Rock stars in home decor

By KIM COOK
For The Associated Press

Friday, June 20, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

We’ve all toted home an interesting stone or two from a good walk. We appreciate the eons it took to shape them; we admire the composition, the shading. But the coziness?

Today’s rocks — or close facsimiles — are getting all warm-and-fuzzy. Perhaps as a nod to environmental interest, designers and retailers are adding pebble and rock motifs to their home collections. Accessories, rugs, wall coverings and even lamps are fashioned from the real thing, or so cleverly imitative that you have to touch them to know the difference.

Gigantic, soft floor pebbles are an inspired alternative to the family room floor cushion. Or wrap a wall in a stone-printed paper, or cover bathroom walls with squares of natural pebbles. There are luminescent boulders for indoors or out, and stacked rock lamps, each one unique.

Thomas Ward of Stepping Stones Studio in Idaho recently won Bon Appetit’s cabinet hardware competition with the knobs, pulls and lamps he makes from glacial and river rocks he finds on canoeing forays. He’s mindful of the fact that most of his clientele are city-dwellers.

“Every stone I place is done in a way that will present its natural beauty and dignity to people who’ve been separated from nature,” he says.

Perhaps that’s what speaks to our fascination with rocks and pebbles; they’ve been around a good long while. They have stories to tell. And in uncertain times, sharing our space with a little terra firma seems oddly comforting.

* Merino wool rocks designed by South African Ronel Jordaan are hand dyed, carded and felted by women in a successful job creation program ($360-650), http://www.besweetproducts.com

* Livingstones wool “rocks” (69 - 1650 euros) http://www.smarin.net

* Central Park wool rug in Grasshopper and four other shades (prices upon inquiry), http://www.orangeskin.com

* Pebbles Rug ($348) and pebble floor mat ($58), http://www.chiasso.com

* Plage Rock Cairn wall decals (pkg about $60), http://www.acaciacatalog.com

* Moss rocks (18 for $19.95), http://www.zgallerie.com

* Split Marble repositionable vinyl wallcovering 18” X 50’ roll $50.00, http://www.designyourwall.com

* Skipping Stones Studio’s stone lamp ($300) and doorknobs ($200) http://www.stonehardware.com

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