside over time. Day to day, this countertop is built for real use, not just looks. Set a hot pan down, wipe up sauce, hose off pollen in the spring, it all rolls off without drama. Leathered granite doesn't need to be babied, and a light sealing keeps it performing that way for years with minimal upkeep. It's the kind of stone that fits right into lake life in Chapin: durable, low-maintenance, and built for people who actually cook and entertain outside instead of just looking at a nice kitchen through a window.

Out by the lake in Chapin, an outdoor kitchen calls for stone that can take whatever the Midlands throws at it, and leathered Steel Gray granite handles that job without complaint. The leathered finish gives the surface a soft, textured feel instead of a glossy one, so it reads more like natural rock sitting outside where it belongs. Under sun or porch light it doesn't throw glare back at you, and that texture actually helps hide water spots and fingerprints that would show up fast on a polished top. Steel Gray is a tough granite to begin with, dense and consistent, and it holds up to the swings in temperature and humidity you get living near Lake Murray. Outdoor kitchens take a beating that indoor counters never see: grills throwing off heat, rain, pollen, the occasional forgotten pot left sitting too long. This stone doesn't flinch. We fabricated and set the slabs with the same care we'd give an indoor kitchen, tight seams, level surfaces, everything templated to the grill and prep layout so there's no guesswork once it's installed. We finished the edges eased, which is the right call for a space like this. It keeps the line clean and durable without adding anything fussy that would just catch chips or wear oddly outside over time. Day to day, this countertop is built for real use, not just looks. Set a hot pan down, wipe up sauce, hose off pollen in the spring, it all rolls off without drama. Leathered granite doesn't need to be babied, and a light sealing keeps it performing that way for years with minimal upkeep. It's the kind of stone that fits right into lake life in Chapin: durable, low-maintenance, and built for people who actually cook and entertain outside instead of just looking at a nice kitchen through a window.

Recently it seems I am getting called out to an increasing number of new builds to sort out patchy grout issues. The reason why there have been so many issues arising is a bit of a mystery, but I put it down to a combination of things like poor quality grout, rushed installations, wet subfloors and the use of different batches. This recently built house in the village of Darton is a great example and in this case, I suspect two different batches of the same grout had been applied. Darton by the way is a small village in the Borough of Barnsley. Invariably these problems are picked up by the new owner on their snagging list, with the tiler long gone and the builder keen to get their final payment it is always a tricky situation to resolve. I find the best solution is to apply a Tile Doctor Grout Colourant, it’s a much quicker process than removing the old grout and replacing with new. Most new homeowners would not appreciate us ripping up their brand-new rooms and generating lots of dust in the process! Also, by using the Tile Doctor Grout Colourant it adds a barrier of the grout preventing dirt from discolouring it further down the line. Even though the house was brand new, the Porcelain Tiled floor was not looking great. The client was happy for me to go ahead and would take up the bill with the housebuilder. I first pre-treated it with Tile Doctors Grout Colourant Pre-Treatment. This removes any contamination from the grout which might affect the adhesion of the colourant and being an acid, it also etches the surface of the grout to ensure a superior bond with the colourant. The client chose our Light Grey colour which is one of 10 colours we offer. Once the pre-treatment had been applied, scrubbed, rinsed, and vacuumed away the floor was left to dry. Once dry we started applying the colourant, this is done with a small brush (a toothbrush is ideal) carefully scrubbing colourant into each grout joint and wiping off any excess that gets on the tiles before it is able to dry. Once complete the newly coloured grout lines totally transformed the floor and because the grout colorant is epoxy based the grout lines will stay stain free and never get dirty. The porcelain tiles were factory sealed so there is no need to apply a seal to the floor. I recommended the use of Tile Doctor Neutral Tile Cleaner to keep the floor in the best condition. It is pH neutral so is far less harsh on the surface than the everyday household cleaners available. It has a minty fragrance and is mild enough to use daily. They were very happy that the floor now looked as it should have from the start and was the finishing touch to their beautiful new home. Matthew Lovett South Yorkshire Tile Doctor

