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Greetings from Rome apartment in Vilnius by 2XJ

Ten contemporary living rooms with cool stone surfaces

Rough-hewn granite and smooth marble are among the materials chosen for the living rooms in this lookbook, which use stone to create elegant interiors.

While stone surfaces can help rooms feel cooler during hot summer days, they also create a warm, organic atmosphere in modern interiors – especially when contrasted against glass surfaces and other natural materials, such as wood.

For our latest lookbook, we've chosen 10 living rooms from the Dezeen archive in which different types of stone add textural interest and bring a touch of the outdoors into the home.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks on light-filled glass extensions, exposed wooden floorboards and timber-clad bathrooms.


Photography is by Timothy Kaye

Grange Residence, Australia, by Conrad Architects

Australian studio Conrad Architects described its design for Grange Residence as a "split form of minimalist stone blocks." Inside the four-bedroom home, concrete and stone were used to create a minimalist interior.

The living room is a smorgasbord of stone detailing, with marble used for both shelves and furniture and a contrasting stone chosen for a built-in bench.

Find out more about Grange Residence ›


Photography is by Prue Ruscoe

Budge Over Dover, Australia, by YSG

The original travertine flooring was kept in interior design studio YSG's renovation of Budge Over Dover house in Sydney.

The smooth, glossy floor is contrasted with an aubergine-hued plaster ceiling and a pale green statement wall, while a black marble coffee table and maroon chairs complete the interior.

Find out more about Budge Over Dover ›


Photography is by Joe Fletcher

Atherton Contemporary, US, by Pacific Peninsula Architecture and Leverone Design

Texas split-cut limestone was used for both the exterior and parts of the interior of this house in Silicon Valley, California.

In the living room, the chunky wall creates an interesting backdrop to a low wooden sofa and a warm wooden floor. A shaggy pillow and ridged floor mat pick up on the uneven textures to create a subtly matching interior.

Find out more about Atherton Contemporary ›


Photography is by Durston Saylor

Writer's Studio, US, by Eric J Smith

Located in a forest in Connecticut, US, this writer's studio, which was designed for a poet, has an unusual writing and living room that has seemingly been attached to the exterior of the cantilevered building.

The house's exterior wall, which is made from fieldstone and bluestone, forms the back wall of the glass-cube room. Rough-hewn stone walls are featured throughout the studio.

Find out more about Writer's Studio ›


Photography is by Darius Petrulaitis

Greetings from Rome, Lithuania, by 2XJ

A structured stone wall with arched openings has become a decorative centrepiece in this apartment in Lithuania, designed by local studio 2XJ. The studio clad the wall in slabs of Italian travertine to turn it into an elegant feature.

"We decided to highlight this wall and create the home around it, to separate the house into active and restful spaces," the studio explained.

Find out more about Greetings from Rome ›


Photography is by Bruce Cole

Loghaven Artist Residency, US, by Sanders Pace Architecture

A decorative rustic stone wall holds the hearth in Sanders Pace Architecture's Loghaven artist campus, nestled within a forest in eastern Tennessee.

The rough-hewn stone contrasts against a wooden ceiling and white plaster walls, while a patterned rug and leather daybed add cosy touches to the large living room.

Find out more about Loghaven Artist Residency ›


Photography is by Mark Seelen, Ambroise Tezenas and François Halard

Chalet, Switzerland, by Liaigre

Paris studio Liaigre refurbished this Swiss chalet in St Moritz, excavating a basement to add a sauna and a spa.

The granite leftover from the excavation was used to line the living room walls, creating an interior that nods to the snow-capped mountains outside.

Find out more about this Swiss chalet ›


Photography is by Jeremy Bittermann

Laurelhurst, US, by MW Works

US studio MW Works updated this 1960s home in Seattle to create a more open layout. A material palette of wood, concrete, stone and glass was used for the renovation.

The studio aimed to create a stronger connection between the interiors and the outdoors, as seen in the living room. Here, floor-to-ceiling windows open up to the outside, while the fireplace has been re-clad in dry-stack limestone to create a decorative textural contrast.

Find out more about Laurelhurst ›


Photography is by David Cervera

Raw House, Mexico, by Taller Estilo Arquitectura

Located in Yucatán, Mexico, Raw House opens up towards a leafy courtyard garden. Just inside the courtyard, the living room floor is covered in smooth grey marble, creating an elegant and cooling interior.

Dark-brown wooden and leather furniture, including a pair of classic Barcelona chairs by Mies van der Rohe, give the room an organic feel.

Find out more about Raw House ›


Photography is by Building Narratives

Stone House, UK, by Architecture for London

This extension to a family home in London was designed as a monolithic stone shape, with a playful interior that includes a small arched entrance for the family's cat.

The tiered terrace that extends from the outside to form a plinth inside was built from an agglomerate stone made from recycled waste quarried in Lombardy, Italy.

Find out more about Stone House ›

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen's archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks on light-filled glass extensions, exposed wooden floorboards and timber-clad bathrooms.

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