Enchant your home’s interior with stone

By Pocyline Karani

Stone for many is just that, something whose unpleasant appearance must be plastered or masked either with a fresh coat of paint or ceramic tiles.

Coloured stone can be used to add vibrancy to a room. Inset Vanish coated riverbed stones

The fact that stone comes in a variety of colours ranging from black to almost white provides one with a wide array of choices to experiment with. Other exciting colours include red, brown, dark tan, grey and cream.

In addition, stone also comes in a range of shapes and textures such as rectangular or square, smooth or rough, round or abstract.

If not so sure where to begin, consider decorating one part of the wall vertically with layering stone. If your living room has a chimney, it can be an ideal focal point from where to organise the room.

If you cannot get good stone, seek tiles that have a stone appearance. Marble tiles or marble block have enchanting beauty and, just like granite, can be used on kitchen countertops, washrooms and living rooms.

Interestingly, marble can be adorned with subtle stokes of gold to add brilliance in the home. Local cement manufacturers have ventured into the stone decorative market. ‘Zinj’, for instance, is produced by a local company and it brings out the ancient beauty of dry stacked stone in an attractive and easy way. It is suitable for decorative walling, gardens and landscapes.

Natural beauty

With luxurious stone, there is need to protect its natural beauty. This would require regular scrubbing with a wire brush to recreate its beauty or applying a coat of varnish and occasionally polishing it.

Mazeras slate, an African sandstone, is a beauty to behold. Used for flooring, garden pavements as well as walling, mazeras (also referred to as maji-ya-chumvi) is a natural stone that is mined from seasonal riverbeds and has similar characteristics to sandstone.

It is further cemented by silica, iron and lime, the multi-purpose stone slate whose beauty is unique and rich. It makes a beautiful finish to homes as well as commercial buildings and hotels.

Granite is ideal for use on kitchen and bathroom counters. Polished granite stands as one of the loveliest building materials that give the kitchen or bathroom a classy and sophisticated look.

The fact that granite is made of quartz and feldspar makes it enchanting. If you observe it closely, its surface is made up of black, white and pink crystals that add to the beauty of this natural stone.