These photographs were taken of a bathroom and WC in a property in Histon The client had just had these modern Encaustic tiles laid a couple of months prior. The owner had never been happy with the final look of them and from the markings on the surface it looked like had been damaged in storage or left outside and neglected. They are a pretty unusual design so I can only assume the tiler thought their appearance was perfectly normal at the time of installation. I was confident I could improve the appearance of the tiles and gave the client a quote for the work. Whilst she didn’t want to spend more money on her new floor, she did want it to look as it should, so rather reluctantly she agreed to go ahead. Histon is next to Impington, they are small villages in Cambridgeshire, over the years the two villages have grown and have entwined together. Many villagers in fact do not know where one village starts and the other ends. The have 6 pubs in total! I wasn’t sure what had been applied to the tiles so after adding protective tape to the wooden skirting I gave them a deep clean with Tile Doctor Remove and Go which was worked into the tiles with a black scrubbing pad. Then to renovate the surface and remove the markings I honed the surface with 400-grit and then 800-grit burnishing pad using water to lubricate the process and rinsing and extracting the soil away after each pad with the wet vacuum. There were two areas that needed work so whilst one area was drying, I was able to get to work on the second and then return to the first later to apply a sealer. My product of choice for this floor was Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is an impregnating sealer which improves the colour and works by penetrating the pores of the tile and protecting it from within. I applied three coats allowing each one to dry before applying the next. The bathroom now looked as it should have done from the beginning. My client was very happy with the improvement and left the following 5-Star review. I only had my floor tiles fitted a few months or so ago and was so disappointed with them. I called Tom and within a few hours, he had transformed them! They look absolutely fantastic! Great value for money as well! I recommended that in order to maintain the tiles, she should use Tile Doctor Neutral Cleaner, this is a pH neutral cleaner which will keep the floor without harming the sealer. Many tile cleaning products are only designed for Ceramic or Porcelain tiles and are too strong for use on sealed floors where they will strip the sealer off with time. Tom Conlon Cambridge Tile Doctor

Tony Colangelo
Entryway - craftsman entryway idea in Vancouver

Lush berry red will bring out all the vibrant tones in a brick wall, beautifully complement roses or other red plants, or blend harmoniously with a solid red wall. Fashion a display of pure elegance for porch or patio with this classic vinyl planter. The Nantucket design features a bowed front, raised panel design, pronounced crown molding detail and improved overflow drains. This beautiful design is shipped pre-assembled and provides an appealing welcome to any home, combining exclusive architectural features with the timeless beauty of tradition. These exclusive designs also include a water miser feature in the base, storing water and releasing to the plant as it needs, hence reducing the frequency of watering. These window boxes never need painting, staining, or sealing. Unlike wood, our window boxes keep their good looks for years with just an occasional rinse with a garden hose. 15 year limited warranty. Steel wall mount brackets included. The optional decorative supports (set of 2) offer a beautiful finishing touch with a classic look. 2ft: Inside dimensions are 20"L x 8"W x 7½"D, outer dimensions 24" x 11½" x 10", holds approx. 2½ gallons of soil. 3ft: Inside dimensions are 31½"L x 8"W x 7½"D, outer dimensions 36" x 11½" x 10", holds approx. 3½ gallons of soil. 4ft: Inside dimensions are 43"L x 8"W x 7½"D, outer dimensions 48" x 11½" x 10", holds approx. 5 gallons of soil. 5ft: Inside dimensions are 55"L x 8"W x 7½"D, outer dimensions 60" x 11½" x 10", holds approx. 6½ gallons of soil.

Great spacious bathroom with lot of amenities. Photographer: Jon Upson
Large elegant master beige tile and porcelain tile drop-in bathtub photo in San Diego with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, medium tone wood cabinets, granite countertops, beige walls and a two-piece toilet

Contemporary Kitchen re-face in White Shaker cabinetry with 12" glass front upper display cabinets, Pental Stormy Sky quartz countertops and white 3 x 6 subway tile.

