Outdoor Escape

This outdoor entertaining space was created by Artistic Tile’s Founder & CEO at her home in Bergen County, New Jersey, 15 minutes – and a world – away from New York City. Known by Nancy and her family simply as “The Pergola,” for the

vine-covered series of trellises that delineate the space, it is set on a path lush with hydrangea, midway between a pool
and tennis court. The pergola is the setting for gatherings of Nancy’s large family – she and her husband have 5 siblings
between them, three sons, three daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren. While her home has many exceptional
objets d’art (that her grandchildren treat with appropriate respect), her outdoor spaces were designed to delight the eye while ensuring that everyone could truly relax in an enveloping idyll.

eneath the grapevine-wound timbers of the pergola's open-air roof is a free-standing pavilion; within,

a room combining water-closet, shower and changing space, open to the summer sky, so that the sun glints through the leafy vines, and is shadowed by the trellis. The pavilion’s outer walls create the back of a stainless-steel wetbar, as practical as it is luxurious, with sink carved of sturdy bluestone, and glass fronted cabinetry, so that entertaining supplies are easily located. The tile on these pavilion walls is made of stained glass. Mosaics and field tile of this same material have become an important category for Artistic Tile, called Jazz Glass. Jazz Glass can be happily installed on outdoor walls, even in areas subject to the “freeze-thaw” cycle, when outdoor temperatures go below 32° F.

Walden was initially created as a stone mosaic, in translucent Bianco onyx and crystalline Thassos marble, sparkling like sugar. The custom Walden in Nancy’s space is a tribute to her love of color, specifically blue, her favorite. Three shades of blue glass comprise the lily-pads and their background, and these blues coordinate with another component of the space, the glowing lake blue of the quartzite Azul Bochira, offered by Artistic Tile as ¾” slab, cut for this project to 16” x 16” for the pergola’s floor, and into 2” x 2” for a shower/bathroom floor. Quartzite is an
extraordinary material; often vibrantly colorful, it is blessed with low
porosity and substantial resistance to acid etching, making it a
marvelous choice for a floor that is often wet.

For the shower room itself, Nancy again chose the art glass used to create Walden, but in this instance the wall mosaic is part of Artistic Tile’s stocked collection: Jazz Glass Foliage. The colorway is called Detroit Blues, combining blues and taupes to achieve a mix that works with a wide range of field tile in natural stone, glass, and porcelain, making it a key item for outdoor spaces. Because this shower is open to the sky above the trellis, the shadows of leaves on surrounding trees fall all day long on the tiny leaves that comprise Foliage, a delightful moment of nature saluting artful décor. Another sophisticated item from the Jazz Glass collection, Hip-Hop Herringbone, covers a

free-standing gas fed fire-feature whose flames emanate from a bed of iridescent glass baubles.

While the bar is at the pergola, the center of culinary operations and the outdoor dining room are immediately adjacent to the main residence, shaded by a fabric-paneled canopy. This space is bright with hot-pink and blazing orange tropical flowers reminiscent of tropical resorts but perfect for this retreat so close to the city, graced by the soft light of the Hudson Valley. Another very “spa” touch is the spa itself – indoors but with teak-set floor to ceiling windows overlooking the garden and pool - incorporated into the landscape with doors on three sides - very much a part of the relaxing outdoor experience. A sunken, shining stainless steel whirlpool, large enough for a gathering of grandkids, is surrounded by a floor of a multi-stone mosaic in the shades of blue Nancy so adores – Tapetti. This mosaic was inspired by the masterpieces of weaving that, like stone, are a part of the Italian decorative arts dating far beyond the Renaissance. The marbles in the Tapetti are Azul Bahia, Azul Macaubas, Azul Cielo, and Bianco Carrara. The design of the pattern provides ample resistance to slipping, a great asset for a floor always trod by wet feet. The particular affinity the blue and grey marble has for both the tawny teak and the cool steel make this as brilliantly outfitted a room as it a sybaritic delight. The spa serves an additional purpose, for as the weather cools, that glorious profusion of tropical plants take up residence there, making the space even more transportive.

The sparkle of sunlit water splashing over
and around us as we shower outside –
it is a simple delight, but one to be celebrated, and outdoor showers offer an opportunity for placing a personal stamp on a space while
creating a literal oasis. Once installed, they immediately turn a home’s indoor showers into lonely places, as long as weather permits.

The shower pictured here features Jazz Glass Leaf in variegated Be-Bop White. To complement the glass, this shower includes Galaxy Granite, especially at home in contemporary and modern spaces. This material is as inherently strong as it is elegant, with low porosity and high resistance to acid etching, so an outdoor shower is a perfect installation.

The choices that Nancy made for the pergola – natural stone and glass – provide a clear template for success in specifying materials for an outdoor kitchen. A glass backsplash, properly installed with high-performance grout, will look as beautiful during “year ten” as it did on “day one”. Nancy’s outdoor counters are of Azul Bahia,
a rare blue granite, which, like her Azul Bochira floors, boasts
superb resistance to acid etching. This makes it an ideal surface to stand up to marinades, vinaigrettes, margaritas, sangrias, iced tea with lemon, iced coffee – all kinds of acidic foods and beverages.

Nancy and Larry’s home is known for many things – the hospitality, which is legendary;
the collection of Art Deco and Art Nouveau which is breathtaking; the stone and tile, at once expected and awe-inspiring; and the
voluptuous display put on by the hundreds of hydrangea plants, in multiple varieties, colors varying from snow white to palest green, from bright blue to sky to baby pink to deep cream to vivid lavender. The plants line paths, define areas, the blossoms riveting the eye while the deep green of the foliage calms one’s soul.

Hydrangeas are native to three continents and have been around for 70 million years. They can be both deciduous and evergreen, can tolerate both full sun and part shade, though in general, the heat exhausts them. They can be propagated easily by the home gardener; if a friend has a variety you particularly admire, ask for a fresh stalk, root it in sand with a little rooting hormone and you’ll likely have a new plant of your own quite soon. In Nancy’s garden, the show starts in late May, when the first of the buds starts to open, and by mid-June the garden is lush with blossoms in her favorite blues, pinks, and every color in between.