Types of Lighting in Interior Design

Cozy interior featuring an array of lighting types, including pendant lights, floor lamps, and hidden LED strips that create a warm, layered illumination.

There are a range of different types of lighting in interior design. Finding the right one for your space is important for a number of reasons, in addition to actually providing practical illumination to the room.

If you’re struggling to keep track of the different options in interior lighting design, we’ll summarise the options here for you, allowing you to make a more informed choice for your home. 

Tips for Finding the Best Interior Lighting

What To Do

When you’re comparing the different types of lighting, make sure to consider what you will be requiring your lighting to do. That might seem obvious but it isn’t always.

Are you hoping to incorporate a dimmer functionality? Are you going to rely on the lighting to set the ambiance of the room? Or do you simply need the strongest type of interior lighting available to facilitate family meal times?

Remember to consider all aspects of the lighting. There are aesthetic features and functional features, but there are additional considerations as well. From the thickness of shades to the location of the lighting in your ceiling or on your walls. The best interior lighting solution for you should work on every level to the greatest extent possible. 

Lastly, remember to ‘dress’ your interior lighting. Bare light bulbs and lamps should be concealed with diffusers or shades to ensure that it offers as complimentary and complementary an aesthetic to the room in which it is in. 

What Not To Do

If possible, the best interior lighting design utilises more than just one central light source. Using multiple lighting can help to avoid unflattering and unsightly shadows appearing around the space. 

To do this, you will need to ensure that your room has a sufficient number of powerpoint outlets allowing you to place your lamps and lighting in the optimal places. Remember, however, that you’ll want to conceal cords to the greatest extent possible because you won’t want to ruin your interior lighting design with ugly wires snaking all over the place. 

Exploring the Types of Lighting

In general, there are four main types of lighting in interior design. Each type can be customised to suit your particular home and the rest of your interior design aesthetic. But to get started, here’s an overview of the different lighting types.

General Lighting

Simple general lighting is pretty self-explanatory. It is designed to provide direct, adequate lighting to a space that can be used for the purposes required.

From a central pendant light or down lighting which is plain (in a good way) and understated to luxury chandeliers designed to function as both a practical feature and as an artistic expression, there is a wide range of general lighting types.

Nowadays, there are plenty of ways to tailor your general lighting according to your preference. Dimming, colours and other lighting effects are often even controllable from an app on your smartphone, making general, simple lighting far less simple and more useful than in days gone by.

If you’re trying to achieve something more with your interior design lighting–i.e., creating an ambiance–you’ll need more than just general lighting. 

Ambient Lighting or Mood Lighting

Ambient lighting doesn’t work on its own; It works in conjunction with general lighting. Not focused on providing functional illumination, ambient lighting is all about creating the right mood for your living room, dining space or even bedroom.

When you’re considering your interior lighting design, ambient lighting should reflect your intentional use of a space and enhance the type of experience you, your family and your guests will be having. 

Depending on the space, you might want to incorporate ambient lighting in wall sconces, or corners of the room, or even as a backlit feature to wall paneling. There’s a ton of flexibility in how ambient lighting can be used to enormously beneficial effect in your home. 

Task Lighting

Task lighting is pretty self-explanatory as well. It’s designed lighting to provide directed, adequate illumination in a particular area for a particular task. Some of the more common uses of task lighting include reading lamps in a book nook, staircase lighting or overhead lighting for a stove or kitchen counter.

In general, task lighting needs stronger wattage than ambient lighting but not harsh lighting that will undermine its ultimate purpose. When you’re putting together interior design lighting, consider how your task lighting can work in conjunction with the rest of your lighting features.

For example, under cabinet spotlights can help provide adequate illumination in darker spaces of the kitchen while ill-chosen lamps can over-saturate a relaxed reading nook and undermine the ambiance you’re trying to achieve. 

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting is a type of lighting in interior design that is used to highlight a particular feature in a room. For example, you might have a spotlight over a particular sculpture or a backlit lighting system behind a feature wall. 

Accent lighting can be used to great effect to complement the aesthetic impact of feature statements in your living room, dining room or hallways. 

It is important, as with task lighting, to consider the wattage needed for the particular accent lighting under consideration. You don’t want it to be too subtle that it fails to adequately highlight the decor or too harsh that it undermines the rest of the space or makes it difficult to look at. 

There are a range of lighting effects that can be used in accent lighting design:

  • Spotlighting
  • Downlighting
  • Uplighting
  • Pedestal lighting
  • Perimeter lighting
  • Wall lighting – washing or grazing effects

Find the Right Natural Stone to Match Your Lighting Design

At Euro Marble, we source the highest quality and most beautiful natural stone from around the world for use in your home.

No matter what type of interior design lighting you’re looking to install and no matter which room of your home you’re wanting to transform, make sure to reach out to the Euro Marble team today to find the perfect natural stone to reflect your choice of best interior lighting. 

Living Room Colour Trends

Chic living room with a teal sofa set, colorful rug, and modern decor.

There is a wide variety of living room colour schemes to suit all aesthetic tastes and interior design styles.

But as we move further into 2024, there are a number of popular living room colours that are becoming more and more trendy.

In this blog, we’ll introduce you to the latest living room trends and colour schemes to help inspire you in the creation of your very own living room oasis. 

Earthy Tones

Earthy-toned neutrals have been a popular living room colour trend for some time now and the momentum is not slowing down.

What makes this subtle colour scheme so effective is the inherent tranquil nature of earthy colours. From muted greens to soft greys, there’s still a ton of choice and customisability. 

However, very few living room colour schemes can infuse as strong a sense of softness and warmth to a living room.

Earthy tones are a great option for fabric furniture, wall art or even carpeting. Plus, you can always pair the tones with soft blues, whites, and even earthy reds.

Blue and White

It’s true that some colour schemes never truly go out of style, but blues and whites is one classic aesthetic that has become a hot trending living room colour choice. 

Timeless, beautiful and subtle, the combination of blue and white achieves a unique balance of colour and elegance.

Of course, you can choose the shade of blue that best suits the rest of your home and your own taste: Opt for something brighter to lighten the space or something slighter darker to set the right ambiance and mood. 

