We love marble in my corner of the internet. I’ve used it in my bathrooms, my kitchen, my foyer and everywhere in between. We’re putting in a marble checkerboard flooring in our latest project and soon-to-be home and I am OBSESSED with how it’s turning out. Take a look!

Please allow me to start by saying this is not my best outfit. It was 7AM and I got a phone call about the borders going in. As you may know, I’m currently living in a furnished rental and my closet situation is, well, it’s a situation. So I grabbed the nearest jeans, threw my hair into a clip and peeled out to meet my dream team.

The question was this:

Can you confirm you want to begin with a black border? Or, should we switch to a white start?

I absolutely wanted a double border, but our drawings called for the perimeter to start with a white exterior border and the interior border to be black. It just wasn’t popping. So we mapped it out in a few different combinations:

So you know, these decisions are exactly why I fell so deeply in love with interior design and became obsessed with the value it adds to real estate. You might look at a beautiful floor and think, ‘Wow, that’s really lovely’ without realizing the hundreds of decisions that created it. This is also why we order what’s called ‘overage’ in tile material. Overage is extra tile in case you have to make on-site modifications, and it’s important to order enough overage (especially with natural stone) so that you don’t end up having to order extra from a different dye lot.

In this case, I’ll tell you the black start (triangle) with the black interior border was a serious contender for me. I loved how moody it felt and how unusual a choice it was. Still, this room is already going to be color drenched in a high-gloss black paint which is super moody as it is.

And so, we opted for a black start (triangle) with a white interior border for a more traditional look that seriously pops. Comment for tile materials and colors if you want them. More to come as we start painting!