Full-scale walls have been built of the shaped brick and deep blue or white ceramic tile that he wrapped effortlessly around columns and curved surfaces.

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Across town and near the Testaccio neighborhood is Porto Fluviale, a trattoria, pizzeria and bar whose black-and-white lacquered-tile design evokes memories of Italian bars from days past.

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After Hurricane Katrina forced it to close in 2005, the hotel reopened in 2009, completely renovated with a long walnut bar, elegant tile floor and white coat-wearing wait staff, nodding to the former opulence of old New Orleans.

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Now, the model has white leather sectional sofas, sandstone tile floors and other contemporary furnishings.

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This rectangular, windowless block grabs attention with its vertically-aligned tile work -- all in white -- which creates a rich texture when it catches the sunlight.

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The showroom also features a big mural of about 3, 000 white ping-pong balls on a Venetian-tile entry wall.

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The real showstopper, however, was the bath, with its vanilla- colored tile walls, black-and-white marble floor, enormous terrazzo soaking tub and huge stall shower.

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Houman would introduce Willis to masters of other crafts, including zellige (glazed tile mosaic), gebs (carved and incised white plaster) and mashrabiya (intricately carved cedar for pierced screens).

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