SHAPING STONE

New methods are allowing designers to express sinuous, sculptural forms in marble these advancements have upped the aesthetics of the coveted material

- HUGH METCALF

Emerging idea

Modern furniture design has undergone its own body-positivity revolution. There’s no doubt that plump, fuller pieces have supplanted boxy, straight-lined ones to become the new cool when it comes to sofas, accent chairs and more. You only have to look at the revival of the 1970s Camaleonda, the uncontested ‘it’ sofa right now, to see the sort of shapes inspiring interiors in 2023.

But whether it’s this Mario Bellini classic, Tom Dixon’s playfully named Fat collection, or any other modern design that embraces more curvaceous forms, it’s not a trend that’s limited to the soft elements of your home’s design. We’re seeing it across the spectrum of product design, but there’s one material where it remains a unique challenge to embrace the sinuous shapes that have become one of the biggest interior design trends of the decade so far. Natural stone.

You can imagine the challenges. We’re used to seeing natural stones like marble in fine slabs, as kitchen surfaces, or pieced together for statement fireplaces or coffee tables. The idea of turning marble into these rounded forms takes it into the realms of sculpture. Michelangelo took three years to sculpt the statue of David – hardly a compelling business model for any product designer. Fortunately, with the advent of modern cutting technology, a sculptural marble form can take as little as two days.