How the Use of Stone can Transform your Home Decor

With an increased focus on ecology and sustainability, incorporating green practices and design into homes has become a necessity. Besides using new technologies to conserve energy, water, and other resources architects are creatively using natural materials like wood and stone to create new designs. Not only has design aesthetic been used and accepted by the construction industry at large, it is common now for home-owners to adopt this idea in Do-it-yourself style and create some interesting decor for their homes. In this post, we discuss how the use of stone can transform your home.

Stone can be used to decorate both the interior and the exterior of the house. There are many simple and interesting ways to use stone in home design. From wall accents to murals to pathways and even furniture, there are many ways to enhance the aesthetics of the house with a stone.

 

Advantages of Using Stone

While there are many natural materials that can be used to enhance your home. Here are few advantages:

1. A Natural and Earthy Appearance The use of natural material creates a welcoming atmosphere in the home with earthy tones and the natural look of stone.
2. Persistence and Simple Maintenance Stone is known to be durable and works well with exterior cladding. Using non-porous stones like Granite reduces maintenance as one needn’t worry about sealant maintenance and leakages.
3. Wide Spectrum of Options for Every Taste and Budget Natural stone is available to suit all pockets and tastes. One can start with lower ranging stones that easily available in the region or consider higher end marbles that add a plush look but are also heavy on the savings.
4. Eco-friendliness Stone offers a great eco-friendly solution to other chemical cladding and flooring options. One can also be certain that there will be no danger of chemical inhalation and surface allergies, especially with young children.
5. Amazing and Lavish Textures The look of stone is greatly variable with simple finishing techniques. One can go for high end polishes for a lavish look or machine tumble for a rustic finish. Stones like Granite can even give non-slip texture if fired at the right temperatures.
6. High Noise Insulation Due to natural porosity, stones like marble, limestone, sandstone offer high noise insulation. This helps create the calm serenity one craves for in urban homes.

Stone Types

Natural stone is available in a wide range of colours and patterns. As with gemstones, rare colours and patterns cost the most. Here are some characteristics of the popular varieties:

Granite

With hundreds of available varieties, granite is a popular and durable option. Granite stone can also be flamed for slip-resistant texture in busy kitchens and bathrooms.

Marble

This porous stone is a sophisticated choice for formal spaces but is easily scratched. Slabs or tiles come in many colours, based on where they were quarried. Some varieties of marble are harder and more stain-resistant than others, so ask your dealer if the marble you are considering will perform well for the use you have in mind.

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Limestone

Known for its natural, earthen appearance, limestone is formed from sedimentary materials, such as coral and shells. Unlike some stones, when limestone is cut from the same slab, it has little colour variation from tile to tile. The stone can be sanded perfectly smooth for a soothing, refined look, or machine-tumbled for a worn look. If you use limestone in a room where acidic liquids might spill, consider sealing this porous material every few years.


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Slate

Home decoration with stones offers a rich texture, warmth and earthy flavoursA rustic classic available in geometric pieces and irregular shapes, slate is usually found in dark gray, soft red, and medium green.

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Travertine

This crystallized, partially metamorphosed limestone is often mistaken for marble. Its versatile properties can make it look like marble when buffed or a give a great rustic appeal if machine tumbled.

Stone Tiles

Stone tiles are a great option and offer durability and variety. They are made by slicing boulders and slabs of rock into thin squares or rectangles. The appearance of stone varies from tile to tile due to veining, natural imperfections, and even fossils. Colour palettes also vary by the type of stone and location of the quarry.

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Design Styles in Stone

The Rustic Look

Rustic Style replicates the style of a world gone by, a far cry from the concrete jungle and the super-fast lives of today. Nature-inspired, simple and organic, rustic style home design uses natural materials and textures. The defining feature of a rustic style home is a distinctly homely, comfortable, unpretentious and organic appeal. With a mixture of unfinished texture stone, earthy tones and exposed architectural elements, this look can add real appeal to a holiday cabin, outdoor patio or even a themed garden.

Polished and Chic

There is nothing that defines chic, stylish and opulent like beautifully polished stone flooring and walls. While it is common to see polished decor in high end hotels and restaurants, a homeowner can consider using polished flooring or walls for smaller sections of their homes. Consider an accent wall or dining room flooring in a lush marble finish. They could even treat themselves with a beautifully finished bathroom pairing the high polished surfaces with detailed bathroom fittings.

Ledge Stone

This beautiful, stacked arrangment of tiles is known as ledge stone. The thin, rectangular pieces of tiles of different heights and widths are fitted together and give the room a busy feel. The ledge stone has a gritty, unfinished appearance and works as a beautiful counterpoint to the smooth, streamlined furniture and fittings. It also looks very impressive for wall exteriors or add a rustic element to your poolside or pond.

Exterior vs Interior

Stone can be used extensively with for both Home exterior and interiors. Exteriors can be improved extensively by using stone in the floor, wall claddings and gardens. The proper choice of stone coupled with some interesting design ideas can enhance the look of the front facade or backyard. Interior flooring, wall accents, fire places and simple fittings like stoneware sinks in the bathrooms can add great design elements to the style.

Tips for Installation

Installing stone is labor-intensive and extremely exacting. Hire a seasoned, dedicated professional to ensure proper installation. A proper substrate, the surface on which the stone will be laid, is also critical. With concrete subfloors, installers may opt to apply the mortar directly onto the subfloor and then simply lay the tile. A wood subfloor requires cement backer for support and as a moisture barrier. Talk to a stone dealer to find out whether the variety of stone you are considering for your home requires sealing and, if so, how often it should be reapplied.

Quality stone sealers fill spaces between the crystals and minerals in stone tiles, so they resist water and stains, rather than just covering the surface. Stone floors in low-traffic areas and non-porous stone, such as granite, may not need to be sealed. Because stone tiles can be thicker than other flooring surfaces, you may need to install a transition strip to connect your new stone floor to the flooring in an adjacent area. Your stone dealer may be able to fabricate a stone transition for you, or you can purchase a ready-made transition made from the same surface as the adjacent floor.

Source: https://www.projectlink.com.au/blog/home-decoration-with-stones/