Plus, blues and whites can easily be used across a range of interior design styles, from traditional to contemporary. Whether it’s a navy sofa to a crisp white coffee table, there’s a ton of variety to make this very trendy living room aesthetic your own. 

Chocolate Browns and Velvety Blacks

Where the living room trend above was all about being bright and airy, this popular aesthetic brings an intentional moody aesthetic to the space.

Rich, dark browns and black can work wonders in achieving a comfortable darkness in a living room. Of course, there’s no need to go wall-to-wall bold. Strategically employed chocolate brown furniture or black accents can help to create visually stunning spaces that are highly inviting for you, your family and guests.

If you love the thought of a brown, black or even navy spot of colour, but are worried about making the room too dark, pair these colour schemes with some soft greys, gold or even brass. Not only will this make the darker colours pop but it will help to balance the space without sacrificing the intended aesthetic. 

Terracotta and Reds

There is something luxurious and yet down-to-earth about a deftly chosen terracotta colour scheme in a living room. Even more striking reds are trending in the world of living room colours at the moment as more and more homeowners are looking at ways to subtly yet unmistakably bring their living rooms to life. 

Terracotta and red colour schemes can be used for textured fabrics on furniture, to bring an accent chair to life or as part of a feature wall or wall art. How deep down this aesthetic’s rabbit hole you go is really down to you and your preference. 

If you want to soften the impact, try pairing it with a deep, mustard yellow, beige or even gold. 

Warm Metallics

Warm metallic finishes–such as brass, copper and gold–is another living room colour scheme that has been and remains in style.

Using metallic accents in your living room adds a touch of luxury and elegance to the space without risking the visual impact being over the top or too much.

Warm metallics are particularly effective when paired with some bold colours, such as the chocolate browns and velvety blacks outlined above, where the juxtaposition in the access and the rest of the decor is more readily apparent. 

Golden Tones

While not everyone wants the glitz and glamour of a gold colour scheme in their living room, it is certainly an effective way of adding more than a pinch of opulence and luxury to the space.

Gold is a very visually arresting colour and brings with it strong connotations, so balancing your use of gold with whites and creams is essential. Nevertheless, some gold furniture, accents, or even just a coffee table can be a truly majestic addition to your home and continues to be a trending living room scheme just for that reason alone. 

Natural Greens

In styles gone by, darker shades of green were not uncommon in living rooms. More recently, however, while green remains a popular colour choice, the trend has shifted more towards nature-inspired shades.

Like the earthy tone trend, greens in a living room brings with it a sense of tranquility and harmony which is more than conducive to the relaxed, comfortable atmosphere you’ll want your living room to create. 

Why Consider Natural Stone For Your Living Room?

While the classic off-white opulence of marble or the dark, graininess of granite are great options, there’s a much greater variety of colours available in natural stone than you might realise.

The reality is that stone comes in a wide range of perfect-for-living-room colours so there are more than enough options to suit the trending living room schemes of today. 

If you’re wondering which stone would best suit the living room colour scheme you’re most partial to, make sure to give the friendly team here at Euro Marble a call. Whether you’re thinking of incorporating stone wall cladding or a stone fireplace, we’re here to help find the right material in the right colour to bring your dream living room to life. 

Call us today on (02) 8585 2999 to find out more. 

Choosing the Right Dining Table for Your Space

Elegant dining room with a modern wooden dining table and comfortable chairs.

The dining table is one of the central pieces of a home. It’s where families share memories and meals and friends gather to share companionship and stories. But knowing how to choose a dining table for your space and your needs is not always as easy as it seems.

In this dining table guide, we’ll take you through the important considerations and options to help you learn how to pick a dining room table that’s right for you. 

Types of Dining Tables

A table is more than just a table when it comes to your dining rooms.

Size

Size does matter in the context of dining tables. You need to have enough room for not just the family and friends sitting at the table but also for accessing the table.

Consider the shape and size of your room, as well as the different pieces of furniture elsewhere in the space. Think about how many people you are likely to be entertaining and how often.

When you are considering the size table that you need, we recommend allowing roughly 60 centimetres of space per person. This allows for enough elbow room between seated individuals. 

Shape

The main dining room table shapes include rectangle, round, square and oval.

If you’re after a classic and simple dining table with a large amount of surface area and greater flexibility for accommodating more guests, the versatile rectangular shape is ideal. 

Square dining tables offer similar aesthetics to the rectangular one but are more amenable to compact, modern spaces.

While the round dining table creates a greater sense of intimacy and cohesion, especially if your dining room is relatively small. 

Lastly, the oval table is suitable for larger spaces and offers a unique blend of the benefits of a rectangular table with the style of a circular one.

Material

The reality is that there is no one best material for dining tables. Each type of material comes with its own stylistic and functional benefits, and a lot comes down to personal taste and intended use.

Wood, for example, comes in various shades and is both durable and versatile. A wood dining table is perfect for adding warmth to a space. 

Metal tables offer easy maintenance, a unique industrial aesthetic and can complement a contemporary interior design.

Similarly, glass is sleek and modern whilst offering an illusion of spaciousness and airiness by reflecting the light around it.

Natural stone, such as marble, brings an element of luxury and elegance for those seeking to elevate their dining rooms up a notch in terms of sophistication. 

Colour

There really is no limit to the different colours and shades available for your dining table. 

It’s all about choosing a colour that complements your decor and aesthetic preference. You might be after a neutral tone that is versatile and timeless–easy to match with the rest of a home. 

Or you may want to inject some personality into the space and use your dining table as a statement piece or feature of the room, in which case a bolder colour may be suitable. 

Style

Last but not least is style. In addition to shape, colour and material, there are a range of finishes and edging that can transform the humble dining table into something special. 

Ornate details in a wooden table or marble table can bring a sense of elegance and refinery to the dining room. On the other end of the spectrum, clean, strong lines in glass and metal tables can reflect a modern aesthetic and preference for minimalist styling. 

How to Pick a Dining Room Table

To best assist you in finding the right table option for your home, ask yourselves these questions:

What Sort of Lifestyle Do You Lead?

Everyone will use their dining room table slightly differently. If you love hosting dinner parties with lots of guests, a larger table with extension capabilities might be the best option. 

If you plan on mostly just having you close family around, a more practical, compact and easy-to-maintain option could be the better bet.

