Crystal a dazzling luxury
Designers drawn to natural look and properties of earthly elements
We are not yet far enough removed from the 1970s and ’80s that you can float the idea of using crystals and semi-precious stones in home decor without people conjuring up images of shocking blue geodes or hippy shrines — and yet there has been a resurgence in the use of these materials of late, which favours subtlety.
“We saw a lot of heavily dyed natural stones in the late ’70s and especially the ’80s when everything was, for lack of a better word, fake,” says designer Jennifer Scott, of Vancouver’s A Good Chick to Know. “The ’80s were all about making a statement.”
These days, her clients favour these materials in their natural form, she says, although the bright pinks and blues are still available at more “cheap and cheerful stores” (like Winners).
“People aren’t necessarily looking to have a crystal that’s electric blue, but they’re open to having a beautiful soft amethyst or even a clear quartz where you’re getting to play with texture and really bring in those natural elements,” she says.
Although many people choose these crystals and stones purely for the way they look, says Scott, either displaying them on their own or using them as bookends or doorknobs, some are drawn to the natural properties they are purported to have.
“One of the biggest ones I like to use in peoples’ homes is selenite,” says Scott. “Because it’s known as the peaceful stone. It’s not clear, it doesn’t look like glass, it’s definitely an opaque white, it has a lot of texture, and it’s meant to balance energies in the home and bring a sense of calm. So they’re really great to have in living rooms and bedrooms.”
Rose quartz is another, says Scott. Not the very pink colour that people often associate with rose quartz, but the natural versions, which have a lot of white, is easy to match for home decor, and is said to enhance love — be it romantic, friendship or self-love.
And if you like sparkle, she says, geodes are the way to go.
“They’re fun ones for kids’ rooms,” she says. “It’s an easy way to incorporate something sparkly and pretty.”
Designer Anna Rabinowicz (Anna New York) launched her first home decor collection in 2002 for RabLabs based on the idea of “taking precious materials and combining them with modern design to create pieces that essentially elevate nature.”
These materials include alabaster from Italy, amethyst from Brazil, agate, gold and silver, which she transforms into coasters, ice buckets, serving trays and night lights that are luxury in feel and, Rabinowicz hopes, feel like “modern-day heirlooms.”
“The materials are so permanent,” she says, “and were formed over millions of years within lava streams. And I’m taking them and turning them into something that becomes usable for people in their homes and helps to enhance their experience of living.”
“We are all longing for individuality and longing for a connection to something real,” Rabinowicz says.