Decorating
Styling: 11 Brilliant Ways to Warm Up Marble
This super-luxe material can look a little chilly if not treated with care. Check out these creative ways to work in a little warmth
When it comes to natural materials, marble has perhaps the chicest reputation. We associate it with luxury hotel bathrooms and stylish kitchens, while in stately homes it crops up on flooring, stairs and fire surrounds. And it has many guises, coming in a multitude of subtle shades, with a variety of features, from dark veins to mottled patterns.
Due to its expense, most of us can only hope to work marble into our rooms as an accent, but whether it’s a detail or the main feature, how can you prevent it from looking cool and sterile? These rooms write the rule book on warming up marble…
Due to its expense, most of us can only hope to work marble into our rooms as an accent, but whether it’s a detail or the main feature, how can you prevent it from looking cool and sterile? These rooms write the rule book on warming up marble…
Make it feel modern
Marble can be cool, restrained, even sterile, but it is versatile, too, and, thanks to its pale tones, can make friends with all kinds of different materials and colours. Here, a piece of modern art and a moody shade of blue-grey on the walls gives this cool marble fire surround a strongly modern feel.
Marble can be cool, restrained, even sterile, but it is versatile, too, and, thanks to its pale tones, can make friends with all kinds of different materials and colours. Here, a piece of modern art and a moody shade of blue-grey on the walls gives this cool marble fire surround a strongly modern feel.
Team with rich colour
There’s no way marble can look cold when it’s part of a kitchen scheme that makes such bold use of coloured tiles. These gorgeous green metro tiles also have a shiny, reflective quality and bring lots of light, colour and energy to the marble-topped units.
Discover 9 ways to be brave with colour
There’s no way marble can look cold when it’s part of a kitchen scheme that makes such bold use of coloured tiles. These gorgeous green metro tiles also have a shiny, reflective quality and bring lots of light, colour and energy to the marble-topped units.
Discover 9 ways to be brave with colour
Build in some brass
Working in a warm-toned metal, such as brass, is a simple way to add a little glow to cool marble. These brass taps add pops of burnished colour to this simple monochrome cloakroom.
Working in a warm-toned metal, such as brass, is a simple way to add a little glow to cool marble. These brass taps add pops of burnished colour to this simple monochrome cloakroom.
Combine with wood
Where marble can seem cold, wood has a tendency to look warm, so pairing these two materials creates a balanced effect. This open-plan kitchen has a marble island, but it sits alongside simple white units, a stainless-steel fridge and, crucially, a gorgeous parquet floor in a soft, honey-toned wood.
Where marble can seem cold, wood has a tendency to look warm, so pairing these two materials creates a balanced effect. This open-plan kitchen has a marble island, but it sits alongside simple white units, a stainless-steel fridge and, crucially, a gorgeous parquet floor in a soft, honey-toned wood.
Take it in an industrial direction
We often associate marble with hotel bathrooms and minimalist kitchens, where it gives a very cool, chic feel. But marble can also belong in a more edgy, industrial scheme, as this kitchen demonstrates. Here, it is teamed with black wooden wall cupboards and units made from burned and treated oak.
Learn about industrial style
We often associate marble with hotel bathrooms and minimalist kitchens, where it gives a very cool, chic feel. But marble can also belong in a more edgy, industrial scheme, as this kitchen demonstrates. Here, it is teamed with black wooden wall cupboards and units made from burned and treated oak.
Learn about industrial style
Punctuate with bright pops
Even just a few shots of a jewel-bright shade, such as the red in this bathroom, can knock the serious edges off any marble fittings. Here, red glass adds colour, but also delicacy, making a nice contrast to the solid pale stone.
Even just a few shots of a jewel-bright shade, such as the red in this bathroom, can knock the serious edges off any marble fittings. Here, red glass adds colour, but also delicacy, making a nice contrast to the solid pale stone.
Add soft furnishings
This is a simple way to introduce some warm colour and texture to a scheme that uses a great deal of marble. This elegant upholstered stool adds a subtle purple shade and a tactile component to the ultra-sleek bathroom.
This is a simple way to introduce some warm colour and texture to a scheme that uses a great deal of marble. This elegant upholstered stool adds a subtle purple shade and a tactile component to the ultra-sleek bathroom.
Soften with lighting
Abundant natural light allows you to see every vein and detail in marble, but artificial light can help to warm it up at night. Avoid stark spotlights and try track lighting beneath a bath, or wall lights that send a soft wash over the marble, giving it a gorgeous glow.
Abundant natural light allows you to see every vein and detail in marble, but artificial light can help to warm it up at night. Avoid stark spotlights and try track lighting beneath a bath, or wall lights that send a soft wash over the marble, giving it a gorgeous glow.
Source a dark tone
Rather than warming up marble with other materials, why not choose a marble that has depth and colour itself. Marble comes in a huge variety of tones, as this St Laurent black marble demonstrates. Here, teamed with mirrors and white sanitaryware and lit by a large window, it looks luxurious and dramatic, rather than cold.
Rather than warming up marble with other materials, why not choose a marble that has depth and colour itself. Marble comes in a huge variety of tones, as this St Laurent black marble demonstrates. Here, teamed with mirrors and white sanitaryware and lit by a large window, it looks luxurious and dramatic, rather than cold.
Use when upcycling
Old tables or work benches look great as the stand for basins in a bathroom, but why not go one better? This vintage piece has been adapted with basins set into its surface and marble topping it off. Brass taps and pipework, and texture-rich storage baskets beneath make the whole washstand look original and appealing.
TELL US...
How do you incorporate marble in your home? Share your tips in the Comments below.
Old tables or work benches look great as the stand for basins in a bathroom, but why not go one better? This vintage piece has been adapted with basins set into its surface and marble topping it off. Brass taps and pipework, and texture-rich storage baskets beneath make the whole washstand look original and appealing.
TELL US...
How do you incorporate marble in your home? Share your tips in the Comments below.
Let the natural world knock the coolness out of your marble. This stunning bathroom has a huge window overlooking countryside, and it serves as a green backdrop to the pale marble, bringing it to life and warming it up.