From shape to material, your choice of dining table should complement your lifestyle and the type and frequency of use you intend for it.

What Type of Table Can Your Space Accommodate?

This consideration is about practicality and functionality. Take measurements of your dining room or the area in which the table will sit. Consider the amount of space you will need for accessing doors and windows or even other furniture. 

By understanding what will and won’t work in your dining area you can strike out the table options that are just impractical and narrow your choices down to the ones that are feasible.

How Do You Want People to Sit?

For starters, similar to the first question, you need to consider how many people you typically expect to be seated around the table. 

Your choice of table will need to accommodate the number of people you intend to have sitting around it. But there’s an additional consideration as well as size: Shape.

If you’re planning on having a full table often, you may want to consider table shapes that offer maximum flexibility for that arrangement, such as square or rectangular tables. 

What Is the Decor of the Room?

Your dining room should complement the existing interior design of the dining room. Consider what your chosen decor is and what you are trying to achieve with the decor of the space.

Your dining room can be a stylish addition to the room in and of itself but the best and most suitable dining rooms for your home will be one that doesn’t just match the room around it but elevates it aesthetically.

For example, if you’re looking to achieve a rustic or farmhouse aesthetic, you won’t want to include a metal or glass table. If you’re looking for something more traditional and glamorous, you’ll want to opt for something like marble stone over timber. 

What Do You Find Comfortable?

Tables come in all different styles: Some are taller, some have a single pedestal leg in the centre, and some have intricate edges. 

Make sure you sit at any table you are considering to find what works with you. Is there enough legroom? Can you adequately reach into the table itself? Do you find the accompanying chairs comfortable?

You’re undoubtedly going to be using your dining table every day so comfort is more than a luxury here.

Does It Need to Suit Any Other Activities?

Dining tables can often double as furniture used for more than just dining. 

If you’re planning on using your dining table for crafting or sitting at work purposes, make sure you choose a style and material that suits your intended activity and can withstand the inevitable wear and tear of frequent use. 

What Is Your Budget?

Last but not least comes your budget. Different tables and materials come with a wide range of price tags. 

Factory-manufactured tables will cost significantly less than custom, hand-made tables. Make sure you set and bear in mind your budget so that you can focus on the realistic options within your price range and can then best maximise the durability and utility of your chosen dining table investment.

Euro Marble - the home of all things natural stone

If you’d like more information on how to pick a dining room table or would like to know why stone is the best material for dining tables, make sure to give us a call at Euro Marble today!



Interior Design Trends to Expect in 2024

A modern living room boasting a blend of biophilic design elements with lush greenery, a mix of cozy textiles, and a colorful geometric rug, paired with contemporary furniture in a vibrant, nature-inspired palette.

We are well and truly into the year 2024 now. If you’re designing your new home or renovating an existing living space, you’ll likely be wondering what the current trends in interior design are for the year.

While there might be some fashion developments that will surprise you, there are also long-lasting and timeless design motifs that you’ll be sure to recognise. Either way, we’ve put together a complete list of the top interior design trends for the new year just for you.

Furniture with Curves

Curvy furniture is back! These practical and aesthetically wonderful pieces of furniture have been steadily increasing in popularity over the last few years and are expected to remain trendy for years to come.

Curvy furniture brings depth and softness to a space whilst also being functional. Of course, the size and layout of your living room will influence the type of seating that best suits your particular application. 

Chrome Furniture

Direct from the mid-century modern interior design trend, using chrome in furniture is making the rounds. There are lots of ways in which you can incorporate this aesthetic in your interior design. 

Tables, chairs and even shelving units can all offer palettes for the effective use of chrome and can help you achieve a balanced yet engaging aesthetic. 

Vintage Lamps

Lighting is a highly practical component of interior design and one of the standout current trends in interior design is using your choice of lighting in a way that makes a strong fashion statement; Vintage lamps is one of those statements. 

For carefully considered and meticulously designed areas of the home, overhead lighting can feel too stark and intrusive. Lamps, particularly vintage lamps, bring more than just lighting: They infuse style, personality and old world glamour in just about any room of the house.

Artwork as a Statement Piece

This is surely an interior design trend we can all get behind. Getting involved in the world of art can be overwhelming for some, but there’s no reason why you have to break the bank purchasing the most expensive gallery offering.

Choose a piece of art that reflects your personality and injects a bit of the style and vibe you want guests and visitors to feel in your home. Being a statement piece, you can even go bigger and bolder without worrying about it being too much. Vibrant art and abstract pieces are particularly effective in offering opportunities to bring some colour to barren or monochrome coloured walls.

Subtle, Quiet Luxury

As far as 2024 interior design trends go, this one is among the more widely appealing. Ostentatious shows of luxury and opulence may be right for certain homes, but there is a growing trend for opting for quieter and more subtle luxury in aesthetics. Think more golden accents than golden sculptures.

Quiet luxury is also an aesthetic that evokes feelings of understated yet discernable appreciation for the nice things in life. It’s humble yet confident, and a perfect aesthetic for many homes in 2024.

Dark Accents and Wood

Dark wood tones, whether in your flooring or furniture, brings an ambiance to a space and a sense of cosiness and warmth. In recent decades, with the rise of minimalist and Scandinavian aesthetics, dark wood dropped a little in popularity.

But it’s roaring back in a big way. More and more trends are opting for darker over light wood as interior designers are embracing more personalised and bolder styles. 

Exposed Brick Walls

Exposed tiled brick walls are back in fashion and making a stir. Living rooms, kitchens, outdoor patios… This unique and iconic feature wall adds more than just an aesthetic statement to a space. 

The texture inherent in tiled brick brings an extra quality and dimension enhancing the overall design and style. 

Farmhouse Interior Design Style

Among the more interesting interior design trends that are emerging is the farmhouse chic design. Current trends include everything from top-to-toe farmhouse aesthetics to simply opting for exposed wooden beams or wooden furnishings.

There’s something down to Earth and tranquil about a farmhouse-inspired interior design and it’s great to see it become one of the trends for 2024.

Bold Colours

This might be another current trend in interior design that’s drawing a stark line between modern styling and the minimalist, modern preferences of the last few decades. Incorporating bold colours and patterns in your living spaces allows for a greater incorporation of personal style and preferences. Plus, different colours allow you to play with the brightness or moodiness of a particular room, as you prefer. 

