"...for Brenda Black, turning her home's kitchen into a comfortable and practical room with an old European look has been her heart’s labor... as the center of the home, Black knew she wanted her kitchen to exude a sense of warmth and lived-in appeal that would make it worthy of its center stage role....'Everything is muted in this kitchen, everything has a soft, worn-looking edge to it. The walls are painted terra-cotta, the Italian tiles making up the backsplash have been chipped to look worn'"...

"'We were able to find materials that look like old European stone,' says Werner Stark, owner of the local company ...''We fabricated the stone so that it looks like old chipped stone. The challenge was to come up with the idea that it looks old, that it looks like it was ripped out of an old French chateau and put in here.'"

"Besides making them look like worn Italian tile, Stark also mixed walls of two different shapes of tile to make it appear as though the masonry work was done at different times in the kitchen's history. The walls in the cooking area consist of six-by-six Limestone hexagon shapes...while the walls in the butler area and storage areas consist of four-by-four squares. The area over the stove features a large square (deco.)depicting women around a lemon tree while a semi-circle (deco.) in the butler's area depicts vessels, leaves and two birds.... "

"The backsplash is brought together by the use of a Botticino marble base and top cap, a material that is repeated in the Botticino marble shelf hanging above the stove and the Botticino antiqued marble countertops. 'Using different shapes and dimensions in the tiles make them more interesting,' Black says, adding that the color of the tiles – a muted yellow – blends with the low-key hues of the kitchen’s cupboard and its centerpiece: a six-by-eight-foot island made of Crema Valencia marble with a Red Rubas antiqued marble border."

"To add interest, Stark rounded the sides and cut angles into the corners of the five-piece island using a water jet fabrication technique.... 'To keep the room from feeling angular and boxed we added the curved dimension to the island.'"...

"There’s more than just the appearance of a warm and comfortable old European kitchen in the Black’s home. In every respect, this kitchen is very much the heart of their home. 'Usually when we entertain, everybody is in the kitchen,' Black says. 'Our family is in the kitchen, Our friends are in the kitchen. And sometimes they want to help cook.' Now, there’s plenty of room in the Black kitchen to let them do just that."

"Werner and Monika Stark, owners of Ceramic Harmony in Huntsville have noticed that many of their clients discover their dream bath while traveling. 'People will come into the showroom and say, 'I saw this same tile in Italy,’' says Monika. 'They are very excited to know they can get not only that look here, but also actual terra-cotta tile reclaimed from old homes in Europe.'

Ceramic Harmony specializes in custom design and installation of all types of exquisite tile and stone. 'The selection of materials is drastically different from the 4 by 4 glossy tiles of yesteryear,' Monika explains. 'One individual wants casual. The next wants formal. Letting your designer know the look you desire is on significant step in the selection process.'

After the tile is selected, the sometimes-difficult task of installation begins. Werner Stark, who began his career with an apprenticeship in Germany, has won national awards here and abroad for his expertise. Knowing that the installation is in the hand of professionals who can handle any request makes it possible to concentrate on getting the exact look you want."