like a rock

10 premium European stone brands arrive in Houston for the first time

Eight Italians, a Dane, and a man from Portugal walk into Houston. No, this is not the beginning of a promising joke — far from it. For three days, a delegation of 10 European natural stone companies made the rounds to some of Houston’s top design firms, showcasing gorgeous products that have (mostly) only been available to the European market, until now. Read on for the exclusive details on which old-quarry brands will soon be popping up all over the city.

Excitement mounts as this new age of Maximalism calls for everything these natural stone lines have to offer. From colorful pastel marbles to dramatically contrasting slabs, bold basalts, imaginative Venetian terrazzos, and timeless marble cladding options — nothing was overlooked. Yachts and aircraft aren’t left out either, with a line of lightweight aluminum honeycomb-backed stones. There is even something for the eco-conscious, with a LEED-certified product making the list of brands to finally land stateside.

The mission was organized by Veronafiere Spa, which is also the organizer of Marmo+Mac — renowned as the world’s leading international trade fair for the natural stone industry.

“The Chamber was proud to partner locally with Veronafiere to coordinate all the events and meetings held in Houston on May 5, 6, and 7,” Francesca Bacci, business development manager at the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Texas, tells CultureMap. “The main goal of the mission was to create opportunities for manufacturers to connect with top-tier industry professionals, fostering networking and business development in the strategic U.S. market.”

Design and architecture firms Gensler, Perkins & Will, HOK, Jacobs, Intexture-Aura, Rottet Studio, and Nina Magon Design were all stops along the delegation’s tour, as well as Thorntree Slate at the Houston Design Center and the Amodo European Collection showroom at the Decorative Center. AIA Houston hosted a credit panel at their headquarters, and BeDesign hosted a luncheon with special guest and design powerhouse Abel Design Group. Houstonians with interest in these newly-available product lines will certainly know where to look.

Without further ado, here are the ten Marmo+Mac WeSpeakStone Delegation’s European brands that are now available in Houston:

Basaltite Guidotti Battaglini Srl
La Basaltite is a medium-grey stone with crystals of leucite immersed in a microcrystalline structure, derived from the hardening of lava in the eruption centre of Bolsena – Bagnoregio.

Pierangelo Umena of Basaltite shares that: “Houston and Texas can be a good market for our stone, Basaltite, because it is a natural grey stone extracted and processed exclusively at our facilities in Italy with an elegant and minimalistic neutral grey tone in great combination with white and any other colour or material.

Cancian Pavimenti
This legacy Venetian terrazzo brand dates back to 1840. The only LEED-certified brand on the list, this lightweight, nearly zero waste product is definitely one to watch. With numerous weight and backing options, this product can be made to suit both airplanes and yachts.

Alina Klak, who represents Cancian Pavimenti through Marble Büro, had this to say about expanding to Houston: “As the second fastest-growing city in the nation, Houston is a dynamic and promising market for Marble Büro’s traditional Italian terrazzo.With a surge in high-end residential and commercial developments, there’s growing demand for unique, durable, and customizable surfaces. Marble Büro—representing a third-generation terrazzo company with nearly a century of family experience—brings an authentic piece of Italy to Houston, offering genuine Italian precast terrazzo tiles crafted with artisanal time-honored techniques and tailored to meet the vision of today’s architects and designers.”

Domos
Based in Verona’s Stone District, Domos develops marble and natural stone products. “Marble is a source of inspiration for us, and design is form, it’s function,” a representative tells CultureMap.

Elite Stone
Perfect for those who appreciate dramatic, yet timeless, design statements, these marbles are perfect for book-matched, full-slab installations; this is the stone for clients who enjoy striking contrasts and bold veining.

“Houston gave me the impression of a city that unveils its charm gradually—like a well-kept secret,” sales manager Davide Sandini says. “Its true beauty isn’t loud or fleeting, but lasting and deeply appreciated by those who live there. The locals radiate pride in their surroundings, and that quiet sophistication makes Houston the perfect setting for our timeless, luxurious Italian marbles.”

Fauske Marble by Moser Aps
Based in Denmark, this sustainably-minded fourth generation company produces exquisite arctic marbles in colors like pinks and purples, plus many more.

Grassi Pietre Srl
Founded in 1850, this Nanto, Italy-based company touts its ability to combine “artisanal know-how with the most modern technologies available for stone processing and production.”

Marcolini Marmi Spa
The brand is known for its adherence to Italian taste and tradition in the areas of marble, granite, onyx, and stone.

Moca Stone SA
Marcelo Costa believes their warm, creamy marbles are a perfect fit for Houston: "Our natural stone materials, extracted from our own quarries and produced in our own facilities, are distinguished by their uniqueness, elegance, and luxurious appeal, making them a perfect fit for high-end residential and commercial projects across the city," a representative says.