Bold colours are particularly apparent as a bathroom interior design trend as well as more and more people are turning their bathrooms into personal spa retreats and the like. 

Similarly, colourful kitchens are becoming more and more popular too, especially as part of a complementary pairing with the trend of choosing intentionally kitsch kitchen wares.

Stylised Grouting

Grouting is not the first thing that comes to mind in interior design. But this practical component of your tiling and flooring offers an often overlooked opportunity. Bright and colourful grouting can help monochromatic tiling really pop off the wall or floors.

The interior design trends in bathrooms has included black and white tile-grouting combinations for a while, but as with the trend of bold colours elsewhere around the home, coloured and stylised grouting is taking this design choice to a whole new level. 

Unique Dining Rooms

From distinctive dining room chairs to unique, bespoke dining room tables, the family eating space has been promoted from practical to fashionable. 

Much of the interior design trends in dining rooms have focused on artwork and decor without much interest being placed on the furniture itself. Yet choosing some funky and quirky dining room furniture can help to turn what’s often a stock-standard corner of the home into a visual feast to complement the literal one going on within it. 

Euro Marble - the home of quality stone for quality interior design

The team here at Euro Marble love nothing more than helping our customers find the perfect slab of natural stone to help bring their home to life. 

Whether you’re opting for a current trend in interior design or have alternate preferences, make sure to give the team a call today or come into our showroom to see our range of marble, granite and more for yourself. 

How To Use Gold in Interior Design

Elegant living room with gold accents, including a gold-framed mirror, gold-legged tables, and decorative gold objects on a sideboard and coffee table, all complementing a neutral color palette

Using gold in interior design provides a lot of opportunity to incorporate a sense of luxury and opulence in your home. Gold, the metal and the colour, has been used for millennia to add sophistication and royalty to spaces and rooms.

However, finding the right balance between ambiance and grandeur can require a little more thought than you’d expect when it comes to golden room decor.

In this article, we’ll explore why, how and where to incorporate this elegant colour scheme in your living rooms and homes, and hopefully help spark your own creativity as well.

Why Gold Decorations For a Living Room is a Great Idea

As you would expect, gold exudes elegance and glamour. If you love the thought of a more lavish aesthetic in your home, thoughtfully incorporated gold can help you achieve that without going overboard. 

But there is a quality to gold that goes beyond the mere opulent. Bright and glowing, gold offers a warm tone to create a welcoming and inviting atmosphere–perfect for use in a living room or family space.

Moreover, gold room decor is both versatile and timeless in its aesthetic. It can be used to complement a wide range of interior design styles without risking becoming a fashion faux pas in years to come as trends change.

Best Interior Design Styles for Gold Decor

The Styles That Work

The best interior design styles are the ones that inherently embrace glowing and glamorous colours, such as gold, and aim to create a sense of wonder and luxuriousness.We’re talking here about everything from traditional styles to contemporary glamour, and from art deco to Hollywood regency. 

The Styles That Don’t Work As Well

If you’re leaning towards minimalism or a Scandinavian-inspired interior design, extensive gold decor may not be the best fit. 

These aesthetics opt for simplicity and neutrality, so subtle touches of gold can be used sparingly in a very effective and complementary way but more ostentatious gold accents won’t work as well.

Tips for Using Gold in Interior Design

Balance is Key

Even if your aim is to create a sense of overwhelming luxury and glamour, you still need to incorporate gold decorations for your living room in a thoughtful and strategic way. 

Remember: Gold is bold. 

Too much of it can overwhelm a space, even a large living room. Aim for a more harmonious balance between the gold elements and the other chosen hues, materials and decor. 

Pair with Neutral Colours

Mixing gold in interior design with neutral colours, such as white, cream and grey, allows you to achieve two things simultaneously. Firstly, you don’t risk overpowering the room (see tip number one above). Secondly, you enhance the effectiveness of your chosen gold accents by allowing them to stand out against the neutral colours.

Using the juxtaposition of rich gold with softer neutrals allows you to achieve a balanced and sophisticated colour palette that will make your gold do more with less.

Use Textures

It’s not all about the colours. Experiment with the different textures in your interior design. Many gold decor ideas for living rooms work because they highlight gold accents and decorations against a different sort of texture such as velvet, silk or even metallic finishes.

A range of textures can add a sense of depth and an extra visual dimension to your design scheme. Like using neutral shades, it will also help your use of gold pop and really impress.

Make a Statement

Statement pieces are essential in good interior design. Gold offers you plenty of opportunity to use this magnificent colour/material to orient the focus of a space on the statement piece of your choosing.

For example, you might have an ornate chandelier or a mirror, or even a particularly bespoke piece of furniture. Utilise your gold to bring attention to the statement piece that you’re wanting to highlight in the room.

Gold Decor Ideas For Your Living Room

Gilded Accents

Gold makes for a wonderful choice with mirror trimmings, picture frames and other decorative objects. Subtle and balanced, it will add a tangible touch of luxury without being in your face or over the top.

Golden Fixtures

The smaller elements of the living room offer a lot of potential if used correctly. Golden faucets, handles and light fixtures are both an efficient and economical way of using gold throughout a space without it all being too much.

Textiles and Upholstery

A lot of gold in interior design, understandably, is focused on the metal and even gold-coloured stone. But the textiles and upholstery you choose for your living room can be used to introduce this luxurious style as well. Golden velvet and silk balances the colour and texture components we outlined above. From throw pillows to curtains, there is a lot of opportunity to infuse elegance in your seating areas.

Artwork

Gold-framed artwork is one thing, a golden sculpture or ornament is a whole other level. Golden artwork creates a natural and highly effective focal point for your family and guests alike. The right piece will draw the eye for all the right reasons and add real visual interest to the space.

Golden Details

Another subtle but immensely effective way of incorporating gold is through the detailing of your living room. Golden leaf detailing can be used on mouldings, ceilings, and other architectural features to create an elegant aesthetic throughout.

Golden Natural Stone

Natural stone comes in a wide variety of colours, including gold. Finding the right slab of marble and granite with rich and appealing golden veining can help you incorporate this wonderful colour scheme in your flooring, wall cladding, staircase and more!

