Cement-effect tiles live on Instagram in Las Vegas

Full renovation of a small house in Las Vegas, built in 1971 and completely made-over in 2023.

As owners Allie and Nate explain, Twin Palms was the obvious name for the home in view of the two fine palm trees that tower over the garden, not to mention the couple’s great passion for Frank Sinatra. Allie and Nate met in Chicago in 2017, married 2 years ago and are hoping to be filling their “baby room” soon.

This is a life-changing project, so what could be better than a social media account, twinpalmsproject, for people to follow the entire renovation process step by step? From choice of colour scheme to the demolition of the walls and from construction of the veranda to the excitement of waiting for couriers to deliver all the packs of materials. Everything has been chosen down to the tiniest details, with designer furniture, vintage lamps and ... cement tiles, straight from Italy.

It was on 28 March 2021 that the photo of a Ceramica Faetano Frammenti tile, still in its packaging with its Fragile sticker, appeared on Instagram. This was cause for great celebration in Las Vegas, as it meant that work on the master bathroom could go ahead. The bathroom tiles were chosen with great care, because the aim was to use terracotta colour and achieve a vintage effect while still introducing some designer pieces.

The texture of the Frammenti cement tiles is packed with coloured fragments, recalling Venetian terrazzo but reinterpreted in a porcelain stoneware tile. Round milk-glass lamps, brass details, surface-mounted washbasins, waterfall taps and terrazzo-effect tiles. The result? A bathroom with an eclectic mood, contemporary yet still with a wealth of associations. The original master bathroom measured 5 square metres and this has been extended to give a new total of 12 square metres by removing two wardrobes and the washbasin from the bedroom.

The Twin Palms Instagram account is packed with images, real-life scenes and different moods. Disappointment when work is stopped due to bureaucratic problems and enthusiasm on arrival of the home’s real star, Hollis, a splendid Hungarian hound.

When the puppy first arrived at the house, with renovation very much still in progress, he immediately chose the master bathroom, finished with Ceramica Faetano Frammenti cement tiles, as one of his favourite places. So we get to see Hollis having a shower and playing with the water droplets and Hollis waiting for his bath, refusing to move from by the bathtub. He wins a flood of likes and comments. He is the real star of Twin Palms.