Design Quickie: Sometimes a Little Gorgeous Granite Goes a Long Way

This is one of five hand-carved, solid teak tables that belong to one of my clients.  She purchased them in Indonesia from a man who carved each table by hand at the side of the road, using only pieces of broken glass as tools.  Over the years since she bought these tables, my client's style has shifted to a much more contemporary aesthetic.  She felt that the tables weren't really working with the look she wanted for her home, but she was emotionally attached to them and couldn't bear to part with them, either.

The largest round table was used in the foyer, and two smaller round end tables and two of these ornately scalloped end tables were in the adjacent formal living room.  All five tables had the same jade-colored marble stone tops with ogee edges.

I found this beautiful slab of "Metallic" granite from Brazil when I was at the granite importer's warehouse selecting my own kitchen countertops, and I knew immediately that it would be perfect for my client's tables.  My lousy upside-down iPhone snapshot of the slab doesn't do it justice at all.  It's a deep black, with dramatic but consistent movement throughout the slab, accented with taupe and mushroom areas and plenty of sparkling mica flecks scattered throughout the stone.  It's going to look amazing with my client's new living room color scheme of ivory and taupe neutrals accented with black and crimson.  In addition to changing the stone from green marble to black granite, I also requested a straight, eased edge rather than the more "traditional" look of the ogee edge on the original stone table tops.  Here's the foyer table with its new Metallic granite top:

Isn't that gorgeous?  We also altered the shape of those elaborately scalloped oblong end tables.  We simplified the shape for a more contemporary feel, but we still needed something other than a plain oval or rectangle in order for the tops to fit the shape of these table bases:

Here's one of the smaller round end tables:

It would have been easy to go out and find brand-new, contemporary tables for this client from a furniture store.  However, I love the authenticity of a home filled with cherished possessions that have deep meaning to the people who live in them.  The sleek new Metallic stone tops are just the update these tables needed to transition to the clients' current style.  I can't wait to see them with the new furnishings and draperies when this project is complete!