But the chairs were still trimmed with chipping red paint, and the floor tile seemed, as ever, to fall just short of exhibiting a regular pattern.

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On the other side of the wall, there was the noise of furniture scraping across a tile floor.

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In hindsight, the well-polished checkered tile floor and pristine, clear glass display cabinets should have alerted me that this was no ordinary gelati joint.

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In deference to the historical nature of the home, the Pattersons preserved several elements of the original structure, including the Cuban tile floor in the living room and a limestone fireplace in the dining area.

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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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Original features remain, like the front desk, grand fireplace, tile-work floor, and Chinoiserie Chippendale bar in the J Bar which has been signed by every bartender to work there since 1889.

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The main house is the more elevated structure and consists of an open floor plan with French terra-cotta tile floors, custom wrought iron and cathedral ceilings.

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Baseballs are woven throughout the plans, embedded in ironwork along the side of the facade, through terra-cotta balls adorning the top of the stadium, in stitches visible in the tile inlay on the rotunda floor and in its dangling baseball-and-bat chandelier.

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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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