I’ve written about decorating with marble and creating flow a lot on this blog. And now? I’m using my marble backsplash tile as a starting point to create flow in my dining room and living room.
And since marble coordinates nicely with lots of colour, this is an excellent finish to repeat in my home. Here’s how to create flow with marble.
One of the reasons I fell in love with this new house was the kitchen. You’ve probably heard me say that the designer left after the kitchen was designed – ha! I’m not sure what happened to the rest of the finishes in this house, but for the most part, the kitchen worked for us!
How to create flow with marble finishes
The existing Calacatta Marble subway backsplash in my new kitchen was already a beautiful choice and I was so happy it did not need to be changed (below).
As it was, this became the starting point for the 24″ x 24″ Calacatta Porcelain tile I chose for the sunroom floor (still yet to be painted a fabulous colour):
This house was filled with so much taupe that I’ve been trying to replace, paint or refinish one room at a time. And one of the first finishes I wanted to replace was the dark taupe cast stone fireplace that certainly couldn’t stay taupe:
Real estate photo
Happily it just needed to be painted because otherwise it was perfect. And of course the grid moulding was removed, which in no way related to any of the other pretty moulding in this room.
When creating colour palettes that flow, look for coordinating colours you can repeat in other rooms. Colour flow generally starts in the living room. But in this case, I started in my kitchen.
And instead, I found a coordinating finish (that I already loved) and could repeat in my sunroom and then my living room. Since all three rooms are adjoining, repeating this marble finish helped make them all relate without being direct copies – marble backsplash, marble floor, and … marble fireplace? Yes!
So, I decided to also continue my marble inspiration in the living room by making this cast stone fireplace look like marble. It is an incredibly smart way to update this fireplace without replacing it.
I knew EXACTLY who to call to create the faux marble look I wanted.
Evangelia Kondilis is the go-to decorative artist in Vancouver who anyone calls when they want something fabulous created in their home. Evangelia does custom, hand-painted finishes and art. She is trained in Italy, France, Canada and the USA. Lucky for me she she’s local. She also installs wallpaper. What a fabulous combination of talents!
The fireplace was painted white to begin with and then the artist got to work to create the marble veining by hand:
And here’s the gorgeous after!!
Another view with the moulding changes above the mantel.
Evangelia also installed my mural. Because of my 10 ft ceilings there was 1 1/2″ left at the bottom, so she hand-painted it to match.
Here’s the before again:
And here’s the after:
Evangelia lives in the lower mainland but she loves to travel for projects too! If you need any type of faux finish painting or someone to properly hang wallpaper for you, contact her here.
Anyone else tried incorporating a faux marble finish in their decorating? I’d love to know!
Stay tuned for more room reveals coming soon! We are nearing the end of our first phase of renovation projects here at the house.
Did you know that I can help you choose a colour for your fireplace too? It’s an “add on” in my eDesign paint colour packages.
Related posts:
Don’t Install a New Fireplace without Reading this First
WOW! Just WOW. Well done!
That’s exactly what I was going to say! Just goregous, I love it!
Love it!
I inherited an ugly peachy marble fireplace. You actually can paint marble, so I did with an enamel paint, and then I stenciled on hexagonal tile. I can’t attach a picture here, unfortunately. It was an amazing transformation.
Oh, that sounds lovely! Perhaps you could email the photos to Maria?
Absolutely amazing….love, love, love the atmosphere created by the wallpaper and of course the marbled fireplace. The before pics of the furnished living room is sooooo bland and typical with its neutral colours and your gorgeous transformation is polar opposite!!! I would love to use wallpaper of that sort but my house is filled with my own art (oils) and it would be difficult to find paper that would accept the random nature of my work 🙁 The last shot shows how decorative touches make all the difference…even the branches and leaves in the vase connect with the same in the wallpaper!!!! May I ask what type of fireplace you have…gas??? I have a closed in gas fireplace and would love to change the look to this. thanks for the inspiration.
This home will be your forever home for sure. Quiet serenity.
Hi Maria,
Congratulations on your beautiful new home!
These transformations are exquisite.
I love your sunroom. And the color scheme you’re going with – all the pops of yellow.
The Living Room fireplace is impeccable (I have to admit, I was leery of the idea of painting the marble; but this looks amazing).
I look forward to seeing the photo of your redecorated Living Room on the cover of Architectural Digest, Veranda, or House Beautiful— where it belongs.
That mural is simply divine. And the decor is ,, well, I’m running out of adjectives. It’s beautiful, joyous, elegant.
Your home is absolutely gorgeous! Could you tell me what color paint you used on the walls in you beautiful kitchen?:)
This is GORGEOUS!! WOW! My jaw just dropped!