Inspiration for a large timeless dark wood floor kitchen remodel in Sacramento with a farmhouse sink, raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, marble countertops, gray backsplash, glass tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances and two islands

The grey trend has evolved in the last twelve months. Nowadays browns, beige and a touch of grey are in demand. Greige is the new buzzword. Heavier hand scraped or contoured products, the rage that started around 2005 has taken a back seat in most areas, while a softer wire brushed "ceruse effect" seen mostly on White Oak has been remarkably strong showing no effects of becoming “dated” like the others mentioned. Ceruse Color Possibilities There are numerous color combinations to the "cerused" process with the most popular being white or off white. This design trend in hardwood flooring can have darker gray white oak with a mild ceruse off white effect. There are limitless possibilities in either a prefinished hardwood floor or with what we can create for you in a custom on-site finished hardwood floor. If something suits your fancy, contact us and we can work on creating just the look and sense of style you are looking for.

Fantasy Brown Leathered dolomite went into this West Columbia kitchen, and it's the kind of stone that changes how a room feels the second the light hits it. Leathered finish instead of polished, so you get texture under your hand instead of a mirror flat surface. It softens the brown and cream movement in the stone, gives it a low sheen, and hides fingerprints and water spots a lot better than a honed or polished slab would in a kitchen that actually gets used. Dolomite has that soft, warm background movement, browns and creams drifting through each other, and it holds up well against everyday acids and scratching in a working kitchen. It's still a natural stone, so we sealed it properly, and the leathered texture actually helps there, it hides the wear that would show up fast on a glass-smooth surface. Getting the veining to read right across the seams is the real work on a stone like this. We template the room, lay the slabs out, and take our time matching the movement across the corners and the seams before anything gets cut, so the pattern keeps flowing instead of jumping when you walk from one stretch of counter to the next. It's slower than pushing straight into fabrication, but it's the difference between a kitchen that looks like one slab and one that looks like pieces. Edge came out eased, clean and simple, which is the right call on a stone with this much going on in the surface. You don't need a fancy profile competing with the leathering and the movement in the dolomite, the material carries the room on its own. Day to day it lives well. Set a hot pan down and it takes it fine, though a trivet never hurts. It'll take the knocks of a working kitchen better than people expect, and the leathered texture keeps it looking good years in instead of showing every little scuff. That's the kind of project we like doing around West Columbia and the rest of the Midlands, matching the right stone to a kitchen that's going to get lived in, not just looked at.

Fantasy Brown Leathered dolomite went into this West Columbia kitchen, and it's the kind of stone that changes how a room feels the second the light hits it. Leathered finish instead of polished, so you get texture under your hand instead of a mirror flat surface. It softens the brown and cream movement in the stone, gives it a low sheen, and hides fingerprints and water spots a lot better than a honed or polished slab would in a kitchen that actually gets used. Dolomite has that soft, warm background movement, browns and creams drifting through each other, and it holds up well against everyday acids and scratching in a working kitchen. It's still a natural stone, so we sealed it properly, and the leathered texture actually helps there, it hides the wear that would show up fast on a glass-smooth surface. Getting the veining to read right across the seams is the real work on a stone like this. We template the room, lay the slabs out, and take our time matching the movement across the corners and the seams before anything gets cut, so the pattern keeps flowing instead of jumping when you walk from one stretch of counter to the next. It's slower than pushing straight into fabrication, but it's the difference between a kitchen that looks like one slab and one that looks like pieces. Edge came out eased, clean and simple, which is the right call on a stone with this much going on in the surface. You don't need a fancy profile competing with the leathering and the movement in the dolomite, the material carries the room on its own. Day to day it lives well. Set a hot pan down and it takes it fine, though a trivet never hurts. It'll take the knocks of a working kitchen better than people expect, and the leathered texture keeps it looking good years in instead of showing every little scuff. That's the kind of project we like doing around West Columbia and the rest of the Midlands, matching the right stone to a kitchen that's going to get lived in, not just looked at.

