A midsummer night’s dream

A dream house offering 360-degree views over Byron Bay and the surrounding landscape is the perfect place to relax and allow the gaze to roam freely. As Antonio Peronace from Acestone + Tiles explained, the main aim of the project was to «create a relaxing, welcoming mood that would allow the clients to fully enjoy this holiday home, a haven of peace and quiet. For this reason we opted for a palette of soft natural tones». In particular, «the owners were looking for fluid, seamless spaces», he explained. With this in mind the daytime area has been envisaged as a large rectangular open-plan space consisting of an open kitchen, dining area and living room. The space is defined by the pitched roof and two large rows of windows that extend around three sides of the building, breaking down the barriers between interior and exterior and literally flooding the room with light. The natural lighting is further enhanced by the colour choices, the dominant white enlivened by the warm teak accents of some of the furnishing elements and the iridescent blue of the armchair and sofa. The minimalist, absolute white of the kitchen blends mimetically into the walls, creating a contrasting counterpoint with the elegance and design of the chairs, the table and the coffee tables in the living area which stand out from the neutral background of the total white walls and the natural stone coloured floor. In reality, the floor covering is a ceramic tile chosen from the Cliffstone collection by Lea Ceramiche. Cliffstone is an artificial stone that does not exist in nature but was specially created by Lea Ceramiche, the stone effect enhanced by the presence of veins and inclusions. Colours and textures, as well as surface irregularities, shade variations and imprecisions are all reproduced digitally with an astonishing degree of realism. As Antonio Peronace explained, the choice of the Cliffstone series was a natural consequence of the owners’ request for fluid spaces that would extend seamlessly into the outdoor areas. «The challenge was to find a large-size tile available in a variety of finishes, including an outdoor version, and the Cliffstone series was one of the few collections on the market that fitted the bill.» The 60×120 cm size tile chosen for this house was installed following the rectangular proportions of the open space, the dynamic colour effect of the floor surface enhancing the sense of scale. The chosen colour was Taupe Mohernella in a honed finish. In keeping with the need to project outwards and enjoy the breeze and sun of Byron Bay, the living room floor tiling extends right up to the edge of the swimming pool, creating a sense of continuity between the inside and outside. Another key feature of the Cliffstone collection is the Protect antibacterial protection, an active component with silver-based particles applied to the surface prior to firing. This becomes permanently incorporated in the tile’s body, ensuring safety and hygiene in any domestic and professional space. The active components retain their efficacy for the entire lifetime of the product and are not removed by washing or foot traffic wear.