For the living room of this Westport, CT residence, a three-color, contemporary theme was created using Pearl Gray and Absolute Black granite along with Athos White marble.

The floor pattern of the living room continues in the hallway, and the entrance includes an orchid flower mosaic containing a variety of marbles.

This 5- x 6-foot fireplace has a background of Absolute Black granite, with a fire design using Amarillo and Blue Maraconda marble along with Imperial Red and Absolute Black granite.

With its eye-catching color combinations and intricate design details, a private residence in Westport, CT, appears anything but traditional. Marble and granite are found throughout this elaborate home, and the materials are used to follow a consistent theme. "The whole place is very contemporary," said designer Arnold Kaye of Designs by Kaye in Westport, CT. "There is a black, white, gray and chrome theme throughout the entire residence." In addition to this pattern, both the living room and elevator hallway introduce a variety of other marble and granite colors into the home.

The black, white and gray theme begins with the flooring in both the elevator hallway and living room. Pearl Cray granite, Absolute Black granite and Athos White marble are used in slab pieces to form a square pattern that flows from one room to the other. "I chose the pattern because the black, white and gray squares are mirror images of the skylights in the living room ceiling," said Kaye. "Also, I didn't like the look of 12- x 12- or 18- x 18-inch tiles, so I designed the floor using slabs." The living room is 4,000 square feet and contains 2,000 square feet of stone. Each piece of stone is custom fabricated, and the square pattern found on the floor uses Absolute Black granite for the center with Pearl Gray and Athos White as two separate borders for each square.

Each black granite square is a 1-inch-thick, 44-inch-square slab, and Athos White marble is used for the first border. The second border, which is not as wide as the first, is the Pearl Gray granite. Additionally, at each square intersection there is a medallion created with the same three stones. "Each 8-x 8-inch tile medallion contains 22 individual pieces of stone," said Kaye.

Breaking up the pattern in the elevator lobby, an orchid flower mosaic is found at the entrance to the living room. The design is 30 x 60 inches and contains seven different types of marble. These include Rosa Verona, Verde Dark, Verde Light, Rojo Alicante, Amarillo, Imperial Red and Streamos Rosa. Bordering this flower is the Absolute Black and Pearl Gray granite, tying in with the rest of the flooring. "The orchid was done to match the floral pattern of the stain glass windows above the living room pool," said Kaye. "Also, to match the mauve carpet and Fior Di Pesco marble bartop."

In addition to the flooring, marble and granite were used to create a 5- x 6-foot fireplace that is set in the living room wall. This was accomplished using custom-cut, polished tiles which include Amarillo and Blue Maraconda marble as well as Imperial Red and Absolute Black granite. The fireplace background is Absolute Black granite, and the other three stones are used in a design pattern to look like flames.

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