Hi Friends!! Hope last week was grand and this week will be even better!!  I have been busy photographing homes and writing away! This morning I was thinking about trends that were making a comeback in the home finishes, fabrics and fashion and the ancient art of marbleizing, and emulating stones came to mind.

Emulating stone has always been in our toolkit as we marbleized these columns about 20 years ago!! Now that request is coming back and we are seeing the real trompe l’oeil effects in all types of design.

I think it is because its natural nature can be also be viewed as abstract art when put in a contemporary setting like this beautiful bathroom I saw on Instagram, designed by The Nest. Using book matched marble to create an art focal wall and pendant lighting vs the traditional sconces, a clean modern feel was kept in this well designed space.

As putting slabs on all your walls may both be a construction impossibility as well as a VERY EXPENSIVE proposition, many papers are being brought to market which emulate this age old painted technique.  This Modern geode bath designed by Holly A. Kopman Interior Design was featured in Elle Decor. The gold ceiling really offsets the walls. When designing your space-don’t forget to look up!!

With marbles coming to the forefront so is the resurgence of Venetian plasters.  Developed in Italy in the 16th century they are made from a fine lime putty and a high concentration of real marble dust.

The beauty of the product is not only its luster but its ability to be tinted in dark and vibrant colors!! Always a dramatic effect for powder baths and dining rooms, we now are installing it in whole home applications. It comes in a synthetic product–I know its cheaper–but beware. The natural, pure Venetians give you the prettiest marbling and the most sheen. Cultured marble vs. real marble? Get the difference?

Andrea, one of my finish designers has been working with Interior designer Nancy Sharp to recreate this mantle in a totally different light. Wanting to visually extend the black tones outward and create a more dramatic focal for the room, we…

…hand-painted a marbleized finish right over the wood. Reading like real stone, this mantle was built and hand painted much more affordably then if it were actually carved from stone. There is so much paint can do without ripping out materials, starting from scratch and breaking the bank.

This table was painted in the same fashion for designer Linda Eyles that was fabricated by the Joseph Company. They have been so super patient with us as we have been testing new ways to apply sealers which have that authentic sheen of the real material.

Hopefully they feel it has been worth the wait as we are almost there!!

I know we can’t talk about marbleizing things without playing our favorite game of I spy!!

Disguising electrical plates to read like the surface they are around seems like such a small detail, but truly is that special added touch which makes all the difference in the world!

These beautiful stones are also coming back in dishware like this beautiful malachite set from L’Object.

Wanting a different colorway, I am currently working with a client to finish her columns to look like this precious stone!!   The beauty of paint-you can pick your color.  Here is our first round of samples. I will let you know what the client thinks.

I can’t talk about stones without showing you one of my all time favorites-pink onyx! This top just was installed in a master closet we are working on!  The gold leaf detail speaks to the trend I will talk about in next weeks post!!  Till then-xo  What’s your favorite stone?