Custom Made

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Custom-Made Italian Tiles for a Pool Fountain

Making a splash

The setting of the pool fountain is the spacious garden of a 1859 mansion located in the historic Garden District of New Orleans. The commissioner, a preservationist, purchased this gorgeous Henry Howard property with the intention of restoring it to its former glory and turning it into her family home. She had a deep passion for Italian ceramics and was seeking custom, hand-painted tiles for her pool fountain wall.

“As to the pool fountain wall, I want to make sure that the tile design can be enjoyed from a distance of up to 20 feet, meaning the design scale should be large enough to be appreciated from a longer distance, as well as close distance”.

This is the spectacular pool fountain we created:

We collaborated with Ghenos, a most talented Sicilian artist, and recommended a pattern of tritons and shells. Triton, a god of the sea, is a feature of some of the most beautiful Italian fountains, often portrayed with a conch shell, which he blew like a trumpet to calm or raise the waves.

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Ceramic wall art: ND Dolfi tile panel

Commissioning an Italian artist with a site-specific art project

Handcrafted Italian Tile ND21 by ND Dolfi Tuscany

The first time I saw ND Dolfi’s amazing Tuscan tiles, I was visiting the artist’s studio in Montelupo Fiorentino. It was over 15 years ago.
Silvano Dolfi had created large tile panels supported by free-standing iron structures. The multi-colored installations dotted his lawn, positioned so he could see them from the large windows of his beautiful Tuscan casale. Similar to giant paintings, they acted as a strange reversal of the common indoor-outdoor decoration.

I saw them again a few years later in his daughters’ workshop. They were grouped to form large, textured surfaces – each tile fighting for attention with its bold colors and unusual patterns.

By then, Natalia and Daria had followed in the steps of their famous father and started contributing to ND Dolfi’s collections.

ND Dolfi ceramic tile panel mounted on an iron structure in the artists' studio

I knew I wanted those tiles in my life, but I had to wait until I had the right space and an inspiring décor idea. A few years later, I completed the renovation of my family’s country house and realized that the living room – its 15-foot high ceilings and large windows overlooking the garden – was the perfect space for a large tile panel.

However, it took me a few years of living in the house to know exactly what I wanted and how to achieve it. At that point, I was ready to commission Natalia and Daria Dolfi my ceramic wall panel.

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Custom Made Show-Stopping Ceramic Floor

Sometimes, the most show-stopping design element in a room is beneath your feet.

Our Client was looking for a custom-made floor for his study. He was building to home to go and spend time in after his retirement, surrounded by his most prized possessions.

His Italian dream floor would have to be hand-painted in golden and green hues, with the most intricate elements of the pattern set along the perimeter of the room, leaving the centerstage to a large antique desk. His source of inspiration was Rosa Azul, a Sicilian tile panel hand-painted by Ghenos.

Italian tile panel or side tabletop Rosa Azul hand-painted by Ghenos in Messina, Sicily

We discussed the project with Ghenos and presented the Client with a preliminary sketch.

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