Natural stones in bathrooms...

Natural stone is a beautiful addition to any bathroom whether it's on the countertop, floor, or walls. Cared for properly, it will last forever! People are often scared of natural stone because it will stain, scratch, weather, etc. However, did you know that Michaelangelo's David stood outside for more than 300 years (with poor grade marble), and well, he still looks pretty good...so do the walls and mosaics of Pompeii, the columns of the Athenian Temple, and the tower of Pisa (despite its angle). Marble, travertine, and limestone are easy to care for, as long as you use the proper cleaning products. These stones are composed of calcium carbonate which is easily susceptible to acidic products, and whatever you do, never use CLR on a soft natural stone. CLR stands for Calcium Lime Remover, and if your stone is composed of calcium, well, you get the idea. Acidic products such as certain foods and cleaning products can etch the stone. Therefore, you must use a pH neutral cleaner. It's best to find a product that is specifically formulated for natural stone such as DuPont's StoneTech Professional cleaning and restoration products. StoneTech is available for purchase at both Creative Tile locations, and if you need to find out more about their products and how to care for natural stone, visit www.stonetechpro.com or the Marble Institute of America at www.marble-institute.com. If you have natural stone anywhere in your home, it's a good idea to keep all pH-neutral cleaning products on hand so that another family member or cleaning person cannot accidentally grab a bleach or ammonia bottle and ruin your beautiful installation.

Natural stones are no more difficult to care for than a fine wood, and as long as you have the proper cleaning products, they'll offer you no trouble at all. We regularly recommend and install natural stone showers, floors, and countertops in bathrooms, not only in customers homes but our own as well, and as you can see below, and the results are stunning!

Granite is also applicable to bathrooms but is most often used on countertops alone due to its slippery nature when wet. However, it is much more durable than your softer marbles, travertines, and limestones, as discussed above, and is not as difficult to care for...more on that in the next installment. :)

Luna Blend Travertine with 5/8" Dune Carrara Mosaic and an Ivory Pencil.

12" Crema Marfil Marble and Mosaic.

Ivory Travertine

Bacagli Blend Travertine with Dune Vetra Mosaico Hielo glass mosaics.

Fun with glass...

Beck Master Bath

Mr. and Mrs. Beck wanted a serene, monochromatic master bath. Becca aided them in choosing 18" Luna Blend Travertine, Ivory Kerdrai Tumbled Mosaic, and a Noce Pencil. The Becks are very happy with the way their project has turned out and were glad they chose travertine...a classic and enduring material.

More from Ferguson

Ferguson's Thermador vignette features 2cm Blue Pearl Granite on the countertops, black cabinets, and Solistone's Piano Glass on the backsplash. Designed by Becca Bertok of Creative Tile and Meredith Elliott and Cynthia Lancaster of Ferguson. Installation by Precision Tile.

Pardon Our Dust!

Pardon our dust!

We are currently updating our West Columbia showroom to better reflect new styles and series. The first floor section we've completed features the Ilva Landscapes Meadow series in 3 sizes (10x10, 10x20, and 20x20). We'll be doing some more demolition and installation but we're still here and ready to serve you! The West Columbia store is open Mon-Thurs 7:30-6 and Fridays 7:30-5.

We're also updating our in-stock items so the prices and available sizes are easily found. We're at the beginning of a complete remodel in order to make the West Columbia showroom more efficient and customer friendly. If you have any suggestions, we'd love to hear them! Otherwise, stop by to see what we've done and check out some new samples!

We have some beautiful, new stone and glass mosaics, and with the owner's upcoming trip to the Coverings Tradeshow in Chicago, we expect to have even more new and cutting edge items by the beginning of May!