Natural Stone Finishes

When it comes to natural stone, the finish of the stone can create a totally different look. With so many finishes to choose from, we’ve rounded up the most popular stone finishes and explained their main features:

Natural Finish:

This is when the stone is left in the original state as when it was quarried, receiving no additional treatment.

Polished

A polished finish, is one that is most commonly associated with flooring.  This creates a glossy shine that vibrantly reflects the stone’s natural crystals.

Leather Finish

This is a smooth yet slip resistant texture, which gives the stone the look and feel of suede. This finish is only available for some types of marble and granite.

Honed Finish

A honed finish leaves a satin-like smooth surface with a matte finish which reflects very little light.

Antique Finish

The antique finish is uneven aiming to mimic time-worn stone.

Bush Hammered

A bush hammered finish is created by mechanically pounding the material with a bush hammer. This creates a coarse surface, with various sized craters over the stone’s surface.

Riven Finish

A riven finish leaves a natural finish which is gently textured, according to the natural texture of the stone. This finish offers a high slip resistance.

Flamed

This texture is achieved by heating the surface of the stone to extremely high temperatures, followed by rapid cooling, which results in a rough and unrefined texture. This texture can only be achieved with granite.

Hydro Finish

The hydro finish is similar to a flamed finish, with a more dramatic finish, that brings out the vein and colour variations even more.

Brushed Finish

As the name suggests, this finish is achieved by brushing the stone with steel or hard nylon brushes.  The surface finish is similar to a leather like feel with a smooth but irregular surface. Brushed finishes can be applied to a wide variety of stone including Travertine, limestone, granite and marble.