THE LIBRARY : SELECTING STONE WITH MOMINA WATTON
i’m super excited to share the wisdom of momina watton, aka the marble queen and founder of stunning furniture brand atelier 278. momina started her forêt into marble when sourcing vintage stone furniture, from here she decided to design her own pieces to have more agility over the curation of stone and to offer more versatile sizes that are suitable for a variety of living spaces. her designs are a nod to those traditional styles, with a simple and chic update. as a fellow lover of natural stone (and a fellow travertine table owner) i can’t wait to get stuck into momina’s useful insight into selecting stone and bringing these gorgeous materials into the home.
transcribed below:
SO YOU WANT A MARBLE TABLE, HERE’S WHAT TO CONSIDER…
Natural stone is clearly having a bit of a moment when it comes to furniture but it's been the go to material for a very long time. We've seen it used throughout Ancient Rome, in Greek Mythology and in some of the most iconic buildings around the world - the Trevi Fountain in Rome is made from Romano Travertine sourced from local quarries in Tivoli. These quarries still exist and are where our Romano Travertine is sourced from.
Whilst there are a lot of different natural stones to choose from - my favourites are marble and travertine - but it's important to be in the know when choosing, so there are no surprises.
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN CHOOSING NATURAL STONE…
What's the difference? A lot of people ask me what the difference is between marble and travertine. Both are the result of metamorphoses...nature just doing its thing over time. Now not to get all Big Bang Theory on you, but marble forms when limestone is heated to such extreme temperatures that the minerals grow larger and fuse together...whereas Travertine is a type of limestone formed in areas where there's water - so a mineral-rich river, lake or spring. When there's a change in temperature or acidity, the water evaporates and voila, you have Travertine (a few thousand years later).
WHY DOES MY SLAB LOOK DIFFERENT?
Even within the same type of stone - no two slabs will be the same. So don't expect identical veining to something you've seen online or at a friend's house and there's a really fascinating reason for this...the veining in marble is the result of crystallized minerals deposited by water that ran through the stone and evaporated and so the different coloured veins depends on the different minerals that are naturally left in the stone during this process. The great thing about this is that your table will always be completely unique.
HOW HARD WEARING IS NATURAL STONE?
Well, there's a reason marble and travertine have been favoured for centuries. Both are very robust...but you do need to treat them well. Neither will respond well to acid (it's just the way of life) so take care with wine...use coasters where possible and ensure any sharp objects or vases have felt pads underneath. But beyond that, I think it's important to know that stone will mark and evolve...just like leather and brass patinas...so does stone. The first mark always feels heartbreaking and sticks out against the smoothness of the fresh stone...but eventually many marks will follow and you'll stop noticing them. They're like little reminders of good times spent with loved ones.
WHAT FINISH SHOULD I CHOOSE?
So you have a choice between honed and polished. Honed is a matte finish whereas polished as the name suggests is polished...this has a gloss like finish that will reflect light. It's interesting to keep in mind that a honed finish will mute the colour of your stone - when you see a slab, it's usually always polished so expect the matte version to be a little lighter in tone.
