Italian surfaces: gemstone, marble, wood

A couple of months back we spent a morning looking at Italian surface work. It covered stone, marble, mosaic, gemstone and timber. All of it was cut and laid by people who do nothing else. It is worth writing down what that kind of work involves. It is the part of an interior most often decided too late.

A specialist surface is not a finish you choose at the end. Book matched marble, an inlaid stone floor and a gemstone panel need this. So does a mosaic. The setting out must be fixed before the substrate goes in. The slab dictates the joint, and the joint dictates where the wall stops.

The materials themselves come in families. Marble and onyx for depth and veining. Granite and quartzite where the surface has to take work. Semi precious stone, backlit, for one panel that does the talking. Mosaic where a curve needs to be followed. Solid timber where you want warmth rather than reflection.

What they have in common is lead time. These are made to order, from a slab somebody has to select. The manufacture can run to months. That is why the surface schedule sits in the procurement programme. It sits alongside the glazing and the kitchen, not in the decoration package.

They also need the build to be ready for them. A stone floor wants a level, dry, correctly loaded substrate. A book matched wall wants the setting out drawn. It also wants the services behind it resolved. Get either wrong and the material is blamed for the installation.

At NU Projects the interior team schedules surfaces with the drawings. The slab, the joint and the structure behind it are agreed before ordering. Our joinery, kitchens and fitted furniture are made by Cochrane Bespoke, our joinery partner.

If your interior leans on stone, tell us about the room. You can also call the studio on 020 7731 6841.