La Dolce Vita

One of the fabulous benefits of working in interior design is the opportunity to have a more hands-on experience with a vendor’s product via a complimentary international trip. Keep in mind that these occasions are few and far between but when they do come about, they can be quite incredible. I recently enjoyed a 7-day excursion to Italy, compliments of one of our amazing tile and stone vendors, Olympia Tile.

As a representative for Paris Forino, I joined 9 others top New York City designers on a tour of key porcelain tile fabricator cities in Italy; including Sassuolo, Maranello, Modena, Milano and Florence. It was not my first trip to Italy but it was definitely my most comprehensive. Traversing the narrow old-world roads by private charter bus as we trekked from town to town and dined on the most authentic Italian cuisine.

One of touchstones (much pun intended) of our design firm’s work is our incorporation of breathtaking natural materials and innovative products into so many of our spaces. Needless to say, I was fascinated with the pristine robotized factories that we visited and the meticulous manufacturing process. I and my fellow designers were introduced with the latest trends and designs in porcelain tile and learned the various applications that I had never even considered. One such moment involved applying porcelain slab veneers to both the upper and lower kitchen cabinets. A truly luxe look that I’m looking forward to implementing on one of my current residential projects.

All in all I left Italy with plenty of new learnings for a key component of my craft, new friends and perhaps most importantly, a new appreciation for Aperol Spritz.