7 Natural Stone Designs to Transform Any Surface from Bland to Grand
Filling your home with man-made materials, whether it’s vinyl or laminates, is like walking through a pristine beach full of plastic clutter. I prefer natural materials that don’t pollute the environment and give one a sense of oneness with nature. Choosing natural stone designs in your home are a surefire way to create unique, durable, and uplifting designs for your luxury home that evoke the grandness of the natural world. You might hesitate, thinking that it is too hard a material to work with, but that's not true. Just take a look at this list to see how to use stonework in your next remodel to create captivating designs.
7 Ways to Go from Bland to Grand
Take your cue from Mother Nature to give your home a sense of majesty. Almost any surface can be covered with natural stone designs, whether it is using mosaics or slabs. You may decide you want to opt for rougher stones like slate or pebbles in extreme environments, either exposed to too much water or sunshine, and save the marble and granite for indoor spaces. Stones like granite and marble do take some maintenance and protection indoors to keep it looking its best. Here are seven different ideas to get you started remodeling your home or business.
1. Add a Water Jet Medallion to Your Lobby Floor
For a hotel or estate lobby, nothing makes a grander statement than a water jet medallion in the front entryway. These unique stone designs elevate the mosaic craft to high precision using computer-controlled water jet technology.
2. Cover Your Wall with a Stone Mosaic
Mosaics can be put in cramped areas like a kitchen or bathroom backsplash or they can take up an entire wall. You can put any motif you want on them. They can be avant garde modern motifs or echo natural elements like grapevines, to bring more nature indoors. The possible designs are limitless! 
Abstract Mosaic Tile - View Details>>
3. Add Glamor with Stone Countertops
Pulling up to a marble or granite wine bar or sushi countertop makes a big impression on people visiting your establishment. Ambiance is a key driver of customer satisfaction. Learn how to use your interior decorating choices to add just the right ambiance to your restaurant.
Stone Countertops - View Details>>
4. Focus on Luxurious Detailing
Maybe you want to add a bit of drama without going for an entire floor or wall. In that case, you can add stone detailing around the bath, using marble molding to create instant high-end appeal. Molding is an excellent choice to line fireplaces, doorways, and add interest to any small space. Or, if you’d rather cover the entire face of the fireplace with stone, you can use ledge stone for a natural appearance. If you know how to do a stone border right, you can even give that area a 3D effect.
Liners and Molding - View Details>>
5. Tiles For Larger Spaces
An estate living room or patio are high-traffic areas that can benefit from a hard floor. If you opt for a less intricate design than a medallion, you can still get impressive results with stone tiles. Tiles can be cut to produce stunning geometric designs that are made completely with natural stone. They come in different materials like onyx and slate, along with marble and granite.
Octagon Mosaic Tile - View Details>>
Slate is a good choice for areas with a fireplace, as it doesn’t get affected by extreme heat. Once polished, the floor sparkles like a fine-cut gem. These can be ideal for bathrooms and kitchens, too, since they are impervious to water.
6. Unusual Pathways Lined with Stone
Paths that lead into a garden, a home, or to a pool or water feature, can be ideal places to add mosaics outdoors. They can be as humble as a few stone tiles added to a bedding of pebbles or for a grander statement, you can add a mosaic of stone pebbles to create intricate designs.
Outdoor designs make use of rougher stones, like cobblestone, limestone, Jerusalem stone, and travertine for a more rustic appearance and less wear and tear due to the outdoor elements.
7. Pools with Stonework
The bottom of a pool is an excellent surface to add mosaic stonework. Take a look at this example, where the mason even added shadows to the aquatic creatures depicted in the mosaic at the bottom of a pool.
Fish Mosaic Murals - View Details>>
This gives the pool visual interest and more depth. It’s like tromp l’oeil, except using stone instead of paint. Just because stone is a cold, hard, material, it doesn't mean it can't produce stunning, intricate, visual effects.