Stone Forest Powder Room Bathroom Designs
2 July 2009
“Stones Will Play”
In the south of China there is an area of some 150 square miles formed of what was once a seabed, but which rose and some 200 million years ago became a towering, elaborate limestone rock formation that is called, with every justification, the stone forest. It has been exposed to the wind and the rain, and over that staggering period of time, it has been shaped and twisted into stone peaks, pillars, and stalagmites so that it now looks like nothing less than a stone forest, extending off to the horizon and beyond, as far as the eye can see. I know it’s really a stretch to say something like this, but maybe this is the sort of thing that first inspired man to do what he does with a hammer and chisel and a piece of stone. But wherever that inspiration first arose in the distant mists of prehistory, it is a fact that man is forever seeking out the new, the abstract, the untried, the differ
ent, the exotic. All of which is a rather elaborate way of introducing another Stone Forest of which I am acquainted and which, in its own way, is every bit as stimulating as the one found in China.
Stone Forest is an American company located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and since 1989 they have been creating hand-carved granite sculptures that combine the elegant simplicity of Japanese tradition and contemporary design. All of the designs are their own, which I like, and they use granite and other natural stones, not just some man-made material such as cement or cast stone. We live in an age where everything is machine-made and artificial, so I find it particularly intriguing to have come across a company that not only makes their own, but insists on carving their own… from solid blocks of stone!
A lot of Stone Forest’s work—like their Chinese namesake—is outdoor sculptures which have enjoyed a passionate response in both residential and commercial sites across the nation, but in recent years they have turned their considerable talents inward, to kitchens and baths and the many design possibilities for these two essential rooms.
One of the designs that especially caught my eye is the New Wave Pedestal sink at the top of this blog. It’s a piece with a wonderful flow to it, and it looks very much like
its name, a wave coming straight out of the wall and flowing to the floor with a wonderfully sinuous wave. I cannot think of anything more elegant for a small powder room.
Another piece that intrigued me was the simple block of carved translucent onyx with the purity of its form. It’s the sort of bathroom fixture that would make using it on a daily basis something of a constant rejuvenation of mind and spirit and body.
Finally, woodworker that I am, I cannot help talking about the Natural Edge Wood Countertops which Stone Forest has turned to in recent years. So, now I suppose we have two forests to talk about! But, really, it is an absolutely stunning combination that is both simple and complex, because you cannot look at it without thinking about the thousands—or millions—of years needed to create the raw materials, and then the careful shaping of both wood and stone by master craftsmen.
And since I’m speaking about master craftsmen, I think it is worth noting that a distressing number of purveyors of Japanese items on the Internet these days don’t really have any craftsmen on the payroll, master or otherwise. Their entire stock is purchased from importers, and they rarely even touch the items they sell; they simply take the order and pass it on to the importer for shipping. Stone forest is unique in a number of ways, I think, from their choice of materials to their designs, to their chosen palette, but what I find most unique about them is their insistence on seeking success the old fashioned way, by earning it through dint of no one’s efforts but their own. Stone Forest does more than “hold their own.” They make it!
Joseph
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