Trend alert: exposed stone and brick

• Trend alert: exposed stone and brick
• What practicalities should you consider with stone?
• How would you incorporate brickwork into a scheme?

What are your favourite types of stone for a project?

AM English stone is fantastically varied in colour, texture and finish, from beautiful honeyed Bath stones and clean, white Portland to Cotswold stones in rustic oranges, browns and pale creamy tones. Looking further afield, Coral stone from the Dominican Republic is stunning with an amazing texture that it owes to the sedimentary coral it contains.

HP For the external walls of a house it is hard to beat English sandstone or limestone – their warm, soft colours seem to come alive in our low, golden sun. Both work well for either ashlar (dressed stone masonry) and rubble stone walls. The good news is that with growing demand, a number of quarries have re-opened.

ND I love to expose stonework in period properties – it’s a great way to create drama as well as uniting internal and external spaces. I often use naturally hewn slate on exposed walls or in a fireplace. As well as being tactile, slate is hardwearing, non porous and reasonably stain resistant. It can be laid in slabs, tiles and random cuts and has either a smooth or rippled finish.

THE EXPERTS

• Aidan Mortimer, CEO, specialist builder Symm.

• Hugh Petter, Director, Robert Adam Architects.

• Nicky Dobree, Interior designer, nickydobree.com.
 

Chosen by House to home