Fantasy Brown Leathered dolomite went into this West Columbia kitchen, and it's the kind of stone that changes how a room feels the second the light hits it. Leathered finish instead of polished, so you get texture under your hand instead of a mirror flat surface. It softens the brown and cream movement in the stone, gives it a low sheen, and hides fingerprints and water spots a lot better than a honed or polished slab would in a kitchen that actually gets used. Dolomite has that soft, warm background movement, browns and creams drifting through each other, and it holds up well against everyday acids and scratching in a working kitchen. It's still a natural stone, so we sealed it properly, and the leathered texture actually helps there, it hides the wear that would show up fast on a glass-smooth surface. Getting the veining to read right across the seams is the real work on a stone like this. We template the room, lay the slabs out, and take our time matching the movement across the corners and the seams before anything gets cut, so the pattern keeps flowing instead of jumping when you walk from one stretch of counter to the next. It's slower than pushing straight into fabrication, but it's the difference between a kitchen that looks like one slab and one that looks like pieces. Edge came out eased, clean and simple, which is the right call on a stone with this much going on in the surface. You don't need a fancy profile competing with the leathering and the movement in the dolomite, the material carries the room on its own. Day to day it lives well. Set a hot pan down and it takes it fine, though a trivet never hurts. It'll take the knocks of a working kitchen better than people expect, and the leathered texture keeps it looking good years in instead of showing every little scuff. That's the kind of project we like doing around West Columbia and the rest of the Midlands, matching the right stone to a kitchen that's going to get lived in, not just looked at.

Fantasy Brown Leathered dolomite went into this West Columbia kitchen, and it's the kind of stone that changes how a room feels the second the light hits it. Leathered finish instead of polished, so you get texture under your hand instead of a mirror flat surface. It softens the brown and cream movement in the stone, gives it a low sheen, and hides fingerprints and water spots a lot better than a honed or polished slab would in a kitchen that actually gets used. Dolomite has that soft, warm background movement, browns and creams drifting through each other, and it holds up well against everyday acids and scratching in a working kitchen. It's still a natural stone, so we sealed it properly, and the leathered texture actually helps there, it hides the wear that would show up fast on a glass-smooth surface. Getting the veining to read right across the seams is the real work on a stone like this. We template the room, lay the slabs out, and take our time matching the movement across the corners and the seams before anything gets cut, so the pattern keeps flowing instead of jumping when you walk from one stretch of counter to the next. It's slower than pushing straight into fabrication, but it's the difference between a kitchen that looks like one slab and one that looks like pieces. Edge came out eased, clean and simple, which is the right call on a stone with this much going on in the surface. You don't need a fancy profile competing with the leathering and the movement in the dolomite, the material carries the room on its own. Day to day it lives well. Set a hot pan down and it takes it fine, though a trivet never hurts. It'll take the knocks of a working kitchen better than people expect, and the leathered texture keeps it looking good years in instead of showing every little scuff. That's the kind of project we like doing around West Columbia and the rest of the Midlands, matching the right stone to a kitchen that's going to get lived in, not just looked at.

Fantasy Brown Leathered dolomite went into this West Columbia kitchen, and it's the kind of stone that changes how a room feels the second the light hits it. Leathered finish instead of polished, so you get texture under your hand instead of a mirror flat surface. It softens the brown and cream movement in the stone, gives it a low sheen, and hides fingerprints and water spots a lot better than a honed or polished slab would in a kitchen that actually gets used. Dolomite has that soft, warm background movement, browns and creams drifting through each other, and it holds up well against everyday acids and scratching in a working kitchen. It's still a natural stone, so we sealed it properly, and the leathered texture actually helps there, it hides the wear that would show up fast on a glass-smooth surface. Getting the veining to read right across the seams is the real work on a stone like this. We template the room, lay the slabs out, and take our time matching the movement across the corners and the seams before anything gets cut, so the pattern keeps flowing instead of jumping when you walk from one stretch of counter to the next. It's slower than pushing straight into fabrication, but it's the difference between a kitchen that looks like one slab and one that looks like pieces. Edge came out eased, clean and simple, which is the right call on a stone with this much going on in the surface. You don't need a fancy profile competing with the leathering and the movement in the dolomite, the material carries the room on its own. Day to day it lives well. Set a hot pan down and it takes it fine, though a trivet never hurts. It'll take the knocks of a working kitchen better than people expect, and the leathered texture keeps it looking good years in instead of showing every little scuff. That's the kind of project we like doing around West Columbia and the rest of the Midlands, matching the right stone to a kitchen that's going to get lived in, not just looked at.

Jeff Green
Example of a large mid-century modern pool design in Las Vegas