So beautiful. What is the rug? I love it!
I love it! Wow!!
I love where you’re going with your finishes! We just moved to a rustic property with a large overall orange beige and green gray fieldstone fireplace in the living room. How would I reference this in other rooms? I’m not in a budget to add more of the same stone.
OMG, FABULOUS!!!
Your home has such beautiful architectural details, and everything you do of course always looks great.
But I just have never liked the look of marble, or any kind of veining really. And I find it just as trendy as other things.
It’s fine for you not to like marble, but it’s the complete opposite of trendy – as opposite as you can get.
It’s a classic material that’s having a renaissance today, and that’s probably why it feels trendy to you.
It’s all over Europe in old buildings.
I just LOVE seeing the progress on your beautiful new home! That fireplace is to die for.
We used Calacatta marble in a kitchen remodel about 10 years ago and we are still very happy with our choice. We are looking at a bathroom update and considering calacatta marble porcelain tile on the floor and shower. Would you mind sharing the manufacturer and name of the tile you used in the sunroom? All the choices at the tile stores make my head spin!
So gorgeous, Maria! That fireplace finish is amazing. Wishing you and Terreeia every happiness in your beautiful new home!
Beautiful!
I learned about flow from you. We already had marble in our bathroom, put in marble countertops in the kitchen, and have a marble hearth and surround in the living room fireplace.
The woman who painted our house and installed the wallpaper in our tiny entry was also a fine artist. She wrapped the walls, but of course there was one corner where the ends met without matching, so I asked her to paint in the needed connection. It’s very satisfying to look at. Those perfect small details make such a difference.
That mural – fabulous!!!!!!!! Thanks for your inspiration. I’m planning a home update (it’s just a standard subdivision 4 bedroom colonial with no architectural feel and low ceilings – very limiting!). I’m planning to go classic with the finishes but bring joy and emotion with color. Twenty five years ago I chose cranberry, tan, green and cream and it’s been great to live with but it is so past time to move to a fresher pallette.
Maria, your faux marble fireplace is just STUNNING!!! I loved it the minute I laid eyes on it.
It’s interesting that the “before” photo looks like a dull room on a cloudy day.
Staining the floor brown, painting the walls white (before wallpaper) and the ceiling blue, it looks like the sun came out.
And then the wallpaper took the room straight to Cheerful Land.
Simply STUNNING!!! What a beautiful transformation!
Absolutely gorgeous. I love the fireplace and the mural. What a beautiful home you will have when finished with all the changes.
It all looks so beautiful! Evangelia does amazing work!
Just an amazing transformation, Maria. What you have done to your living room goes from night to day. Can’t wait to see how you transform the rest of the home.as it is also transformed. Just beautiful. You have such talent!
Also Evangelia’s work is amazing. Such talent!
Just WOW! The transformation is stunning! I love everything you’re doing. And I’m grateful we get to go along for the ride 🙂 Thanks, Maria!
Wow, Maria, the difference in the “before” and “after” changes in your new living room is really incredible! The new marble finish on your fireplace looks so realistic, and the moulding perfectly suits the fireplace! The mural is very pretty and also brightens the whole feel of the room! I’m very impressed! Can’t wait to see your further renovations in the house!
Replicating the marble look around the house is a fabulous idea. It all looks stunning. Up until recently I didn’t care for marble because of the *gray* veining, but have come to understand/realize it is classic. I know it’s a drum that you keep beating, but styling is everything.
Maria,
I also am loving the changes you are making in your new home. I’m especially interested in seeing how you are incorporating marble throughout the main areas. We added marble countertops and painted the orange oak cabinets stark/bright white when we moved in to our 2001 track house with dark Tuscan paint colors a few years ago. We painted all the walls a pale green/gray just to get a clean slate. We put in LVP floors in a medium brown wood color. Now I’m finally ready to put real color on the walls to bring character to the home. It’s tricky for me to work with the marble and not pick colors that are too cold to match it. Your home is very inspiring as it’s lively, pretty, warm and classic. I look forward to more posts on your finish choices.
Simply stunning, Maria!
Such talent!
Wow! I’m usually not a fan of faux marble, but the artist did such a wonderful job. I love it!
Your living room looks like a wonderful place to be.
The room looks very intentional now and beautifully put together! But curious minds want to know- are those National Geographic magazines on the mantel? There are only so many things that color! Do tell!
Stunning! I thought the fireplace was real marble! So realistic.
You are making a stunning home. I love all the changes. I look forward to seeing more as you go along.
not sure about those murals– the 2020’s version of the tuscan murals from the late 90’s. and the faux marble reminds me of the sponge painted walls I’ve seen back then…. pass.