A Guide to the Best Types of Stone for Interior Design
These days, interior design trends tend to be based around ideas of sustainability, nature and longevity. People who are in the market for home improvement and renovation are tending to spend more money on the work but are choosing elements that are of a higher quality and last longer than cheaper alternatives. This push for long lasting home design elements has led to neutral design becoming more prevalent as designers look to create spaces that we can live with for decades rather than a short few years before we get tired of them.
Wood, stone, rattan, bamboo, cotton and linen are just some of the materials that are becoming more popular in home interiors because they are sourced from nature and fit a naturalistic aesthetic. Where a designer is looking to work with a material that can last for generations to come, the obvious choice is stone. Stone is an extremely versatile material that can be used in many different ways in interior design, and this article will explore some of the most beautiful types of natural stone you can bring into your home.
Marble
For many, marble represents the gold standard in interior design materials. It is synonymous with luxury, and while it is often replicated using cheap materials they can never capture the look and feel of real marble. Marble is tough enough to be used indoors and outdoors, and is relatively easy to cut and shape consistently making this elegant stone ideal for a huge range of interior design projects. Where a luxurious look is required and budgets allow for it, stone is often the top choice for interior designers. You may be used to seeing white marble, but this kind of stone comes in a wide range of colours and levels of veining.
Sandstone
There is something very warm and rustic about sandstone and it is commonly used to build traditional houses in coastal areas. It has excellent properties that make it pleasant for stonemasons to work with and its strength means designers can use it for almost anything, from flooring to cantilever stone staircases and even entire buildings where it is a good insulator against hot and cold weather. It can be polished to a high shine or left coarse for a more natural look, making it a very versatile stone for any project.
Slate
Slate is a sedimentary rock that is formed in thin layers. It is brittle along the open side, but very strong from above and below. This brittleness means it is not ideal for heavy duty construction, but its beauty makes it perfect for flooring, roofing, building facades and decorative elements inside the home. Most people are familiar with the more common dark grey variety of slate, though it can be found in red tones, various shades of grey, and deep black.
Granite
If you are craving some colour then granite might be the perfect choice for your interior design project. You can find granite in a variety of neutral, natural colours, but for the more daring it also comes in rich reds, deep greens, various shades of pink, and even golden tones. Granite tends to have a lot of attractive veining and no two pieces are alike so you’ll need to be careful when choosing each piece of granite to make sure they are the same colour and have a similar amount of veining throughout the stone.
Travertine
Travertine is a tough and very attractive stone that can be found in a range of colours and pattern types. Despite its beauty, travertine is porous and so should not be used where it is likely to come into contact with oils and other liquids that can permeate into the stone and cause stains. It is also sadly prone to being scratched when it is not handled properly, so is often used best as a decorative element. With that said, travertine tiles can be cut, treated and polished in such a way that they can be made more durable. Most travertine has neutral, creamy colours that can be warm or cool, and every piece will have the characteristic markings that make travertine so beautiful.