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The look and texture of natural stone are qualities that can’t be replicated, even though many have tried. Marble, granite, limestone, and other natural surfaces are gaining momentum in the marketplace with bold colors and unique variations finding their way into new and renovated homes.
Exotic Looks
Natural stones are becoming more and more popular today, considering the accessibility and the better prices available than just five years ago, in comparison with man-made materials, says Dirci Borelli Marquart, CEO and senior stone designer with GranTops. She says customers are especially interested in exotic stones, such as Mascarello, Matrix Motion, and Golden Art. The last can vary in color from off-white to black with rust accents. “It has that rusted variation which makes it beautiful, unique,” she says.
Making New Look Old
Antique and reclaimed materials are also hot looks, says Sebastian Bryant, national showroom coordinator for Paris Ceramics. “We are also finding a lot of clients asking to take new stones and give them an aged or distressed look,” he says.
This look is achieved by taking newly quarried stones and hand texturing them, Bryant says. Many times a client will have an ages-old floor in a foyer and “with the new materials we are cutting into staircases and archways and columns, it establishes a room instantly,” he adds.
Bold or Basic
While many people opt for neutral tones in their homes, there is a growing interest in bolder colors. Onyx, pearl, and jade are becoming more popular stone selections, says Ramiro Paez, owner of Exterior Concepts. “The countertops are a lot of dark colors,” such as black galaxy and emerald greens, he says.
“Our customers are now demanding a greater selection than they did in the past,” says Bill Werder, president of Avanti Marble & Granite Inc. “In order to display the more than 200 exotic and unique varieties of stone that we now stock, we designed our new warehouse to act as a showroom, built with the consumer, designer, and architect in mind.”
Out of the Ordinary
Not only are clients looking to diversify the colors of the stones in their homes, Paez says he is installing the high-end materials in unusual rooms. “I have customers that want to use natural stone in their laundry area,” he says. “We are doing a lot of natural stone floors in basements and make sure we heat them underneath.”
Bathrooms and kitchens have always been the favored rooms for marble, limestone, and granite products, especially along floors and walls. But Paris Ceramics also has installed stone in uncommon spaces within grander projects. “We’ve also been carving bathtubs out of single pieces of stone,” such as a white marble with blue veining, Bryant adds.
There is also a trend moving away from tumbled stone and more toward honed stone that is polished but without the sheen, says Chantal Pundsack, showroom manager of Architectural Ceramics.
Pundsack says she has also seen a lot of planking of stone that almost replicates a hardwood floor. “People are deciding ‘Do I want hardwood on my floor or do I want tile?’ Now you can get that same kind of look except with stone,” she says.
Granite’s Appeal
Most homeowners do not realize that granite is actually much more affordable today than in the past, says Brenda Rudolph, sales manager for The Countertop Company. She adds that it isn’t high maintenance anymore either. The Countertop Company “offers a unique two-step sealing system that guarantees it will resist stains and does not need to be re-applied,” says Rudolph. “The first step begins overseas, where the granite is selected and processed, and the pores of the stone are filled. The stone is then shipped directly to our Virginia plant where the final finish is hand-applied.”
Inlays and Accents
Reclaimed stones from Asia, Europe, and Africa are finding their way into many homes as well. Marilyn DeMent, co-owner of DeZahra, says clients want to bring “an old look into a modern space. They are getting these beautiful custom homes that end up becoming McMansions. Our clients want to try to bring something original or with a touch of history into their environment,” DeMent says. This is why Jerusalem stone is such a popular trend right now and why many of DeZahra’s clients adore the Giallo Antico stone quarried by the Romans thousands of years ago. They also utilize reclaimed Mediterranean ceramic tiles from 500 years ago and are interested in mixing mediums.
DeMent has clients who want a marble inlay medallion in their hardwood floor or to mix Venetian glass, terra-cotta, and marble to make a colorful border. “People are combining our reclaimed ceramics with our stone to create works of art,” she says.
Several companies are offering products with an interesting history, but DeSantis Designs Inc. found a way to give a client one of the most unique products from nature that has been millions of years in the making. While designing a feng shui-inspired kitchen for a client this year, the owners of DeSantis Designs, Tim and Jerry DeSantis, came across a stone with fossilized fish offered by Green River Stone Company. With its museum quality, the stone became the three-piece backsplash in the client’s kitchen. “It’s textured so you can really feel what the body skeleton felt like,” Jerry DeSantis says. With variety like this, homeowners can combine stone styles and finishes to create a one-of-a-kind look in their homes.