Gold in Natural Stone: The Perfect Choice

If you’re looking to infuse gold in your home, natural stone is a fantastic option. It offers a perfect canvas for you to highlight your propensity for luxury and sophistication with a practical and durable design material. 

Golden stone is timeless, captivating and beautiful. With careful consideration of style, balance and strategic placement, the right stone can bring the glamour and warmth you’re after into your living space. 

To find out more about how to use gold in interior design, especially gold-veined natural stone, make sure to reach out to our friendly team here at Euro Marble today. 

Where to Place Your Coffee Table

Where to Place Your Coffee Table

There is a lot to consider when choosing coffee tables for the living room. The humble coffee table, after all, is more than just another piece of furniture in your home. It provides an opportunity to infuse style into the room and potential for offering immense practical functionality.

Apart from knowing how to choose a coffee table that suits your space and interior style, knowing where to place your coffee table is one of the more deceptively complicated choices you’ll have to make. You’ll want to impact both the overall design and the usability of your living room as positively as possible.

Fortunately, whether you have a round or rectangle coffee table, we’re here to help! But first, let’s briefly consider the different coffee table options.

Types of Coffee Tables

Rectangular Coffee Tables

Rectangular coffee tables are the most common type and are found in more traditional living rooms thanks to their versatility in matching various seating arrangements.

They are particularly ideal next to long sofas or sectional seating thanks to the balanced and proportional look they bring to the table, no pun intended.

Square Coffee Tables

The square table makes for an excellent choice in living rooms with modular sofas or smaller seating areas where space is at a premium.

Sleek, contemporary and balanced, you’ll often find square coffee tables in the centre of a room.

Round Coffee Tables

The round coffee table, thanks to the lack of sharp corners, is great for use in smaller living rooms where traffic flow can be limited or tight.

The circular design promotes a sense of unity and cohesion, and can be very functional for intimate gatherings of family and friends.

Oval Coffee Tables

The oval table design offers a unique and dynamic shape. It combines much of the practical benefits of a rectangular table but with the visual flair of a round table.

Use of an oval coffee table will depend largely on the size of your room and the seating arrangements available. 

The Art of Placing Coffee Tables for Living Rooms

Centre Stage

Placing your coffee table in the centre of your seating area is a bold but excellent option for a range of applications. If you want your coffee table to be the focal point of your design, the middle of the living room is the way to go. 

But it’s not just about fashion – there’s a functional element to this placement as well. It allows easy access from all sides and encourages use from guests, family and friends. One thing to consider, however, is the size of your coffee table and the distance between the seating and its surface. It should be within easy reach to ensure practical use without obstructing the flow of movements.

By the Sofa’s Side

Is space limited in your living room? Does the space have a rather unconventional layout?

Consider placing the coffee table adjacent to the sofa. Whether you have a round or rectangle coffee table, this allows for the maximisation of available space and avoids cluttering the room both physically and aesthetically. Just bear in mind that depending on how your sofas are arranged, it may limit accessibility from certain seats. 

The Floater

Knowing how to decide on a coffee table’s placement requires you to know how you intend on using the table itself. For larger rooms, for example, you may want to consider placing the coffee table away from the seating area. 

This creates a sense of openness and airiness and allows your chosen coffee table to stand proud and independently to showcase its own aesthetic. But, being a floating coffee table means that accessibility from your seating will be restricted. So consider how you intend on using your coffee table and what role it plays in your room.

The Nested Coffee Table

Nested coffee tables are tables designed to be arranged in a group of one or more other tables. In most instances they vary in size and are arranged in a layered formation to emphasis the different heights and/or shapes.

Using nesting tables offers great flexibility in placement. You can spread them out to ensure accessibility from various seating positions in the living room, or they can be clustered together for maximum aesthetic impact.

Dual Coffee Tables

Even if you choose to forgo the nesting style, larger living rooms with distinct seating areas can benefit from having dual coffee tables servicing each space. 

This layout promotes an intimacy in a  larger space and gives you a larger canvas on which to consider the different types and style of coffee tables in each area. Of course, when it comes down to placing the coffee tables, you can still opt for a floating, adjacent or centrally located coffee table depending on the specifics of your particular application. 

What To Consider When Placing Your Coffee Table

If you’re unsure how and where to place your coffee table in your living room, here is a brief checklist of considerations to ask yourself:

  • Does the placement of the coffee table impede the natural flow of movement in the room?
  • Is there sufficient space between the table and furniture?
  • Does the placement of the coffee table make it easier or harder to access it?
  • Is the coffee table the visual focal point of the room? Should it be?
  • Will you be primarily using the coffee table for decorative or functional purposes?
  • Does the coffee table match the rest of the room’s aesthetic or does it stand out?
  • Does the placement of the coffee table work for you?

Ultimately, this last question is the key. The best coffee tables for your living room are only as good as their utility and appeal to you and your family. Experiment with different arrangements to find the option that visually and practically makes the most of the table itself and the space around it. 

Need help? Contact Euro Marble Today!

Whether you need some assistance in finding the best coffee table for a sectional living room or would like to talk through how to choose a coffee table that suits your home, our team at Euro Marble would love to help. Contact us today or come in to see us in our showroom!

Natural Stone Finishes: The Complete Guide

Natural Stone Finishes: The Complete Guide

Using natural stone for interior and exterior applications in your home is a great idea. This fantastic material has been revered for its timeless beauty and appreciated for its hardy durability for centuries. One crucial aspect of using stone, however, is not just the type of material itself but the stone finish.

The right tile finishes can make or break your use of stone. Not only can it enhance the aesthetic appeal of the surface, but it also provides practical protection from exposure to moisture and susceptibility to staining.

In this guide, we’ll run through everything you need to know to get started with stone finishes and make the right choice for your particular application.

The Basics of Stone Finishes

The term “finish” refers to the treatment applied to the surface of the natural stone to either alter its appearance or enhance its performance, or both.

This step is crucial in the fabrication process of the stone tiles you’re looking to use and can influence not just the stone’s colour and texture, but its durability and longevity. The right stone finish can help shield the material you’ve invested in from wear and tear and damage by melements and moisture, keeping it functioning and looking as good as new.

