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(Continuing to: Natural Stone">Stone Care and Cleaning)

Stone">Stone Finishes
A polished finish on the stone">stone has a glossy surface that reflects light and emphasizes the color and marking of the material. This type of finish is used on walls, furniture tops and other items, as well as floor tiles.

A honed finish is a satin smooth surface with relatively little light reflection. Generally, a honed finish is preferred for floors, stair treads, thresholds and other locations where heavy traffic will wear off the polished finish. A honed finish may also be used on furniture tops and other surfaces.

A flamed finish is a rough textured surface used frequently on granite floor tiles.

stone">stone Colors and Appearance
Granites and marbles are quarried throughout the world in a variety of colors with varying mineral compositions. In most cases, marbles and granites can be identified by visible particles at the surface of the stone">stone. Marble will normally show "veins" or high concentrations. The minerals in granite will typically appear as small flecks distributed uniformly in the stone">stone. Each type of stone">stone is unique and will vary in color, texture and marking.

Sandstone">stones vary widely in color due to different minerals and clays found in the stone">stone. Sandstone">stone is light gray to yellow or red. A dark reddish brown sandstone">stone, also called brownstone">stone, has commonly been used in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. Bluestone">stone is a dense, hard, fine-grained sandstone">stone of greenish-gray or bluish-gray color and is quarried in the eastern United States.

Limestone">stone is a widely used building stone">stone with colors typically light gray, tan or buff. A distinguishing characteristic of many limestone">stones is the presence of fossils that are frequently visible in the stone">stone surface. Slate is dark green, black, gray, dark red or multi-colored. It is most commonly used as a flooring material and for roof tiles and is often distinguished by its distinct cleft texture.

source: Marble Institute of America