Stone homes, one of the most popular country side designs, have always had a revolutionary charm to them, adding that quaint and picturesque appeal. Though stone-based architecture was initially restricted to monuments in a country like India, its popularity as farm houses, tucked away from the city, had become quite a trend.

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Gradually, the trend moved into urban spaces as well, with people incorporating stone into their apartments as well as independent houses. And why not, stone is considered to be one of the best building materials, given that they are durable, rugged and exquisite and require less maintenance.

Aesthetics aside, a stone house comes with its set of advantages and disadvantages. Says Meera Vasudev, principal architect of the design studio M:riad, “It is considered more of a natural resource and gives an aesthetic appeal to the home. Using a bit of stone in the house does have a change in the overall temperature of the house. However, even though there are technical advancements in the way stone can be used, it is rather difficult to put in electric lines.”

Talking about the trends, interior designer Aarti Sud says, “A stone house gives a different look. One of the biggest advantages of using stone in your home is that you don’t have to get them painted! Since a lot of people prefer to use crude stone over the polished variety, there is also the advantage of longevity here. Even during the rains one needn’t worry about the paint coming off as stone homes guarantee durability and is practically maintenance free.”

Concepts like installing stone-based waterfalls, boundary walls, artefacts in gardens, are also popular. However, she says climatic changes have no impact. “In a country like ours, nobody constructs the entire house in stone. It is probably part of a room or partially done. Since roofs are concrete based, it makes no impact with regards to climatic changes,” she informs.

A complete stone home doesn’t work well in a city like Bangalore, says interior designer Sandeep Bangera. “Stone walls can be best incorporated as cladding, which uplifts the aesthetic design of the home. However in a city like ours, which doesn’t have extreme temperatures, it should be best used as a cosmetic idea by making it part of a house.”

He also adds to say that it’s a good idea to mix concrete, stone and painted walls. “It requires heavy construction and even the cost factor goes up. So it’s best to use as a part of the overall architecture.”