Field Trip: Selecting Stone

 Saturday we took a trip to an amazing stone yard in Ventura

to pick  slabs for our kitchen counter tops

 this yard has more interesting stone to choose from!

 above is the slab of soapstone we chose...it's huge!

almost 10 feet across and 7 feet high
 quarried in Italy

  near the soapstone was another really wonderful italian stone...similar to soapstone
called Pietra Grigio

it looks similar concrete and is a beautiful pure grey

here is an example of that stone used to make a sink

wonderful!

Restoration Hardware uses this stone
in some of their bathroom consoles

  I'm stuck on soapstone for this kitchen...but I have to say, I would love to 

use the grey Pietra for something

 these are just a few of the amazing large blocks of stone

 for steps and exterior garden details that they sell

this yard caters to DIY'ers too...there were alot of guys with a few kids, 

the wife and a big pick up

I count myself in that group too!

 they also had these big huge slabs of 8 inch thick marble

about 6 feet long

 these can be fabricated into double sinks for a bathroom!

how wonderful would that double sink be?!

 I loved these huge granite bubblers

for a garden fountain 

 there are two HUGE interior rooms

 of more incredible slabs

 some of the colors were so stunning 

and unique,
 mother nature at her best

 blues, greens, rust, black...

 a piece of stone similar to the one below 

was purchased by a customer to mount on the wall as art

what a great idea...talk about a show stopper!

every rock that is quarried 

yeilds multiple identical slabs

all numbered and indentified

for use on a project 

 they had some really pure white 

Carrera below which was beautiful

the cost of that stone was about 5 times the cost 

of the ususal Carrera marble

when this type of special stone is specified on a project the rejection rate
can be really high too, sometimes up to 20 %

there is also some 3rd rate Carrera coming from Italy,
shipped to China then re-sold
with fillers and repairs as pure Carrera

it is labeled as "quarried in Italy" because that is
the Country of origin

buyer beware right?

thankfully none of that here

 and then of course the timeless Carrera 

that we all love with a touch of grey

and very affordable:
around $16 dollars a square foot
prior to fabrication 

 this showroom had samples of edge details 

and really great descriptions of the various types of stone they sell  

and where they can be found 

throughout the world

 lots of samples to take home...which is really nice

 the slab above was incredible...it looked like clouds

can you imagine that in a kitchen or a huge bathroom?!!!

you would never stop looking at it

 the slab above looked like shattered 

green glass...I loved it

 and finally they had a variety of slabs 

with fossilized shells and fish

 the fish and large shells were sometimes
2 feet across

 I can see these in a beach house in Hawaii...
I think this was a limestone, but who cares
it was so amazing!

 and finally...we had to make a pit stop in a small little town called Saticoy 

to buy metal studs

yes,
I know
my life is so exciting...

 but this is the building supply store 

which was once a train station
 (my contractor told me)

 the trussing and rafters were amazing and so detailed
that I couldn't help snapping a few shots to share

so that was my Saturday

actually pretty fun... 

and it is always a treat to stumble across a 

bit of history in the process


xxoo
kelley

ps:  I got to have really yummy fish and chips for lunch