When food blogger Rachel Mansfield decided to move to a new home, she and her husband took on the task of building one from scratch. That meant a lot of decision making to pick out all the materials. As a well-known content creator, influencer, podcaster, and cookbook author, Mansfield’s substantial following was along for the ride, “I was surprised at how excited people were by this, which makes me excited,” she said.

She shared the progress of her new Millburn, New Jersey home build and design decisions on her Instagram page and website. A big part of what made the home come together was picking out the tile. For guidance, her builder Etai Har-El of Moore Development & Construction referred her to Adrienne Gallmann, showroom manager at Short Hills Marble & Tile, who has a background in residential interior design and has been helping people select tile for their projects since 2005. Gallmann recommended tiles from Short Hills’ vast collection that is readily in stock.

They started with what Mansfield had in mind for her home, which was a color palette of neutrals: white and white oak with drops of black. She also wanted finishes in matte, which can be achieved using honed marbles. Mansfield says that while she had a hard time pinning down the exact style, the closest description would be a minimalistic modern farmhouse. 

From there, they meticulously went room by room to pick out the look they wanted. Here’s a sneak peak of the process:

Primary Bathroom

With the color palette of the house set in neutrals, the primary bathroom followed suit but used the black accent to dramatic effect in a floor done in 18” x 36” Cornerstone Slate Black. “I love the idea of a dark floor,” says Mansfield, though she did have a few reservations about going so dark. Gallmann helped her stick with the decision. “I kept letting her know it was going to be alright. It’s not a true black; it’s more of a charcoal grey which is classic and casual, yet refined.” says Gallmann.

When it was done, Mansfield was beyond pleased. “I’m obsessed!” she exclaims; “Now I want to do all my bathrooms like this forever!”

The dark flooring also pairs nicely with the shower tile, done in SHMT’s  12” x 24” Dynasty White Marble Honed, which provides a contrasting white background with subtle veining that pulls in the tones of the floor.  A natural wood, custom-made vanity completes the look.

Children’s/Hall Bathroom

Many people choose to make their kid’s bathroom like a playground and let their children pick out what they want. But Mansfield wanted a different approach. “My parents let me pick out my carpet when I was eight years old and I picked purple. I had to live with that purple carpet until I was 18!” she says regretfully. She decided to create a bathroom that her two boys could grow into.

“She wanted something cool and playful but also sophisticated,” says Gallmann, who helped her select Short Hills Marble & Tile (SHMT)  12” x 24” Nestos Marble Honed for the flooring and 2”x8” Dolomite Chevron Marble Mosaic for the shower walls to add creativity. 

“I think it turned out great,” says Mansfield, “I like that it doesn’t necessarily look like a boy’s bathroom. It can be for anyone. When asked how her sons like it, she responds with a laugh, “As long as they are well fed, they’re pretty happy.”

Powder Room

Mansfield says they frequently have family and friends over so it was important that their home be warm and welcoming. She also wanted the powder room to be “a cool accent” to the rest of the house. While on a flight several years ago she saw an image of a powder room with dark walls, and that image stuck with her. “I dreamed of having dark tile on the wall.” She decided to go with a black feature wall using 1.75” x 11” Context in Metallic Black by Ann Sacks. Mansfield says it makes the powder room feel like a boutique hotel. “I thought the look was a nice way to spice things up.” The flooring features SHMT’s  12” x 24” Paris Gray Marble Honed topped with a white oak vanity.

Guest/Basement Bathroom

The bathroom in the basement guest room is a space that will only be used occasionally, such as when Mansfield’s parents come to visit, so she wanted to keep it simple and coordinated with the rest of the house. Her vision was similar to the hall bathroom: to create a timeless look.  So she went with 3” x 12” Nestos Marble Honed paired with 3” x 12” Ice White Marble Honed in a two-toned herringbone pattern on the floor, which Gallmann noted she had fun creating. “That was me just playing. I can dream of patterns all day long! It really adds some interest.”

For the shower floor, they used Nestos Adeline Hexagon Marble Honed with 12” x 24” Ice White Marble Honed on the shower walls.

Mudroom

The mudroom is also in the basement, and Mansfield wanted to go with a dark tile to provide contrast to the light carpet so they used 12” x 24” Waterfall Silver, by Lea Ceramiche (porcelain).

Laundry Room

Here, Mansfield wanted to have a little fun, “Doing laundry is pretty boring but at least while working you have something pretty to look at.” She went with an 8”x 8” Porcelain Deco in Lisbon which looks like a pop of flowers but subtle enough to go with the rest of her home. “The colors are still neutral but more grey and white,” she says. “It’s my favorite tile in the whole house!”

Kitchen/Pantry

Mansfield is a food blogger, so the kitchen is an important space for her content creation. A lot of photography and videography takes place in this space, so it was important that the tile in the background worked functionally as well as aesthetically.  With the rest of her house being very matte, it was an area she wanted a little shine, but not so much as to reflect the light on her photos.  So they went with 3″ x 6″ ceramic field Acquarella in white gloss for both the Kitchen and Pantry. With switching up the layout of the tile it brings depth into the Pantry.

In the end, Mansfield says the house turned out exactly as she hoped and credits Gallmann at Short Hills Marble & Tile with really helping her bring the vision to life. “The tile we picked out for our entire home is a dream,” she says. “It’s functional for a mom of two but also aesthetically pleasing to look at. I have to pinch myself that we brought our vision to life with the tiles from Short Hills.”

She’s also enjoying the response she’s had from her following, who’ve been with her on the journey. “It’s very cool to see what we’re sharing is resonating with so many families and people moving,” she says, “They’re looking to us for inspiration and we’re so excited to help them with that!”

When planning your next project, turn to Short Hills Marble and Tile to create custom looks that are both timeless and on trend. Tile is in stock for quick turnaround time and ease in being able to spec a project quickly.

Short Hills Marble and Tile collaborates with some of the most popular brands in the World so you have access to the latest in stone and tile. Shop brands like Ann Sacks, Arto Brick, Quemere, Lunada Bay and Emil Ceramica.

Some of our additional services include: 

• Professional Design Consultations
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• Onsite & Job Site Meetings
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