Jimmy Reed, recognized as the best of the very best installers of glass mosaic tile pools and spas by the Hollywood stars, was recently asked to bring his talents inside for a change and showcase his artistic craftsmanship at the ultra-exclusive new multi-million dollar Los Angeles home of legendary pop icon Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish. With a growing family, the couple needed more space and found their perfect new digs in a single-level, 4,216 square foot modernist style home located in the exclusive Trousdale Estates, a glamorous enclave of mid-century style mansions in Beverly Hills.

The custom interior decoration program was created by Martyn Lawrence Bullard, the multi-award winning LA-based designer and star of Bravo’s reality series “Million Dollar Decorators.” The internationally-acclaimed interior designer has a long list of awards and an even longer list of high-profile clients that now enjoy his detailed and sophisticated interiors. Martyn Lawrence Bullard just happens to be a very close personal friend of Elton John’s growing family, and just a few years back (2009) he famously decorated the couple’s previous LA digs on the 20^th floor of the celebrity-filled Sierra Towers in West Hollywood.

Jimmy Reed had previously worked with Martyn Lawrence Bullard on a luxury water feature installation for another prestigious project, where he surfaced the ultra-custom pool and spa with 4”x4” natural Bali Green Stone tiles with a rough, hewn surface. The star designer had personally brought these tiles back from Indonesia for that one specific pool project. In addition, with so many of his stunning water features surfaced with glass mosaic tile, often in super high-end Italian glass tile from Bisazza, Reed has spent plenty of time working with Stephanie Coulter, manager of the flagship Bisazza LA showroom.  Ed O’Neill, the project’s general contractor, was also was familiar with Reed’s work and reputation for excellence when it comes to the installation of glass mosaic tiles. All of these factors made Reed the perfect choice for the elegant Bisazza glass mosaic tile installation in the master bath, as well as two other interior spaces included in Martyn Lawrence Bullard’s modernist, color-splashed interior decoration for Elton John and family.

“I’ve definitely enjoy working with Stephanie (Coulter) at the Bisazza showroom over the last few years,” said Reed. “She’s a very intuitive, well-respected manager with a great feel for the Bisazza line. She will also make special trips to come visit projects featuring Bisazza glass tiles and she truly has a great appreciation for our art.”  

Inside the modernist style, single-story L-shaped home offering incredible hilltop views for the six-time Grammy Award winning musician and his family, Reed showcased his artistic style in three different rooms. His elegant and intensely detailed glass mosaic tile installation for the entire master bathroom pushes the limits of tile design just as far as it can go. With Bisazza’s stunning, one of a kind 24-carat white gold glass tile collection and Reed’s flawless installation resulting in a “perfect storm” of tile design. 

For all of the walls outside the glass encased shower space, Reed used Bisazza’s signature Damasco pattern in the Oro Bianco collection.  This is a classic pattern that uses the smooth and textured white gold mosaics along with the white gold Vetricolor glass mosaic to really highlight the signature design. For the inside shower walls, Reed used Bisazza’s Queen ¾” x ¾” (20x20mm) blend consisting of the smooth and textured white gold mosaic exclusively. The gorgeous, highly unique collections two finish-styles accent each other perfectly when used in the same design. Bisazza’s Oro collection is created using real, 24-carat white gold that’s encased in 20x20mm clear glass mosaic tiles. Reed’s influence played an integral part in the success of many of the modern features of the master bathroom, starting with the curbless shower entry that didn’t interrupt the tile design with the lowered substructure custom built by Ed O’Neill. Reed also decided to pass on the traditional round-center drain and instead used a subtle, 14-foot stainless steel linear channel drain custom made by LATICRETE along the far back wall.

“I’m a big fan of his. I have complete confidence in recommending him for any installation of glass tile. I’ve been working with him since 2009 when I first began working out of Bisazza’s flagship showroom here in LA. He’s actually installing Bisazza glass tile right now at the home of the next king of Saudi Arabia. The Prince came right into the showroom with his designer and selected the yellow gold version of Damasco Oro glass mosaics,” said Coulter.

Stepping into the shower through the barrier-free entry in the center of the shower’s two glass walls, Reed continued his flawless tile work using a more traditional hand-cut soft-white colored Greek Thassos natural stone. Reed cut the material into 6” x 12” tiles and beautifully surfaced the entire bathroom floor in a custom brick-stack pattern.

The master bath is complete with the elegant natural stone flooring selection that flows perfectly with the white gold tiles from Bisazza that adorn the walls.

For the kid’s bath that will be getting plenty of use when the new parents are in LA, the Martyn Lawrence Bullard decoration called for Reed to install custom glass tile sheets in a color-splashed balloon pattern that were designed to already perfectly fit each wall space, including the interior shower walls. The playful, colorful glass tile sheets were offset with gorgeous Caesarstone solid surface in “Pure White” that Reed custom-fabricated for the tub-surround and columns, as well as for the sleek vanity countertop and custom sink. Caesarstone is one of the world’s leading producers of solid quartz surfaces.

At this point Reed had still only completed two of the 5.5 bathrooms in the seventh home that Sir Elton John and David Furnish own in glamorous locales around the world. And for that .5 bath, call it the powder room, Reed custom-fabricated and installed a 10-foot long, angular countertop with the same Caesarstone solid surface used for the kid’s bath. The beautiful, Caesarstone  countertop again in Pure White, features an integrated drop sink that Reed cut right from the slab, as well as a lower display shelf in the same angular dimensions and materials.

“It’s always special to work on high-profile projects like this alongside a truly world-class collaboration of artistic professionals,” Reed said. “It was a pleasure to be a part of this team. Martyn Lawrence Bullard is simple an incredible designer that created spaces with eclectic material that always work so perfectly with each space.”