Quality Natural Stones In Interior Design
By Erika, Fri Dec 9th

Natural stones have been used by man throughout centuriesprimarily due to their beauty, variety and durability. Today asbefore, their role in interior cannot be overestimated.

Natural stones can enhance traditional and contemporaryinteriors in many ways, from marble wall or floor tiles to alimestone windowsill, let alone worktops in the kitchen or bathsurrounds and vanity tops in the bathroom. Natural stones alsogo well with other interior materials, such as wood orglass.

Even a small piece of quality stonework can make a lot ofdifference. My favourite examples of stonework for the sittingroom are hearths, windowsills and table tops. For the moreadventurous, a multi-stone floor inset would easily be thecenterpiece of any room. However, nothing beats marble tiledfloors, better still if accompanied by skirting made of the samenatural stone.

The key is to use quality natural stones with top aestheticaland technical characteristics. Quality of the natural stones isdriven by a number of factors, the state of the quarry, qualityof the block, quality of the machinery

and stone grading processat the cutting factory, commitment to quality of the stonesupplier who chooses the quarry/factory/stone. You should askyour stone supplier for advice on different grades of aparticular natural stone before you make a final decision basedon quality and budget constraints. Based on my experience,quality should never be compromised.

Fire surround is a good example. In most cases, quality of thenatural stone and craftwork play a bigger role that the designitself. There is only one step from a luxurious piece to a tackyone. My favourite stones for luxury fire surrounds includeStatuario, White Cappuccino, Rosso Lepante and Portoro. Firesurrounds are made either of slabs or blocks. Most contemporaryand some traditional designs can be made of slabs. Generally, apiece made of slabs costs less than one made of a block.

I always use an opportunity to mention marble windowsills. InSweden, windowsills made of natural stones are as common as snowin the winter. The reasons for that are twofold, decorativeeffect and practicality (they are hygienic and easy tomaintain). I believe that many interior projects wouldbenefit from the use of marble (or other natural stone)windowsills.

I strongly believe that the use of quality natural stones ininterior is an investment in the property that pays off.

About the author:Erika provides interior advice to Stoneville (UK) Ltd.More info on natural stones can be found at http://www.stoneville.co.uk .