Granite flooring and countertops look great, particularly if the stone has been honed and polished to a glossy finish, but when a cloudy film forms on the surface, you get…
Open floor plans that merge family rooms with the kitchen continue to be very popular among homebuyers in 2019. According to national home builder Lennar, this preference for open floor…
Grouting is part of natural-stone tile installations. The only way to avoid it is by opting for joined panels instead of tiles, and this isn’t recommended for flooring applications. Contractors…
“Foot selfies” are the latest Instagram and Pinterest trends, and they have a strong focus on flooring aesthetics. Interior designers are loving this digital photography trend, and they’ve noticed that…
In North American homes, kitchen islands have been a strong aspect of open floor plans since the 1950s. Interior designers believe soldiers coming back from World War II noticed tables…
Grout lines are an important aspect of just about all tile installations, whether they’re used for flooring, decorative backsplash details, shower walls, or surrounds. Even though grouting work doesn’t really…
A good way to tell how long an interior design trend is bound to last is by looking at celebrity real estate listings. In 2019, Tamra Judge, star of the…
When real estate listings make news headlines, it’s either because they’re historic, spectacular, or expensive. With regard to the latter two, you can almost always expect to find natural stone…
In Rome, a very interesting piece of architecture is located near Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, in the district once designated to host the 1942 World’s Fair, which was never celebrated because…
Between now and the year 2025, the global market capitalization of engineered stone will reach $17 billion, an estimated increase of 11.6 percent, and a significant driver of this growth…
When famous designer Gloria Vanderbilt passed away in 2019, many real estate and architectural publications recalled some of the fabulous properties she lived in. One of the most spectacular listings…
When reviewing celebrity real estate deals and listings in 2019, granite countertops seem to be a recurring theme. They can be found in the kitchen of Jennifer Garner, a Hollywood…
The women’s restrooms at one of the busiest transit hubs in the world recently got a makeover that included granite countertops. On the second floor of the New York City…
Porosity and permeability are properties of natural stone that result from geological processes. In the absence of these properties, the appearance of onyx, granite, marble, quartzite, and other popular stone…
It’s not surprising to learn that celebrities such as Hollywood actress Christina Applegate and renowned Chef Ludo Lefebvre choose Caesarstone for their quartz countertops. After all, this is a brand…
The primary materials used to build the ancient pyramids of Egypt included large bricks made of mud and basalt, slabs of limestone for the exterior cladding, and black granite panels…
Quartz is often marketed as a surface material that’s impervious to staining. With natural stone such as marble, there’s a concern among homeowners about water seeping through the pores when…
Travertine is a type of sedimentary rock usually found in geological sites where geothermal activity resulted in the concentration of calcium carbonate within groundwater pools. It’s common in hot spring…
The finest marble used during the Roman Empire came from the Carrara quarries in Tuscany, the same region where Calacatta is extracted. Carrara marble is highly sought after by homeowners…
Of all the types of natural stone you can choose for your flooring, countertop surfaces, and vertical panels, granite is one of the top choices. Many homeowners choose granite because…
When real estate listings make the news, chances are celebrities are involved in the transaction. Such was the case in mid-2019, when Formula One racer Helio Castroneves put his Fort…