Finding the Right Tile Finishes

Selecting the appropriate finish for your needs is quite important. A considered and well-informed choice of finish will ensure that your stone complements your overall design choices and ensures that it features the right level of resilience against the elements it may encounter once installed. 

Marble, granite, limestone and the array of other natural stone materials all bring with them unique qualities and aesthetic appeal. Matching the stone with the right finish for its particular application can contribute significantly to the visual appeal and the value of your home. 

How to Choose a Stone Finish

1. What type of stone are you using?

While all natural stone looks great and works like a charm in a range of applications, they do respond differently to various finishes. The specific characteristics of the stone, such as the porosity of marble or the hardiness of granite, can mean that certain finishes are more appropriate than others.

2. Where are you placing the stone?

Are your stone tiles going outside? Is the natural stone going to be featured inside? The location of your stone finish application will be a significant factor to consider. Exterior finishes need to be hardier to withstand exposure to weather conditions, while internal applications may be better suited to finishes that prioritise aesthetic and/or easiness to clean. 

3. What maintenance requirements are you looking for?

Different stone finishes require different types and intensity of maintenance routines. Consider your willingness and ability to maintain your stone when considering the different types of finishes available. 

4. What are your style preferences?

This one is up to you, for better or worse. Consider what sort of aesthetic you’re going for. A finish can be used to either intensify a stone’s natural colour, subdue it, or add a different element that can contrast or complement the rest of your interior design.

5. Do you have additional needs?

While we’ve spoken a lot about the aesthetic and hardy attributes of stone tile finishes, there is another beneficial function to them. Certain stone finishes offer features such as slip resistance, which can be crucial for applications such as patios or pool areas. These special finish options provide a safe surface in wet conditions and should be considered when weighing up your various options. 

Natural Stone Finishes: The most popular options

The Polished Finish

Perhaps the most famous of the options when it comes to stone finishes, a polished finish achieves a glossy, reflective surface and is popular for use on marble and granite. The polish works to enhance the natural colour of the stone and helps ensure its patterns and veining pop.

The Honed Finish

The honed finish, also sometimes referred to as a matte finish, is smooth to the touch like the polished finish but without the shine. Honed finishes are commonly used for areas exposed to higher levels of traffic where a polish wouldn’t last. It provides an equally appealing visual style but in a more casual and understated way.

The Flamed Finish

The flamed finish is most commonly used for materials such as granite and in applications where you want to achieve a textured surface reminiscent of a rustic aesthetic. The flamed finish, as its name suggests, is achieved through exposing the stone to high temperatures and makes for a highly suitable finish on stone being used in exterior applications.

The Brushed Finish

This unimaginatively named finish is achieved by brushing the surface of the natural stone with a stiff and abrasive brush. It creates a rather comforting and visually interesting textured look and unique aesthetic. It can be more difficult to keep clean and maintain however.

The Tumbled Finish

The tumbled finish involves tumbling the stone pieces with an abrasive material to create an intentionally worn appearance and evoke suggestions of an antique quality. Travertine and limestone tiles are common recipients of the tumbled finish as it complements their sedimentary make-up. 

The Split Face Finish

Achieved by splitting natural stone along its natural cleavage lines, this finish achieves a rough and yet artistically textured surface. It is particularly popular for use in accent walls and exterior cladding thanks to its visually arresting appearance.

The Sandblasted Finish

With the sandblasted finish, a high pressure stream of sand is applied to the surface of the natural stone achieving a matte appearance but with a subtly textured surface. Apart from the aesthetic appeal of this finish, it also offers a degree of slip resistance making it highly popular for use in outdoor settings. 

The Leathered Finish

Much like its name suggests, the leathered finish helps to create a leather-like surface to the natural stone. Textured yet smooth, it is gaining popularity for use in interior applications particularly granite and stone countertops where homeowners want both the contemporary style of stone but with the warmth of a leather-esque surface.

At Euro Marble, we’ll help you finish the job!

Finding the right stone finish for you is a crucial step in the design and construction of your home, in terms of both aesthetics and functionality.

Whether you know exactly what sort of finish you’re after or need a bit of assistance discussing the different options, make sure to reach out to our experts in stone finishes right here at Euro Marble. 

 

Bring Colour to Your Floors with Coloured Marble Tiles

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Coloured marble tiles can be an excellent choice for use in and throughout your home. Marble stone, being the hardy and durable material that it is, is popular for use as flooring in terms of both fashion and function.

To that end, while the practicalities of marble are all well and good for high foot traffic areas of the home, there are plenty of stylistic and aesthetic reasons why marble tiles might be the right choice for you. 

The Classic Marble Look

The most commonly used type of marble, and the classic, iconic aesthetic of this stone, is white and off-white with grey vein patterns. 

Most likely, when you think of marble, you’re picturing Carrara Marble, which is sourced (and named) after the city of Carrara in Italy. Over the years, this aesthetic has proven timeless and popular among builders and designers. Classic, luxurious and versatile, it’s no wonder that it’s been long associated with the stone itself. 

There are a few other types of marble that look similar, however, such as Italian Marble, Calacatta Marble and Statuario Marble, all of which will look great when used across your home’s floor.

But, we’re here to tell you that there’s a lot more on offer from the family of marble. Coloured marble tiles can produce a mesmerising and invaluable visual effect in the home.

Coloured Marble Tile Options for your Floors

Floors can and are customised to suit all sorts of personal preferences and styles. While we’ll go through some of our favourite options of coloured marble, remember that each coloured floor can be further tailored to suit your preferences in terms of tile size and pattern. 

Light Grey Marble Flooring

Light grey marble flooring is an excellent option. This interior design style allows you to maintain a minamlist and modern aesthetic or highlight an industrial design style, if you so choose.

With enough texture and colour depth to ensure your floors pop off the ground, the neutral colour palette keeps the overall effect sleek and simple.

We particularly love light grey marble flooring in areas of the home where you want to achieve a calm and relaxing atmosphere but worry that white or offwhite marble might come off as too light or bright. 

Green Marble Flooring

Ever heard of green marble? Once you see it, it’s hard to look back!

This beautiful and unique marble option works really well in interior design applications when one wants to emphasise the natural world and organic visual tones. If you love incorporating wood and other natural textures in your home, green marble flooring will look an absolute treat.

