Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 9652 2017 | TRENDS STONE TRENDS (continued) Grays, whites, and silvers Design trends always seem to begin with color and it is no different with natural stone. What was once a trend of beige, cream and brown colored stones has been replaced with a more modern feel of grays, whites, silvers and charcoals. This cannot be more evident than when walking through slab yards today. All along the promi- nent and main aisles, there is a sea of white and grays. To no surprise, the traditional marbles such as Carrara or Calacatta whites were already well positioned to really take hold of this trending theme. And by the overwhelm- ing stock of whites and grays currently on hand, it looks to be a trend that will continue through 2017. And it’s not only marbles selling in the white/gray color theme. Another stone material has reinvented itself and become a force in the slab market which may be surpris- ing to some: quartzite. Quartzite has broken out by selling strong and is a great material that shows off colors and variations in unique ways. Quartzite has come a long way from being well known and categorized in the slates and sandstone cleft family, to being prominently featured up and down slab yards. New and old finishes transform traditional stones Exploring new limits with finish techniques and trying traditional ones on different material is another area where natural stone is excelling. A close second to the hot “white-gray” trend is a slight shift away from polished fin- ishes. Even though a polished finish will always enhance the life of a stone, other finishes such as honed, antiqued, leathered, chiseled, striated, and others are providing very attractive looks to the eye and touch. Slabs are see- ing more honed and antiqued finishes than ever before, and they really do seem to provide a warmer sense to what can sometimes be a cold material. In addition to more common finishes such as honed and antiqued, striking new finishes have also been hitting on the sales floor. Linear cleft finishes providing heavy texture and relief but also new light scoring finishes are creating fresh looks and value to materials that were traditionally only honed, split-face or hammered. Eye- grabbing appeal is created with heavy texture lines that are complemented in any light where traditional finishes To no surprise, the traditional marbles such as Carrara or Calacatta whites were already well positioned to really take hold of this trending theme. Calacatta Gold Select shown here. Eye-grabbing appeal is created with heavy texture lines that are complemented in any light, as opposed to traditional finishes, which are sometimes known to have a negative effect from certain lighting angles. Basalts have gained momentum as they are finding their way into commercial specifications more and more, with linear cleft finishes providing heavy texture and relief.