Sponsored by Cav’Art Designer Stone
There is something about the beauty of natural stone and all its variations which evokes an emotional reaction. I’ve always known this but never did I feel it more than when I visited Cav’Art Designer Stone’s Sydney showroom last week. Surrounded by marble, quartzite, travertine, granite and more, from the most subtle (and no less beautiful) to the most bold greens, pinks, reds and golds, I was like a literal kid in a candy store!
Owner Nathan Karpenko’s knowledge of and passion for natural stone is unmatched and there was nobody better to give me the tour! It made me realise what an important and personal part of a project choosing your stone is, and I understand why so many of my interior designer friends love taking their clients to see Nathan.
He says when people come into the showroom he really tries to understand what they’re after. Sometimes, they might ask for a certain type of stone, more because it’s what they already know, rather than being what they really want. “We take the time to find out what might suit them best, not just in terms of colour but also durability. It’s largely a personal choice, but you also want something that’s going to last and not date. There’s often this misconception that natural stone is a bit soft and porous, but Italian marble for example, is a lot harder and more durable than other stones. They’re all very different.”
Nathan will find out how the client lives first and foremost. For example, if they live in the city and eat out a lot, not really using their kitchen, they can choose whatever they love without taking practicalities into consideration as much as someone who has kids and loves to cook and entertain at home every weekend.
That said, the process can be utterly overwhelming, due to the sheer breadth of the range available there, so it’s handy to have a little expert help to narrow down the choices. I can see how easily you could fall in love with something jaw-droppingly beautiful that you never knew existed before you saw it, but does that mean it’s the right choice for you? Maybe, maybe not!
And, once you’ve narrowed down your choice of stone, taking into account aesthetics and practicalities, you then need to dig down even further to pick the exact slab or slabs (did you know these weigh more than 300kg each?!).
Many people, for example, love Super White Dolomite Marble but slabs of this can very hugely in terms of veining and contrast. Nathan showed me one section of the showroom which had around 50 slabs from the same block of Super White. He explained how they’re numbered as the block is cut, so slab number one and slab number 32, for example, will have a similar base colour but totally different identity in the veins.
“If they don’t like the veins in number one, they’re probably not going to like number three, so then we’ll jump to maybe number 15 and 30. Once we know the sort of thing they like, then we hone in on that. We pull them all out and show the customer how they book match. It is personal and emotional so we take the time to go through that selection.”
It turns out green is trending in stone as much as it is in paint at the moment. Nathan said: “Green was always popular with marble years ago but it was the durability factor that deterred people from using it. Now, with quartzites being a lot denser and harder wearing, we’re definitely seeing customers being more open to the colours.”
I checked out the beautiful Emerald Green (also known as Esmerelda) Brazilian Quartzite and loved the gold tones through it. A perfect match with brass and copper tapware and timber kitchens and floors.
But the slab that probably got me the most excited was this Fusion Quartzite (above and below) from Brazil, which looks like a watercolour painting. Can you believe nature did this?! This slab had a leathered finish so it felt absolutely amazing too. The finish is achieved using hard wire brushes which open up the capillaries of the natural stone and give it texture. This doesn’t, as you might imagine, make the material anymore porous, it just makes it more tactile.
“Recently, we’re seeing a move away from all the whites and the greys, although there’ll always be a place for them,” Nathan says. “Colours excite people and seeing a beautiful piece of Mother Nature first thing in the morning or when you get home is really something!” As well as greens, pinks and blues are also popular at the moment.
Taj Mahal Quartzite though, is what we’d definitely call 2025’s “it” stone, gaining popular for its beautiful warm tones and exceptional durability. But Nathan says to be wary of cheaper imitations. “Because of its popularity, there are a lot of similar stones being sold that aren’t actually Taj Mahal. We get offered them ourselves all the time from suppliers around the world.” While there are many different beautiful stones out there, he says it pays to buy from a trusted supplier like Cav’Art so you can be 100% sure of what you’re getting.
While I’m sadly not in the market for a piece of stone right now, I felt like I really got to experience the process and increased my knowledge of these stunning products for myself. As a true interiors addict, the only question left is when can I go back?!