There’s a calming effect to green marble that can help to achieve a fresh yet relaxing atmosphere in the home without creating too bold or out-there a look that overwhelms guests and visitors. 

Blue Marble Floor

Blue marble is as bold as it is striking. While this bright and vibrant marble stone shading might not suit every palette or home, for those looking for a modern or contemporary stone floor that still pops, blue is a great option. 

There’s still plenty of variety among types and shades of blue marble tiles, so depending on your personal taste for the dramatic and eye-catching designs you may want to look for subtler blues or vibrant hues. 

Much like green marble flooring, a blue marble floor can evoke a sense of calmness and even a touch of nature as it evokes the bright blue sky up above. 

Black and Gold Marble Floor Tiles

Moving on to the luxurious black and gold marble floor tiles… 

This bold and rich looking aesthetic will create a sense of warmth and snugness in your home. Perfect for matching with ornate furnishings and finishes, black and gold marble tiles have an inherent visual complexity that can be very appealing and attractive.

While perhaps not best suited to contemporary or modern aesthetics, for those of you wanting to achieve that royal opulence design style, few other materials can measure up to the classic gloriousness of black and gold marble floor tiles. 

Gold Marble

If you’re feeling like you’re not ready for the boldness of black and gold marble, straight gold marble can still help you achieve a stunning and glamorous aesthetic.

Perfect for pairing with either metallic accents or minimalist furnishings, gold marble tiles are both bold yet subtle in a very enriching way. 

A gold colour palette also balances the practicalities of lighter, brighter flooring with the visual complexity of this rich-looking stone. 

Black and White Marble

Balancing both the boldness of black and timelessness of white, black and white marble is quite the material. At once bold and vibrant and yet neutral in spots and understated in overall affect, it can help to achieve a perfect symbiosis when used as flooring. 

Black and white marble can also be used in a variety of different patterns to help achieve an aesthetic that suits your particular preferences and partialities. 

Pink Marble

Last but not least comes pink marble. This unique option for flooring is stylish in a rather subtle yet impactful way. Evoking feelings of romance and femininity, the soft, pastel colouring of the marble matches excellently with delicate and ornate furnishings.

Pink marble is super effective in helping infuse some low-key warmth whilst still maintaining a sleek, minimalist overall aesthetic. 

Euro Marble – your perfect coloured marble tiles await you!

Whether the light grey marble flooring speaks to you or the thought of a blue marble floor excites you, here at Euro Marble we’ll help you find the perfect type of marble stone!
This beautiful material is versatile enough for any design aesthetic and just about any home and our team would love nothing more than to help you find your perfect coloured marble tiles. Want to find out more? Contact us today!

Modern Classic Interiors Inspiration with Marble

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Marble stone is one of those elegant materials that’s perfect for a timeless home design style. For centuries, marble has been used for both external and internal construction purposes.

In recent years, this natural stone has enjoyed an increase in popularity just as the modern-classic aesthetic has similarly surged in popularity among designers.

In this blog, we’ll help inspire you with how to use marble in a modern classic interior design. Hopefully, you’ll get some ideas for yourself but if you need any more assistance or advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Euro Marble team.

Understanding Modern Classic Interior Design

Marble, fortunately, is a very versatile material when it comes to design. For a long time it has been used with classic or traditional interior aesthetics. Thanks to the associations with luxury and its sophisticated visuals, marble has proven to have sustained popularity. 

But new trends have similarly proven that marble can just as effectively be utilised in modern design styles and contemporary interior. Without losing the timeless glamour and classic elegance, this fantastic stone has elevated what can be achieved with a modern style. 

Classic vs Modern

Classic interior design styles include features such as columns and panelling to create a visual depth to a space while maintaining cohesiveness. In contrast, modern interiors favour simplicity and sleekness with bold, straight lines. 

When fused together, the classic modern aesthetic takes the best of both design approaches. The grandeur and timelessness of classic architecture mixed with the monochromatic, neutral colouring and simple accessorising of modern styling. 

Marble, for its part, allows for modern classic interior design thanks to its iconic white tones and grey veining. This perfect balance of classic visual sophistication whilst maintaining soft and light tones is a huge factor in contributing to the timeless home design. 

Overall, marble is a versatile material that can work well with a variety of interior design styles, from classic and traditional to modern and contemporary. Its timeless elegance and natural beauty make it a popular choice for designers and homeowners alike.

How to Use Marble in Modern Classic Design

Marble Walls

Every room has walls, doesn’t it? Using marble paneling is a stunning and effective way of incorporating marble throughout. Being a relatively luxury material however, wall-to-wall marble might not be in everyone’s budget. If that’s the case, even a feature wall that highlights marble can create a very effective focal point in the room.

The modern aesthetic of white or off-white walls can be offset with the dimensional depth of marble, infusing into it a very classic look without losing the modern style.

Additionally, marble can be used freely without impeding on classic architectural features such as columns or moldings. 

Marble Floors

As well as walls, floors are another ubiquitous way to achieve a timeless home design with marble. Many grand homes feature marble for the luxury look and sophisticated feel. While marble floors can be used to great effect in a number of different colours, to achieve that modern classic interior design style we’d recommend the neutral, lighter colours.

This helps to keep the overall look minimalistic but–thanks to the varied veining patterns on marble stone–still infuse some classic interior colour schemes. 

Marble Accents

Small accents are a great way to touch up a modern classic space without overwhelming the eye. Marble accents, in particular, look a million dollars but without the price tag. 

When it comes to accents, we favour decorative pieces such as marble vases or ornaments, but even modern styled furniture such as a coffee table can be particularly visually appealing. For those of you looking to mix another atmosphere in the mix, you can always combine marble with a bit of wood and/or leather. 

Marble Kitchen

The kitchen offers an opportune canvas on which to achieve that timeless home design with marble. Between the kitchen countertop and the backsplash, there’s a lot of opportunity to use marble to amazing effect.

A marble kitchen countertop will look both classic and royal whilst contemporary and minimalist. And, of course, there’s still a lot of scope for customisation. You can choose the type and style of kitchen countertop or even play around with different sized or patterned marble tiles for the backsplash.

