I had the opportunity to see travertine tile inlay being used in a custom-crafted fireplace recently that had been installed in a fantastic new Charleston Row House-style home under construction in the heart of downtown Aiken, South Carolina. Various shades of tan to brown with specks of slate blue were interlaced within some of the tiles giving interior designer, Tara, the inspiration to give a coat of a complimentary blue paint in the master suite. This particular travertine tile was mined in Turkey and lends a touch of class to an already beautiful Charleston Row House-style home design plan.

Aiken homebuilder (and old schoolmate) H.L. "Buddy" Stevens, along with Tara, have undertaken quite a homebuilding project in this historic section of Aiken on Park Avenue. He has taken a rather obscure piece of real estate and made it a focal point for what's in store for that section of downtown Aiken. I lived in Aiken for several years and continue to visit family in Aiken on a regular basis and I can't (for the life of me) remember what used to sit on the property that Buddy has built this beautiful new home on. Quite a transformation!

I want to initially focus on the Isokern fireplaces and chimney systems of this English Cottage style home because that is what really caught my attention and was one of the features that immediately signaled that this was no "run of the mill" home. Isokern fireplaces and chimney systems are made of volcanic pumice mined near the Arctic Circle from the Hekla Volcano in Iceland. Isokern fireplaces are NOT kits like I'm used to seeing in almost every home we visit. I was intrigued by the feel of the material and the masonry methods involved in the installation process. The insulating properties are superior to practically anything available. Click on the links below to find out more about Isokern, where the raw materials come from and how they mine it. The herringbone firebrick design on these fireplaces really set them apart from the majority of firebrick that is seen in kits.