Designer: Ginny Hautau, Urban Cowgirl Design
Location: Petaluma, California
Scope: Whole-home tile program across eight distinct interior and exterior zones, using the FLM Origins line

Built from the ground up on an old dairy farm, this 7,800-square-foot home — dubbed "The Country House" by the family who built it — used FLM Ceramics' Origins line as a unifying material strategy across nearly every zone of the property. From a 105-linear-foot pool waterline to a custom pizza oven, three bathrooms across the main house and guest house, a sunken spa, and the home's grand staircase, designer Ginny Hautau carried FLM's bold black-and-white patterns from wet exterior spaces to dry interior ones, creating what she describes as consistent, impactful encounters throughout the home.

Scope of Work

  • Entryway — 20 sq ft — 4" running bond Alborz

  • Grand Staircase Risers — 110 linear ft — 6" Asia, Asal, Alborz, Seljuk (alternating)

  • Guest Suite Bath (lower level) — Custom 6" Asia, special-order

  • Primary Suite Bath (upper level) — 6" Shenandoah

  • Guest House Bath — 6" Alborz

  • Sunken Spa — 48 linear ft — Custom 3" x 3" Alborz

  • Pool Waterline — 105 linear ft — 6" Rafah

  • Pizza / Bread Oven — 66 sq ft — 6" Alborz

  • Butler's Pantry — 30 sq ft — 4" Rafah

In the Designer's Words

"Built from the ground up on an old dairy farm, the family dubbed it, The Country House. With 7,800 square feet of finishes to be sourced, tile played a critical role in pulling together a cohesive design strategy and, with Forrest, I found a partner who considered every detail as seriously as I do. The FLM Origins line accomplished my design goals perfectly — enabling me to use its bold black and white motifs throughout the home, creating consistent and impactful encounters that quietly take your breath away.

Walking into the home, you would be charmed by a small front entry floor of 4" running bond Alborz, and then catch a glimpse of the grand staircase in the background where alternating tiled risers (6" Asia, Asal, Alborz, Seljuk) set the stage for the entire Country House experience. Three of seven bathrooms showcase FLM floor tiles — the lower level guest suite with a special order 6" Asia (that Forrest was generous enough to create), the upper level primary suite with Beth's lovely 6" Shenandoah, and the guest house bathroom with the immensely flexible 6" Alborz. Bridging the space between the main house and the guest house (and testing the limits of the impressive durability of FLM Ceramics products) 4" Alborz line a sunken spa, 6" Rafah run a 105 foot perimeter of a salt water swimming pool, and 6" Alborz cover an outdoor pizza oven. All still impeccable years later.

Only one interior wall application is FLM (gorgeous 4" Rafah in the butler's pantry over reclaimed wood counters), but that is ONLY because the FLM Field Tile line had not been developed yet.

While The Country House was a two-year endeavor, working with Forrest and his team made it an absolute labor of love. His attention to the details of various applications, his availability to installers and homeowners alike, and his incredibly gracious and grounding presence make FLM my first stop for handmade tiles."

— Ginny Hautau, Urban Cowgirl Design

Photography by Michael Woolsey, except guest suite bath floor by Elizabeth Schaible.