Last but not least, the kitchen benchtop offers an opportunity to add a pop of different coloured marble in a self-contained way without encroaching on either the timeless classic aesthetic or minimalist, contemporary styling. 

Marble Bathroom

The bathroom is a classic choice for marble surfaces. This natural stone can be used just about everywhere and anywhere. We particularly like marble showers and bathtubs as a way of adding a hint of luxury to the bathroom. Being sleek and sophisticated, you can achieve both a timeless classic style with modern features such as squared corners and light colour schemes. 

Depending on your particular taste, marble sinks and vanities are also a great option and can be used to amazing effect. For those designers wanting something minimal (in terms of cost and overall effect) even marble fixtures and accessories can inject a bit of classic luxury quite well.  

Marble Fireplace

While not every home has a fireplace, for those that do it can be an excellent opportunity to strike the perfect balance between classic and modern styles.

Fireplaces seem inherently luxurious and elegant, and when made from marble stone it can look equally sleek and contemporary. Like all marble tiling, the exact pattern and style can be customised according to your preferences. 

In a similar way to the kitchen benchtop, there is also the opportunity to add a bit of colour or flair through the self-contained fireplace without it affecting either the modern or timeless home design. 

Inspired? Us too! So give our team a call today!

If any of the ideas above have inspired you in how to use marble in your modern classic interior design plans, or if you need a bit more assistance, the Euro Marble team is here to help.
Give us a call, send us a message or come on into our showroom, and we’ll help you unlock the amazing potential of marble stone.

Creating a Spa-Like Bathroom with Marble Tiles

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If you’re dreaming of turning your bathroom into a luxury spa in your home, marble is the best material option out there! This timeless and elegant stone can take any space in your house and infuse it with luxury and beauty like no other material can.

To help inspire you when creating a home spa-like bathroom with marble tiles, we’ve put together this handy guide.

Creating a Spa at Home

Everybody loves the concept of a spa. It evokes feelings of relaxation, serenity and otherworldliness.

When it comes to interior design, your choice of material, style and even the layout of any room should emulate these same feelings and experiences. To that end, making stylistic choices around elements that promote calmness and encourage tranquility is critical.

In general, to achieve this, we recommend following a few basic rules:

  1. Choose soothing colour palettes.
  2. Opt for soft lighting.
  3. Use natural materials.
  4. Evoke a minimalist aesthetic. 

These general rules, from neutral colours to minimalist design styles, aim to bring a sense of calmness to your body and mind. The softer the aesthetic and feel of a space, the more peaceful the area will seem. 

You should be aiming to create a truly tranquil ambiance. Harsh colours, bright lighting and busy designs will do little to encourage a calm mind and relaxed body. 

10 Ways to Use Marble to Create a Home Spa

Choose the Right Marble Tiles

Believe it or not but not all marble is the same. This wonderful stone actually comes in many different colours and styles. But the classic off-white shade of marble complete with soft, greyish veining offers the most serene and calming option for your spa at home. 

We commend choosing white or light-coloured marble tiles such as Carrara, Calacatta or Statuario Marble. 

Install Marble Tiles on the Floor

The floor is often a neglected area of the bathroom but can be used to great effect nonetheless for creating that luxury spa feeling. Installing marble tiles across the bathroom floor will certainly enhance the beauty of the space from bottom to top and infuse a sense of luxury, calmness and elegance throughout the room.

Create a Marble Accent Wall

Marble, being the luxurious material that it is, is not always in everyone’s renovation budget. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be used to great effect in your home spa without breaking the bank. A marble accent wall can have a truly out-sized impact on a bathroom.

A wall of gorgeous marble tiles behind a sink, surrounding a shower or by the bathtub can inject a sense of spa-like wonder into just about any bathroom.

Use Marble for Vanities and Countertops

Marble is very versatile in application. It’s also a classic choice for use in bathroom vanities and countertops. Apart from the cohesiveness of including marble in these applications as well, using this beautiful material across the entirety of your bathroom makes for a truly breathtaking visual effect. 

Incorporate Marble into the Shower

Marble tiles are hardy and durable. With regular professional resealing it is an excellent choice of material for use in the shower.

Your shower offers ample opportunity to create your own luxury spa at home. Marble tiles can add elegance and a touch of sophistication in your shower and turn the little space into not just a focal point but your own little retreat within a retreat. 

Use a Marble Mosaic

Marble tile mosaics offer a lot of opportunity to add a unique aesthetic and touch to your bathroom. With many patterns and styles to choose from, it allows you to effectively capture the minimalist look required for that spa-like feel while also giving opportunity for personalisation and customisation. 

Bring in Marble Details

Sometimes the smaller details can have a larger impact. While we mentioned the marble vanity above, you can even consider installing just a marble sink or adding marble details to your pre-existing vanity.

This gives you the benefit of infusing the beauty and serenity inherent in the marble aesthetic without having to undergo extensive renovations or redesigns. It’s economical, effective and easy.

Use Marble for Accessories

As with the option above, even your bathroom accessories can add touches of spa-like tranquility and elegance to your bathroom. From soap dispensers to toothbrush holders, there are many different ways you can take the tiniest of elements in the bathroom and bring them to life and luxury by replacing them with a marble option.

Add Lighting

Lighting, soft lighting in particular, should be used to great effect in a bathroom spa at home. Coupled with bright marble, warm pendant lighting or sconces can create a truly affecting, warm and inviting atmosphere. 

This is just what you need to create that luxury spa feeling right in the comfort of your own house.

Match Marble Tiles with Simplistic Design

The gorgeous nature of marble speaks for itself. Let it shine by keeping your bathroom simple and as minimalistic as possible. Not only will that enhance the relaxation nature of the space, but it will also allow the beauty of marble to work its magic without the unnecessary clutter of additional decor.

Lastly, keep the design of your bathroom simple and minimalistic. Let the beauty of the marble tiles speak for itself and avoid cluttering the space with unnecessary decor.

Let’s start designing your home spa today!

We love marble here at Euro Marble… and we love helping our customers create and design their very own luxury spa at home by pairing them with the perfect marble tiles for their needs!

If you’d like to discuss how marble can transform your bathroom into the luxurious retreat you’ve been dreaming of, don’t wait! Contact our team today.