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Inspiring Kitchens

Featured Designer
Gail Drury, CMKBD

President & Creative Director
Drury Design, Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Gail Drury and the design team at Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio, have been incorporating our tiles into their kitchen and bath designs since 1997.

Her work ranges from highly decorative traditional havens to modern minimal spaces. She even designed our best selling kitchen backsplash of all time! Simply put, Gail is one of our favorite designers.

We are happy to share with you the work of Gail and her talented team at Drury Design.

We celebrate the Drury Design team’s unsurpassed attention to even the smallest detail — all the way down to our Bronzework Studio ⅝-inch metal accent tiles!

An instinct for design

Gail Drury says she was “born to do space planning and to design architectural elements.” She loves “to walk into a house and think about what walls I can move around, doors or windows I can relocate [to] create the perfect functional and updated space for a family. Frequently a very small dysfunctional space can be changed tremendously just by moving things around a bit and thinking about it ‘out of the box.’”

Bronzework Studio Basic Liner metal tiles are used in two ways in this kitchen: To frame the panel over the cooktop and to trim the ends of the tiled portion of the wall. The herringbone tile pattern inside the bronze frame creates an understated, yet inventive focal point.

This mostly white kitchen is made unexpectedly lively with the addition of black cabinets next to the built-in refrigerator. For this section of the tile backsplash, Drury Design has added an extra level of detail with a simple row of Bronzework Studio Basic Liners.

Design and photo ©Drury Design
Portfolio page at drurydesigns.com

On Bronzework Studio

“No one has finishes like Bronzework Studio does. I love the White Bronze. It is very unique.”

“For more contemporary designs I like the Terrace tile designs and the Basic Liner. I also love the Beach Grass liner. We are putting a new display in right now featuring this and I am excited to see the end result.”

Bronzework Studio Blooming Leaf inset tiles in two sizes, framed with the Basic Liner, animate an elegant and delightful niche over the cooktop in this “well-dressed traditional Glen Ellyn kitchen” from Drury Design. The white diamond shaped ceramic field tile is the Rhomboid pattern from the Stellar collection by Sonoma Tilemakers.

Design and photo ©Drury Design
Portfolio page at drurydesigns.com

On the joy of designing

“For me, the real pleasure in my business is determining my client’s goals and conceptualizing unique architectural design solutions by optimizing space and function with beauty. The work, of course, is getting all of the details correct.”

Bronzework Studio Flowing Liner provides an undulating metal accent in this refined traditional kitchen from Drury Design. The combination of three different metal accents: the nickel silver faucet, the hammered copper range hood, and the bronze liners create a perfect eclectic harmony.

Design and photo ©Drury Design
Portfolio page at drurydesigns.com

Choosing tile

In designing with tile, Gail likes to let the chosen tile determine how and where it’s used. She suggests you “build the design around the tile…. For example If you fall in love with a large scale border tile your design is going to be a lot different than if you fall in love with a sleek liner bar.”

Bronzework Studio Blooming Leaf insets over the sink echo the bronze Basic Liners that frame the marble mosaic panel over the cooktop in this traditional kitchen from Drury Design. The linear metal motif is repeated in the brass and linen pendant lights.

Design and photo ©Drury Design
Portfolio page at drurydesigns.com

Designing with tile

For bathrooms, Gail says she “likes to select the tile before any other materials are selected, as tile is the major part of any bathroom design.”

For kitchens, she selects tile last, and builds the design around the cabinetry and counter tops. She says, “sometimes in kitchens we get the entire kitchen completed and then focus on the tile.”

Bronzework Studio Basic Liners make this kitchen more personal by adding a discrete touch of metal to the gray watercolor-glazed backsplash tile in this refined transistional kitchen from Drury Design. Again, several different types of metal are combined in a carefully-composed design.

Design and photo ©Drury Design
Portfolio page at drurydesigns.com

Trends in design

“If everyone is doing it, be careful. Do your own twist of a popular style.”

However, she believes that “the eclectic kitchen using different materials is here to stay.”

“White has been the number one color since the 1980’s. I think it will always be a safe bet.”

Bronzework Studio 1¼ inch Blooming Leaf and Basic Liner metal tiles create an elegant and delightful niche over the cooktop in this traditional kitchen from Drury Design. The Traditional Bronze tiles complement the antique brass door pulls and the copper range hood.

Design and photo ©Drury Design
Portfolio page at drurydesigns.com

Our thanks to Gail

In spending time with all of these magnificent kitchens, we’ve come to appreciate the many ways Gail has used our metal tiles: from punctuating a backsplash with a running line of bronze, to creating a charming home for a vase of fresh poppies by framing a niche over a cooktop. Gail and her staff of designers seem to find a way to make every client’s kitchen special and unique.

We’re grateful to Gail for recommending our metal tiles to her clients.

To see more beautiful kitchens and baths and learn about working with Gail Drury, visit the Drury Design website: drurydesigns.com

In this Drury Design kitchen, Bronzework Studio Precision Liners in Satin Nickel frame a band of glass tiles in this traditional kitchen. Here the metal tiles repeat the satin nickel finish of the faucet, and blend beautifully with the polished hardware and antique metal of the range hood.

Design and photo ©Drury Design
Portfolio page at drurydesigns.com

Special thanks to Janice Teague, CKD/CBD and Alicia Saso, AKBD