Honed or Polished: Choosing a Finish

Two pieces cut from the same block can feel completely different depending on their finish. The finish is the last decision in a commission, and one of the most important.

Polished

A polished surface is buffed to a reflective shine. It deepens the colour, makes veining vivid, and bounces light around a room. It is glamorous and formal. The trade-off is that it shows etching, fingerprints and wear more readily, and on marble those marks are part of the patina over time.

Honed

A honed surface is ground flat and smooth but left matte, with little or no shine. It reads as soft, contemporary and quiet, and it is more forgiving of daily marks. Most of our furniture is finished honed, because it suits the calm, architectural character of the pieces and invites touch.

Textured finishes

Beyond the two classics, stone can be leathered for a soft tactile sheen, brushed, or relief-carved so that raking light reveals the surface, as on our wall panels. These finishes add depth and grip and hide wear well.

Choosing for your piece

As a rule of thumb: polished to make a piece sparkle and feel formal, honed to make it calm and tactile, textured to make the surface itself the feature. We finish a sample in your chosen stone so you can see and feel the difference before we commit the whole piece.