Off to a smooth start

Similar stories:

• Design Notebook: Slabs rock at Valley Tile & Stone in Paso Robles

  Design Notebook: Slabs rock at Valley Tile & Stone in Paso Robles

  There are almost as many types of granite as there are fish in the sea — or at least it may seem that way. So when choosing a stone slab, it makes sense to go straight to the slab yard, rather than making your selection based on a sticky note-size sample. Even better is when the slab yard is indoors.

  “Granite and marble slabs are impregnated with resins after being cut and polished at the quarry, and should never be stored outdoors as the resins will discolor when exposed to sunlight and the elements,” said Christy DeVicente, who is an outside sales representative at Paso Robles’ Valley Tile & Stone.

  According to DeVicente, Valley Tile & Stone is the largest slab yard between San Jose and Ventura. It carries more than 1,000 granite and marble slabs in more than 200 colors in its 25,000-square-foot facility. Also available are stone tiles, stainless steel and copper sinks, and quartz surfaces such as Cambria stone, Caesarstone and Silestone.

• Follow-Up File: Cal Coast Carpet still diversifying

  Follow-Up File: Cal Coast Carpet still diversifying

  Cal Coast Carpet Warehouse continues to diversify, leveraging the 15,000 square feet of showroom and warehouse space it owns to keep a wide supply of inventory on hand.

• Bamboo: Naturally exotic and eco-friendly

  Bamboo: Naturally exotic and eco-friendly

  When Fred Hornaday first opened San Luis Obispo’s Bambu Batu, using bamboo for anything other than a backyard hedge seemed exotic. Now, six years later, bamboo sheets, towels, clothing and home décor products are commonplace.

  “The more exposure people have to alternative, natural fiber clothing with the mainstream, the better it is for all of us,” noted Hornaday.

  Bambu Batu still has the edge over chain stores when it comes to sheer selection and variety of bamboo, natural and eco-friendly products. Among its newer offerings are products made in San Luis Obispo County such as Peace Bronze jewelry (made from dismantled nuclear weapons systems), Skin Food (all organic, handmade skin creams and moisturizers), Elemental Herbs (organic, all-natural lip balms, salve and sun screen), and Haute Couture (intimate apparel made in San Luis Obispo from bamboo fabric).

• The Sheets home in Cayucos: Elegant home, fun modern design

  The Sheets home in Cayucos: Elegant home, fun modern design

  Modern design may seem cold and austere — but not to Clara Sheets.

  “My take on modern is that it is fun,” she said.

  A modern home was not in their original plan when she and husband Ray moved to Cayucos from Los Banos, where they had had lived in a Spanish-style home for 35 years. Their real estate agent discovered two and a half empty lots on a steep slope overlooking the ocean. Home plans were already approved, but the house was never built because of the owner’s death.

• The Belmonte-Click home in Atascadero: Rural Eclectic

  The Belmonte-Click home in Atascadero: Rural Eclectic

  Dana Belmonte always enjoyed the drive between Morro Bay and Atascadero. So in 2006, he and domestic partner Steve Click made 11.6 acres of wooded hillside along Highway 41 their own.

  Belmonte, who is an architect, and Click, a retired elementary school teacher, were owner/builders for their custom home. They chose a Mediterranean design that, aside from its aesthetic appeal, offered practical benefits.

  “The design lends itself to fire-restrictive construction requirements when building in wildland interface areas,” noted Belmonte , “and there’s less maintenance with a stucco and tile roofed home.”