National Kitchen and Bath designer, Insider and Editor at Large, Elle H- Millard was tapped by the Natural Stone Institute (Use Natural Stone) to design the Use Natural Stone Kitchen and Bath Industry Show booth. Greek mythology, Medusa, and living statues, were just some of the engaging design elements H-Millard incorporated into the space. The Institute, whose mission is to encourage designers to use natural stone whenever possible in their projects, asked H-Millard, a 2018 and 2019 NKBA Insider, to help them design a booth that would “make people stop in their tracks.”
“I was researching the history of various stones, and came across the story of Medusa,” explained HMillard. “According to Greek mythology, Medusa had snakes for hair and if you looked at her face, you would turn into stone. Right away I knew this was a concept I wanted to incorporate into my design.”
Using Dalmata white marble, a unique Italian marble with a crisp white background, richly contrasting black stripes and soft grey veining, H-Millard designed the booth to have a striking counter that starts at the floor and rides up to the wall. Panda marble blended with the Natural Stone logo aligned the floor.
“The true highlight of our space at KBIS was to watch design professionals abruptly stop in the aisle and pull out their cell phone to take a picture of our booth,” said Jim Heib, CEO, Natural Stone Institute. “We were so pleased, as an NKBA member that we could collaborate with the Association and Elle to create a compelling and memorable space.”
The photo ops continued during the NKBA Opening Night Party where, as a sponsor of the event, the Institute provided two “living stone” models encouraging guests to pose and interact.
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