Natural and engineered stone gets a good showing at the leading designer exhibition, 100% Design, currently (17-20 September) on at Earls Court, London.

Some stone and engineered stone companies were exhibiting under their own names but there was more stone, especially in the kitchen & bathroom section of the exhibition, on the stands of other companies. Clearly, stone and its imitators (and there was quite a lot of stone-look porcelain claiming to be better than the natural product) is still pushing the buttons for designers.

London stone wholesalers Stone World and MGWL (not to be confused with Joao and Rogerio Moutinho's MGLW) had stands of their own, as did Italians Antolini (which used to be known as Antolini Luigi but has lately dropped the Luigi) and Romagno Marmi.

Stone World has made a nice job of laying a floor in a selection of white marbles of different shapes and finishes that must have been interesting to fit together, while Antolini commissioned architect Claudio Silvestrin, famous for his use of stone, to design its stand. He has come up with a matrix of columns, each about 3m high, made from a polished Spanish Jurassic limestone full of fossils. It creates an eye catching display that contrasts with the more expected displays in the kitchen & bathroom area of 100% Design.

Claudio says he loves to use stone because of the variety nature instills in it. "Sometimes it is less chic because of the variety," Claudio told Natural Stone Specialist magazine, "but it is more interesting."

Before 100% Design, Antolini had expected to be talking at the exhibition about a new antibacterial-treated stone it is developing called Zerobact, ahead of it being introduced at Marmomacc in Verona next week (24-27 September). But the product is not ready yet and the company is now talking about launching it next year.

Romagno Marmi has a big stand with an eye-catchingly minimalist display of a Nero Marquina and Thassos bathroom. The empty spaces are filled with the uninterrupted expanse of the stones to powerful effect.

Lundhs is attempting to brand its larvikites and monzonites to distinguish them from the general melee of granites. Earlier this month (4 September) it showed its stones at an open day at wholesaler Pisani's headquarters in Feltham, near Hetahrow airport. At 100% Design it showed a block of Blue Pearl with a polished top, a sink cut out of it and a tap on it. The aim was to emphasise that the stone is natural in an attempt to fight back against man-made products. Inevitably, some of the visitors to the show have wanted to buy the sink, but it is not for sale. After 100% Design it will be going to Feltham to be on permanent display in Pisani's showrooms. 

The Lundhs stand was designed by Richard Cartwright, the English designer who now lives in Norway, where Lubndhs is based and its stone comes from. Richard also designed the display cases used by Lundhs that it hopes kitchen studios will use to display the stones. The 100% Design stand is angular and reminiscent of a quarry, reinforcing the natural origins of the stone.

Two of the natural stone companies at the exhibition (Ardosia Slate Company and Artorius Faber) have chosen to be in the eco design & build area, although the different areas of the show morph into one another seamlessly. Ardosia Slate sells Brazilian slate while Artorius Faber makes flooring, paving and cladding.

A major showing by the engineered stone companies comes from Cosentino, promoting its new sintered stone product, Dekton. It says the most popular version of Dekton is polished Aura, which is designed to look like Calacatta marble. The company aims to have a polished black version of Dekton available by the end of the year.

DuPont believes it has achieved the ultimate black worksurface in its had surface, Corian, and on its stand is showing what it calls the 'Super Black Kitchen' in a design by Christian Ghion fabricated by Crea Diffusion.

Corian's UK rival, L G Hausys, which makes Hi-Macs, has created a bright white pod-like fold-away kitchen unit out of its 'natural acryclic stone', as it calls its material, on its stand. Another solid surface on show is Samsung's Staron, which it has produced in some unusual configurations to show its versatility. 

100% Design runs until Saturday, so if you have not visited but want to go along and see for yourself what is on show there, you have today and tomorrow to do so.