Price Mix

Impressed Coffee purists reach for a press to get the best of the bean

CHIC, SLEEK AND CLASSIC, FRENCH PRESS COFFEE MAKERS ARE COFFEE CONNOISSEURS’ favorite way to brew their morning, afternoon or post-dinner cup. French press makers do not employ paper filters, thus letting the natural oils and flavors of the coffee bloom in every brew. Plus, no waste means it’s better for the environment. Win-win!

Simply place your favorite local medium-coarse or coarse ground coffee into the carafe, cover with hot, filtered water and let steep for four to six minutes. Slowly depress the carafe’s filter plunger and enjoy right away for optimal flavor.

Here are our favorite selections for your next at-home café experience. - BY ASHLEY MCLELLAN +

CAFÉ TIP

To purchase fresh, local coffee beans and blends, plus find tips on how to best brew at home, visit frenchtruckcoffee. com/#brew-at-home-section.

$40, $50

CLASSIC BLEND

Bodum’s Chambord French press is based on the original concept created before WWII by Italian designer Attilio Calimani, and perfected in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Decades of innovation have created a classic French press that will stand the test of time. Chambord’s heat-resistant glass carafe is accented with stainless steel or copper and brews a generous eight cup batch. Revelator Coffee, stainless steel, $40, copper, $50, revelatorcoffee.com. $75

MEDIUM BREW

From French cookware and bakeware legend Le Creuset, this stoneware French press combines classic style with function. The carafe’s non-porous stoneware keeps servings warm and brews 34 ounces (4.25 cups) plus, it comes in 11 collectible Le Creuset colors to match any breakfast-nook décor, including black licorice, orange flame, clean white and Marseille blue. LeCreuset.com. $139.95

BOLD FLAVOR

Espro’s coffee and tea brew innovations, created by an MIT engineer and fuel cell car designer, are top-of-the-line and cutting edge, with a sleek, modern profile. The P7 model features a double micro-filter that eliminates grit, and a stainless steel, double-walled carafe keeps coffee hot and fresh for longer. The P7 is available in stainless steel, black and white finishes, and holds 32 ounces of freshly brewed coffee. Espro.com.

Abigail Reller Art 504/491-5675 abigailrellerart.com

Bell Architecture 755 Camp St., New Orleans 504/596-2355

Campbell Cabinet Co. 220 Hord St., Harahan 504/733-4687 4040 Highway 59, Mandeville 985/892-7713 campbellcabinets.com

Classic Cupboards 5809 River Oaks Road South, Harahan 504/734-9088 classiccupboards.com

Demoran Custom Homes 504/810-5346 985/788-7857 demorancustomhomes.com

Derby Pottery & Tile 2029 Magazine St., New Orleans 504-586-9003 derbypottery.com

Doors of Elegance 3100 Kingman St., Suite 107, Metairie, 1-877-893-0057 in Mandeville 504/887-5440

Eclectic Home 8211 Oak St., New Orleans 504/866-6654 eclectichome.net

Entablature, LLC 8438 Oak St. Suite C, New Orleans 504/322-3822 entablature.com

Exterior Designs Beverly Katz, Land. Design New Orleans 504/866-0276 exteriordesignsbev.com

Fiber Seal 504/866-2273 nola@fiberseal.com

Floor & Decor 2801 Magazine St, Ste A, New Orleans 504/891-3005 flooranddecor.com H. Mathews Interiors 504/339-4003

Home Bank 1600 Veterans Blvd., Metairie 504/834-1190

Kelly Sutton Designs/ Sutton House-To The Trade 3800 Dryades St, New Orleans 504/302-2547 kellysuttoninc.com

Kim Starr Wise – The Flower Shop 2036 Magazine St., New Orleans 504/390-0563

Legend Interiors 432 N. Anthony St. Suite 301 504/324-8080 info@legendinteriorsinc.com

Louisiana Custom Closets 13405 Seymour Meyer Suite 24, Covington 985/871-0810 louisianacustomclosets.com

M L M Incorporated 1400 Distributors Row, Elmwood 504/322-7050 South Shore 985/231-0233 North Shore mlm-inc.com

MULLIN 10356 River Rd., St. Rose 504/275-6617 mullinlandscape.com

Nordic Kitchens & Baths Inc. 1818 Veterans Blvd., Metairie 504/888-2300 nordickitchens.com

Palatial Stone and Tile, LLC. 1526 Religious St., New Orleans 504/576-9000 2052 Paxton St., Harvey 504/340-2229 palatialstone.com

Picardie 504/587-9194 info@ptfnola.com picardietimberframe.com

Poydras Home 5354 Magazine St., New Orleans 504/323-9051 poydrashome.com Renaissance Doors 1000 Edwards Ave., Harahan 504/344-6994 renaissancedoors@gmail.com renaissancedoorsllc.com

Ruffino Custom Closets 110 Campbell Ave., Mandeville 504/252-9884 ruffinocustomclosets.com

Russells Cleaning Services 3704 Robertson St., Metairie 504/832-1546 3401 Tulane Ave., New Orleans 504-482-3153 russellscleaning.com

Shotgun Design Group 4404 Saint Peter St., New Orleans 504/233-4442

Sleep Number 4852 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Ste A, Metairie 504/443-4777 stores.sleepnumber.com/la/ metairie/4852-veterans- memorial-blvd.html

Stafford Tile & Stone 5234 Magazine St., New Orleans 504/895-5000 staffordtile.com

Tuscan Stone Imports 720 S. Galvez St., New Orleans 504/837-1511 7150 Pecue Lane, Baton Rouge 225/753-5870 tuscanstoneimports.com

Wendy Wiltz Realtor® Licensed in Louisiana 504/327-6235 wwiltz@gardnerrealtors.com wwiltz.gardnerrealtors.com

Wren’s Tontine Shade & Design 1533 Prytania St., New Orleans 504/525-7409 wrenstontine.com •

Terrazzo, porcelain, and cement materials at Stafford Tile & Stone.

