Tips & Articles

"The marble not yet carved can hold the form of every thought the greatest artist has." 
--Michelangelo  

 

Marble is an amazing stone in many aspects – from its veined beauty to its natural colours and durability. Marble is a metamorphic rock, which has been favoured by ancient Greek and Roman sculptors and architects and is still a beloved material for sculpting. White marble is the preferred type for sculptures due to some of its qualities, such as relative softness, homogeneity and resistance to shuttering, which makes it easier to work with. Besides, it has a low index of refraction (which shows how light is transmitted in certain medium), which means it allows light to penetrate a few millimeters into the stone thus giving "life" to the sculpture.  

Marble is often used as construction material and as tiles for both interior and exterior projects. It is very popular for decorating bathrooms or for kitchen and vanity tops. However, marble can be used for the manufacturing of other amazing objects that include furniture, kitchenware, bathroom decoration and even eyeglasses. Below we will present you three companies that are dedicated to turning this natural stone into amazing marble creations.  

 

Awesome sitting options  

Kreeo is a marble furniture manufacturing company that combines creativity and experimentation to create unique furniture items for the bathroom, living room and the garden. It processes the stone in an innovative way exploring its aesthetic and other qualities and combines it successfully with other materials such as wood, glass and metal to achieve its amazing furniture pieces.  Some of its interesting creations are providing amazing options for sitting. 

• Vis à Vis is a chaise longue that is an excellent accessory for every spa center or bathroom. It is a steel structure covered with natural hand-woven wicker that rests on two brackets attached to a marble counter for balance. The lounge is available as a single and double seat and hence comes the name as it offers a possibility for a “vis à vis” interaction with your partner. 

 

Single seat

 

Double seat

 

• Pave stone is a sitting system that is reminiscent of naturally shaped stones and consists of two layers – a marble base and a wood seat. It is an amazing highlight both for interior and exterior application that truly brings nature to the place it decorates. 

 

• OASI is yet another sitting system to be used both indoors and outdoors that is inspired by the coral islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is made of marble, heat-treated ash seat and 3 travertine layers. You can purchase each piece separately but getting the whole group highlights its natural beauty and uniqueness. 

 

 

Fascinating marble tables 

Emmanuel Babled is a French designer who has studied and worked in Milan before moving his studio to Amsterdam. He has developed many unique pieces and limited editions, which are part of private and public collections around the world along with industrial products, furniture and lighting. His approach is based on the idea of combining tradition, territorial observations and cutting-edge technology in order to create his works. He gets historical knowledge of the craft and likes working with a certain product at the place of its origin. Marble is one of the materials he likes and works with it while in Carrara, Italy. Babled has made many unique furniture items but these two tables are some of the most renowned. 

• Quark marble – the Quark is a series of low coffee tables made of monolith blocks. The table is made of Carrara white marble with the help of the cutting-edge technology used by Tor Art – an anthropomorphic robot and a 3D scanner. It was such a hit that now it is offered made of other materials as well – bronze, Plexiglas, wood and copper. 

Quark Marble

 

Quark marble and Plexiglass coffee tables

• Paso Doble is another limited edition by Emmanuel Babled Studio that perfectly combines the flexibility of the composition with the solid presence of the Carrara white marble. It can be used both as a dining table or a work desk. 

 

Eyeglasses made of marble  

Marble is being used for many centuries now and it is believed that the first small marble figurines were made in Greece in the Cyclades islands around 3,200 BC. Ever since marble has many applications in sculpture, construction, decoration and many more. However it took humanity almost 5,000 years to invent and produce the first eyeglasses made of marble. Morà Eyewear is the company that presented this unique product on the market in October 2016. This is an Italy-based firm part of the Busoli group.  The idea of such an accessory came to Gianmarco Budri, its CEO, back in 2011 when a piece of marble fell on the ground and broke into a shape resembling glasses. The first prototype was made in 2014 but some more years were necessary for the development of the needed technology. The frames are hand-made and their manufacturing includes 35 industrial phases and 76 hand-finishing steps and the process takes 18 days. Each frame is made of a carefully selected stone slab that contains all the characteristics of marble and clearly visible veins. The final product weights only 38 grams and has a thickness between 2 cm and 0.8 mm. The frame is coated in carbon to prevent it from breaking if falling on the ground. Besides, it comes in three different finishes according to the customer preferences – glossy, brushed or matte. Currently Morà Eyewear offers 6 models in 30 different materials that include Carrara marble from Italy, Emperador Dark from Spain, Lapis Lazur from China and Chili. As these eyeglasses are luxury items their price ranges from €2,300 to €4,000. 
 

It is obvious that marble has no limits in its application and that its aesthetic value is beyond doubt. Owning a piece of this natural stone can make your day brighter and your home shine. Do not restrain yourself to simply laying marble tiles in your bathroom or using marble countertops in your kitchen. Explore the unique uses of this precious material.  

 

Tip: In order to keep your marble furniture clean and looking good wash the items with a clean cloth and lukewarm water. To remove soil build, especially for exterior furniture, wash the pieces with a mild detergent twice a year.