Encino is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, CA. The wealthy area, which is located in the northwestern part of the city, features architecture inspired by Spanish- and contemporary-style design, according to Jamie Rezaie, managing partner at DI Group Inc. in Beverly Hills, CA, who recently designed an expansive home there.

“Encino is increasing its elegant status,” the designer said. “The new constructions contribute to making Encino a parallel neighborhood of well-known prestigious neighborhoods like Bel Air and Beverly Hills. This phenomenon is to supply the exigency to accommodate the major affluence of wealthy populations that Southern California has been experimenting in the last few years. The ‘Valley Vista’ project installs itself in this vision, with its elegant and contemporary design, made by large open spaces, numerous windows and tiles.”

Valley Vista, an unoccupied residence that spans 9,600 square feet, embraces an ultra-contemporary design, with an open floor plan that flows throughout the home and floor-to-ceiling glass windows that allow an abundance of natural light. Because of California’s subtropical climate, designers decided to implement a variety of porcelain tile from Ceramiche Refin and Ceramiche Supergres throughout the home, which complements the overall theme and aids in the home’s environmental impacts.

“In order to accommodate the hot and dry weather year-round, we decided to implement light colors [of tile] throughout the house,” said Rezaie. “Porcelain tiles are durable, lasting longer than other building materials, and they do not release toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a common characteristic of some plastics, carpet floors and some wooden finishes. Tiles are also very hygienic and easy to clean.”

The floors in the foyer, kitchen, dining room and living room feature large-format porcelain tiles from Ceramiche Refin’s Wide collection, which was inspired by slate. The stone-inspired tiles were utilized in a light gray color and set the industrial-chic look and feel of the home.

All of the bathrooms, including the master bathroom suite, are also clad almost entirely in tile, resulting in a consistent design aesthetic throughout the entire house.

In the master bathroom, 30- x 60-inch cement-inspired porcelain tiles from Ceramiche Supergres’ Art collection in the color “Graphite” were used on the floor, vanity wall, shower wall and ceiling, shower bench and niches.

The neutral color theme continues into the other bathrooms, with different shades and textures of gray, accented by ornate patterns and designs. On the wall lining the vanity of one of the secondary bathrooms, a unique design was created with decorative porcelain tiles from Ceramiche Refin’s Design Industry collection. The textured motif, “Raw Shadow Light,” mimics concrete and worn plaster, providing a nice complement to the adjacent shower walls and floor, which feature gray-colored porcelain tiles from the company’s Graffiti collection.

In two of the other bathrooms, another artistic porcelain tile collection from Ceramiche Refin was utilized on the walls to add an artistic element. The Arte Pura collection, created in collaboration with Italian designer Daniela Dallavalle, uses patterns from her lace and macramé mosaics, as well as her linen pictures, to create textured tiles. Tiles from the Grafisimi range, which are based on Dallavalle's more abstract work with graphic doodles and sketches on the surface, were implemented on the vanity walls in both spaces. The “Pietra” color was utilized in one of the bathrooms, while the lighter color of “Bianco” was specified in
the other.

Ceramiche Refin’s Plant collection, which combines the look of wood and cement in a porcelain tile, was used to clad another one of the bathrooms’ floors and walls. The industrial-like tiles incorporate scratches and signs of wear-and-tear on the surface, with a rusted appeal, and were utilized in two different formats. A larger block format was placed on the vanity wall and main floors, while a slimmer horizontal plank was used for the connecting shower wall, floor and curb.

To complete the home’s contemporary design, two extremely innovative design features were added to the exterior facade. Directly above the entrance on the second floor, one of the bedrooms was designed to protrude out of the house in a box-like structure. On the outside walls, porcelain tiles from Ceramiche Supergres’ Travel collection were used to complement the beige-colored base. Inspired by traditional wood and characterized by strong chromatic and graphic shading, the tiles were applied in a horizontal plank format in the dark brown color, “Westbrown.”

The exterior wall to the right also features porcelain tile from Ceramiche Supergres, which spans two stories. Slightly larger and textured horizontal plank tiles from the Stonework collection were used in the color, “Ardesia Nera,” which was inspired by Italian black slate.

Altogether, approximately 9,000 square feet of tile was utilized, which was supplied directly from DI Group Inc.

The entire home, which took a little more than one year to complete,
was awarded the grand prize in the residential category at this year’s Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition. “There has been a lot of positive feedback from existing clients and those who have visited the house,” said Rezaie.