Furnishing

A new type of decorative surface used in furniture is natural stone veneer. Natural stone sheets are available in various rocks. Their dimensional stability, strength properties and cost advantages further increase the benefits of using these veneers to achieve an endless array of furniture finishes.

In furniture work, stone veneer refers to a thin decorative layer of natural stones, less than 2mm thick, usually glued to backing panels (wood, particleboard or density fibreboard medium) to produce flat panels such as doors, worktops and panels for cabinets, flooring or furniture pieces. They are also used in marquetry. Veneer sheets are a thin decorative layer of natural stone placed around objects and furniture. Veneer is also used to replace decorative papers in HPL wood veneer. The veneer can also be a manufactured ready panel.

Natural stone veneer is obtained by tearing the surface of a block of rock through the application of a layer of polyester resin on it. The appearance of the veining and the structure of the stone comes from the natural geological constitution of the rock and depends on the uprooting of more or less layers of rock.

Compared to solid stone, one of the main advantages of using sheet stone is stability. While solid stone can be subject to warping and cracking, the veneer being made up of thin layers of wood, resin and natural stone bonded together, the risk of cracking is non-existent. Some projects built with natural stone veneer could not be built with solid stone, due to expansion and contraction caused by temperature and humidity fluctuations. Another benefit of veneer is durability: stone veneer furniture uses less stone than the same solid stone furniture. Additionally, veneer may also be more readily available than solid stone as some exotic rocks may be rare and very expensive.