6 Inspiring Ideas for Incorporating Metal and Stone Inside Your Home from a Residential Architect

At Morgante Wilson Architects, our award-winning team loves nothing more than pushing boundaries to create exciting new architectural designs. Lately, we’re having a lot of fun devising innovative new ways to incorporate metal and stone inside our residential projects. Metal and stone inject interiors with unexpected visual excitement, as well as plenty of texture. Used in combination, metal and stone redefine familiar materials in thrilling new ways. From millwork to cabinetry to handrails to fireplaces, the options are limited only by the creativity and abilities of the craftspeople we’ve been lucky enough to find. Here, some of our favorite ideas:

Who says kitchen cabinets have to be framed in wood? Not us! This kitchen features cabinet frames crafted of steel.

One of Morgante Wilson’s favorite projects, this urban townhome in Chicago is an ideal example of how metal can combine with natural materials in a uniquely beautiful manner. Metal modernizes; wood introduces complementary earthiness. Together, they’re undeniably sophisticated.

First there were refrigerators with white doors. Black soon followed. For a long time, cabinet-fronted refrigerator doors were – and still are – the rage, with stainless steel following closely in popularity. Our latest idea: refrigerator drawers crafted of raw steel to evoke the appearance of industrial-style furniture. This entire house, in fact, showcases metal in sleek yet rustic fashion.

This contemporary kitchen combines metal and stone to great effect. A metal cabinet is flanked by glass, affixed to a floating stone wall behind it. This is drama at its most subtle.

Interior accent walls crafted of stone are another means of supplying welcome – and surprising – texture. Why settle for drywall when you can create a signature moment of excitement such as this?

One of our favorite stone treatments is utilizing the same material inside and out. And I’m not talking about your fireplace being made of the same stone that surrounds your front door. Here, a sculptural stone “fin” begins outside as a foundation support, enters the house as a living room wall, and exits the house again in the backyard. This sort of visual continuity showcases great thoughtfulness in terms of architectural design.

It takes talented craftspeople of incomparable talent to execute the ideas we come up with at Morgante Wilson Architects. We’ve been fortunate to get to know some of these people, who are not only able and willing to come along with us on our boundary-pushing adventure, but who are as excited as we are to explore the options. We welcome the opportunity to discuss those options with you, too.