Porfido Trentino - Cave Famiglia Pisetta
Thanks to a location in the middle of the Alto Adige's porphyry platform, the company offers a very large variety of porphyry products such as the cubes, irregular slabs, and tiles with split sides. In addition, it stocks other, more sophisticated materials such as steps-to-stone stairs, as well as materials with polished and flamed surfaces which are specially indicated for indoor floorings and coverings.

R.E.D. Graniti Spa
This exquisite marble cladding company offers monument quality stonework built to last for generations.

With all these exciting options, Houston’s top designers and architects undoubtedly have big plans for the new products. Time will tell how they enhance design in the Bayou City for many years to come.

Photo courtesy of Elite Stone

Dramatic contrasts and perfect slabs for book-matching are signatures of Elite Stone

home-design

frankly speaking

Houston custom home builder opens state-of-the-art new showroom

Photo by Kerry Kirk

Welcome to Frankel Design Build.

Imagine a custom home builder capable of radiating such cool confidence in the execution of their finished product that they’re happy to maintain the property long after the completion of the project—impossible? Enter Frankel Design Build. The Frankel experience begins in their exceptional new client-only design showroom, where the firm’s signature scent (none other than luxury brand Loewe’s Tomato Leaves candle) permeates the air and “ends,” so to speak, with enrollment in their home maintenance and management program.

The innovative, multi-award-winning, Houston-based firm recently debuted a swanky new design showroom in the Houston Design District showcasing product vignettes and technologies far exceeding what is available to preview with other custom builders. The showroom brings truly custom features to life, including a full-sized vault door; a custom quartz hydraulics-lift meeting table that doubles as a standing workspace; a 14-foot, sliding glass door system by Mirror Gallery, Inc.; along with herringbone hardwood floors, a full bar with custom metal fabricated details, and Venetian plastered walls.

Clients will find a curated range of selections — from tile, hardware, and plumbing fixtures to lighting, custom cabinetry, and millwork — sourced from trusted industry partners such as Visual Comfort and Ann Sacks, among others. This unique blend of offerings empowers clients to personalize every detail with intention.

For nearly four decades, the Frankel family’s luxury residential home business has maintained a reputation for a client-forward culture. Founded in 1988 by Jim Frankel, sons and current co-presidents Scott and Kevin Frankel are continuing this legacy through their new showroom.

“We are trying to create the best environment for people who design and the best customers to get together and come up with great ideas,” Scott tells CultureMap. “I think it’s a little different for a home builder, particularly a custom home builder, to open up a space that is just for their clients to enhance that experience.”

Each area of the showroom has been outfitted with high-tech A/V equipment that will allow clients to engage with the Frankel team remotely, if need be. “What we’re trying to do, as our clients are busy — they’re active, they’ve got stuff going on in their personal lives, kids, work — we’ve tried to put together a facility that puts together interior design and architecture, and put our clients in a position where they’re able to do this, and they’re not having to run all over town,” says Scott. “It’s a pretty big investment for a home builder to make on the custom side.”

With thousands of tangible samples on-hand, including full-sized door and glass options, the Frankels recognize that keeping up with a showroom of this magnitude will require a lot of management, but it’s not a challenge they’re prepared to shy away from.

“Our interior design team isn’t just helping clients make their selections. They are looking at everything that’s out there and then making sure that this place is curated to building and designing a home right now,” says Kevin. “It has to be a lot of showrooms in one.”

Potential custom home buyers sometimes find themselves apprehensive when exploring the possibility of building homes, mostly due to some illusive bad experience a “friend of a friend” had when working with a builder. Frankel Design Build puts clients at ease through their active flexibility. “This for me is just so different from what custom builders try to do. Typically, what they are doing is going ‘you are limited to this,’” says Scott, noting that anything their team has chosen is already in the budget — there are no surprises.

Ever the realist, Kevin understands that social media can play a large part in determining whether clients stick to their original selections.

“It’s such a long process, and we want people to feel good about it. It just takes more management from us, which we’ve always been willing to do,” he says. “The day after your plan is done, do we expect for you to stop looking at Instagram? We don’t. We have to be flexible. We know you’re looking at Instagram.”

Through their family of companies, which also includes AVEA Pools & Outdoor Living and Frankel Home Care, Frankel Design Build far exceeds what any reasonable person would consider “turn key service.” Once a Frankel home is complete, a user-friendly customer portal through Frankel Home Care allows for home care services to be scheduled at the click of a button.

“Every home that we build, our goal is to help the customer understand that there are certain things that they might need to maintain forever. We don’t just build houses now, we build pools — we have to — and we clean those pools every week. We service generators, we clean gutters, we wash down driveways,” says Scott. “The problem is, you move in, I give you this house, and now what? To live in a house you need a list of people. I don’t want my customer to have to do that. We are in the custom design and service business — we are in the long term care business.”

Photo by Kerry Kirk

Welcome to Frankel Design Build.

interior design home-design frankel design build

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