Elongated Shapes Trending in Stone and Tile Design
Classical architecture has always been cognizant and held sacred the purity of shapes and proportions. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, known more simply as Vitruvius, is the author of De architecture which is more commonly known as the Ten Books on Architecture. He once said that “symmetry is a proper agreement between the members of the work itself, and relation between the different parts and the whole general scheme, in accordance with a certain part selected as standard.” Of course this is quite a mouthful, but the reality is that Roman architecture relied heavily on proportions and elongated shapes with the square and its sub shapes dominating.
Trending now in stone and tile is the rectangle and in particular the elongated rectangle. So if classic stone and tile rectangular shapes were 3×8, 4×8, 5×10, etc., today we see shapes where the 2:1 leg ratio is elongated creating 2×10, 3×12, etc. Cristina Colli is a U.K. based freelance still life & interior stylist who tells us on her site that, “all rectangles can be considered to be variations of the square, however rectangular shapes are more pleasing to the eye than square ones. Rectangular shapes are clearly the norm in architectural and interior design, however too many rectangular shapes can become boring. Add interest by varying their size, proportion, colour, texture, placement, or orientation.” She is clearly in step with our thoughts!
Marble Systems offers a fine selection of elongated rectangular shapes. The Avalon Modern Collection features white and multi-colored marbles as shown below.These shapes can lend a distinct directional visual to any space: narrowing where needed and widening also!
An “oblong” shape should be considered for your ceramic, marble and porcelain flooring and wall covering plans. Such a configuration can overcome the sterility and sameness of the square and the classic rectangle. You are provided a backdrop on which to design. The image below from our Leathered Collection aptly indicates the previously mentioned directional element, in this case a horizontal orientation accentuated by pencil liners.
Well, thanks for stopping by and as always remember that Marble Systems has showrooms across America and now also in Puerto Rico.. The design pros that work for us would love to help you explore elongated shapes in stone and tile!