COLORWAYS

Bold meets beautiful in stone, tile and flooring

DESIGNERS HAVE BEEN EXPRESSING A LOT OF EXCITEMENT

over the last year on the reemergence of color in home design, as all white rooms give way to bolder looks. And with all the recent time spent at home, some homeowners are growing tired of sterile environments and are ready to shake things up. This season, we’re asking the experts if this trend toward color and texture extends from the walls and furniture to stone, tile and flooring.

“I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see more color and pattern introduced into the interior mainstream,” says Penny Francis, principal designer and owner of Eclectic Home. According to Francis, kitchens are becoming darker and moodier while color and pattern are prevalent in tile chosen for bathrooms and kitchen backsplashes. Francis notes that the main flooring in homes — whether wood or tile — continues to trend on the lighter side, but patterned floors in kitchens are creating dramatic appeal.

“Green and black are being utilized in the cabinet finishes, and splashes are becoming more dramatic backdrops while the countertops remain neutral,” says Francis. “White countertops continue to be popular because of the contrast to the splash and for maintenance and cleanliness.”

At Palatial Stone & Tile, co-owner Paul Romain says that while white subway tiles are still popular for old New Orleans homes maintaining that “old world” look, geometric patterns that incorporate color are more often sought for kitchen backsplashes. Textured stones and 3D patterns are popular as well.

As a stone fabricator, Romain also sees a declining interest in all-white slabs as people opt for bolder vein colors and large format pieces. Recent jobs have included blue hues as well as light blush. According to Romain, the technology involved in making quartz has gotten so sophisticated that dramatic movement and veining are convincing to the eye and drawing much of buyers’ interest.

In Kenner, Stone Interiors recently opened a new 20,000-squarefoot showroom with full slabs on display. There, owner John Cognevich says he is still selling a lot of white countertops, but they differ lately than plain white and gray. Instead, people are searching for whites and grays with streaks of gold or tan.

“More people are doing change-outs since Katrina,” he explains. “For years, everyone wanted white and gray, and that’s great if you’re building new or gutting. But if your cabinets are light cream or your walls or floors are tan, that look doesn’t go — you’ve got to have blushes.” To that end, he recommends quartz colors that resemble marble like Silestone’s Lusso and Calacatta Gold. At Crescent City Countertops, Sally Cousins, a sales associate, agrees that while color is an emerging trend in countertops, it’s not trending there as quickly as it is with cabinets or paint. She echoes other stone sellers’ observations that homeowners are remaining somewhat cautious with countertops and getting more adventurous with the tile in the backsplash.

“The other trend we’re seeing almost 50 percent of the time with new homes is putting the countertop material all the way up the backsplash.” These installations often have warmer tones with attractive veining cus-

tomers want to see continued on the walls, she says. Popular examples include the Taj Mahal and Cristallo colors of quartzite, which are subtly warm but with translucence and depth. People are also playing with texture in stone countertops, at times foregoing the polished finish for a leathered one. Different than a honed matte finish, the leathered look has a texture that gives the stone a natural earthiness, according to Cousins. Using a leathered finish on quartzite like Taj Mahal is a growing trend.

Customers seeking bolder looks with dramatic veining benefit from technologies like Crescent City Countertops’ automated fabrication shop, which allows for photographs of chosen slabs to be overlaid on project CAD drawings and show the exact effect of a slab’s veining and movement on a specific room. This helps customers achieve the look they want for their stone centerpiece.

“Nothing makes me happier than sourcing a unique and colorful quartzite,” says Hailey Mathews, owner and designer of H. Mathews Interiors. “It is essentially artwork in the most natural form and the perfect way to ensure your clients have one-of-a-kind pieces in their home.”

Despite Mathews’ enthusiasm for countertops, she often chooses to start a kitchen design project with floors and cabinets first. She notes that flooring manufacturers have really expanded options in recent years.

“From different, brighter colors, to fun patterns, it makes selecting the flooring my favorite place to start and then guide the rest of the design,” she says. Once she selects flooring and cabinets, she then takes samples to use in selecting a specific stone slab. For Mathews, the complementing backsplash often comes last.

Eclectic Home’s Penny Francis has a different process — she finds it easier to start with the backsplash if it has pattern, then move to the countertop and see how all elements complement the finish of the cabinet.

Both designers agree that flooring and tile in smaller spaces like powder rooms and laundry rooms are a fun place to be bold and experiment more with color. Mathews says these are some of the best spaces for letting your creativity run wild.

At Stafford Tile & Stone, owner Peggy Stafford says there many new options for pattern, color and texture in tile, and most are appropriate for indoor and outdoor flooring. Terrazzo, porcelain and cement are three materials that offer versatility.

“Terrazzo has been a popular choice with a variety of different aggregates and colored cements to offer a fresh feel,” she says. Meanwhile, technology has changed the look of porcelain, which is available in mosaic and large format, increasing variation and interest. Stafford says porcelain is a good choice for sleek and modern or rustic and textured aesthetics.

“Cement is an Old World material but now has a modern take,” says Stafford. “It is a very cost-effective way to introduce vibrant colors and patterns —a natural product that wears beautifully over time.”

With all three materials, pattern is not only found in square formats but can be created with various shapes such as hexagons, pickets and scallops. For bathrooms, Stafford has noticed a rising popularity in green and blush tones.

The consensus among our experts this season is that bold is the new trend. Inviting color, texture and movement into your design will add interest that keeps a fresh feeling for years to come. - BY KELCY WILBURN