the many ways of dressing the surface
antiqued or tumbled
A popular finish with a worn and lived-in look, and looks great with both traditional and contemporary design.
brushed
A brushed finish is coarser than the satinato finish and is achieved by first 'bursting' the surface of the stone using intense heat and then brushing the surface with abrasive brushes. Used to create a more rustic look it can also help to improve the slip resistance of stone used in flooring.
filled
Used extensively with travertine to fill the holes that occur naturally in the stone. The filler can be either clear or coloured resin to match the colour of the stone.
honed
To achieve a honed finish, the stone is ground using abrasives in the same way as for a polished finish, but the last few fine abrasives are not used, and the stone is left with a smooth matt finish. This is ideal for stones that cannot take a full polish or where a high gloss look is not desired.
leathered
A leather finish is similar to a tumbled finish except that the pieces of stone are too large to be tumbled and so are brushed and then washed in acid to achieve the desired worn smoothness.
polished
A polished finish is achieved using finer and finer abrasives until the stone has a deep gloss, and the surface is reflective. Not all stones will take a high polish, and some mineral inclusions in the stone will not polish as deeply as the surrounding stone. Polished stone is usually the easiest to keep clean.
riven
Slate is most commonly riven as it is formed in layers and splits easily along the layers to give a very natural textured finish.
satinato
A satinato finish is applied with abrasive brushes and imparts a soft textured finish to the stone. It has the added benefit of making the stone look aged.
unfilled
Many travertine floors are supplied unfilled. Then the holes are filled with grout, the same colour of the joints when the tiles are laid. A grout colour matched to the stone will provide the most pleasing result.