Raw, earthy textures are the next natural stone trend for 2016!

You may not quite believe it, but we are already in the last quarter of 2016. 2017 beckons, and what better time to revisit your home décor style than now? August provides a prime opportunity to improve your surroundings for the upcoming year – before the bustle of Christmas preparation, New Year celebrations and holidays take over both your time as well as your budget!

Natural stone trends have been dominated by marble over the past years, but this is set to change soon as home interiors move from luxury finishes into a more down-to-earth terrain. Australian design site Domain has already identified the Top Interior Trends for 2017 and one of them involves moving away from the glamorous finishes and touches to ones that Senior Interior Decorator Diane Cocksey describes as possessing ‘raw, earthy texture’.

So what does this trend translate into for Sydney homeowners? It means moving away from glossy countertops and stone surfaces of highly polished marble and porcelain to roughly hewn granite and sandstone in the kitchen. The trick here is to take the stone and treat it for home use while still retaining its natural raw appearance – preventing the surface from being too bumpy or anything getting snagged on it without making it too sleek.

Another thing to consider when choosing this type of finish is that contrary to what you think, it will actually make imperfections such as worn areas, scratches, chips and stains stand out more. So if you are planning on introducing this trend into your home, make sure that you have the stone cleaning, polishing, and restoration taken care of before you begin.

Of course, this doesn’t involve simply choosing a chunk of stone, cutting it and slapping in your kitchen. You will still need to cut the stone a certain way to get a certain texture, and you will need to lightly hone it and treat it to get it looking rough without actually being rough. As this involves specialised grinding, cutting, edge profiling, polishing and resharpening, you’ll want to leave this one up the experts!

Related Tags: Stone Restoration Sydney | Porcelain Restoration Sydney