Lava stone, lava rock, basalt, and volcanic rock are all igneous rocks that form from erupting Earth magma (lava) by cooling and hardening. These abundant formations have really made a splash in the world of design for the past few years, bringing along texture and style in particularly dramatic dark colors. Lava stone designs today are as complex as any others, but they also have unique aesthetic. Take a look at what designers could do after nature had made its changes to molten hot lava.
Minimal Effort
As much as we like interesting shapes and silhouettes, lava rock really doesn’t need much designing. It looks good in minimalist style thanks to its rich surface texture.
Peca takes advantage of this quality, and only slightly accentuates it with contrasting, smooth parts.
Normann Copenhagen’s Ireland lava rock wall hooks come with similar contrasting, smooth pegs that further accentuate all the little irregularities within the rock surface.
These little guys may not make a big impact in the interior but they just might attract attention of an attentive guest.
Another Peca endeavor seems to be in the same style, only these coasters make use of polished marble to create the dynamic contrast.
It is an elegant way to use utilize hardened lava and volcanic ash in decor, but if you want something more expansive and impressive, you’ll have to look further.
Clock can be a little more displayable than coasters, perhaps. Formafantasma offer a lot of lava stone designs that are simply made to be shown off.
Monti Silvestri clock is one of their designs that will have your guests wondering, stirring up conversations. It also come in red brick and beautiful grey hues.
Pretty Bowls
You may not want to eat something liquid from actual lava rock plates with their porous surface and rough texture, but you can definitely keep your snacks in them.
Designer Max Lamb offers a few glazed basalt bowls, from which you could probably even sip stuff, to add to your kitchen. They are definitely more alluring than your average ceramics.
A snack bowl from Mineralia Exports looks more like a stand, but that makes it even more suitable for a wine tasting party.
Rough lava stone texture is a nice alternative to smooth plastic, as it makes for a more sophisticated look.
This particular design would make a perfect lava cookie or tea leaf bowl thanks to its nice wooden lid. We could think of a lot of other uses for such a simple yet versatile dish, but there are a lot more designs to wade through, so let’s go on.
Lava Rock Aesthetics
When it comes to bigger designs, lava rock works just as well. It still looks very beautiful in contrast with perfectly smooth surfaces.
Peugeot Design Lab created a carbon fiber and volvic volcanic lava stone sofa in collaboration with the designer Pierre Gimbergues to complement Peugeot’s 600 horsepower ONYX supercar. The result is as gorgeous as it is thanks to mainly unrefined lava stone growing out of a flawlessly smooth carbon fiber seat.
‘Remolten’ is an entirely different story, though. Made from Chilean volcanic lava, these stools look almost disfigured, but those leaks and stunned running drops give them their unusual look.
Their production process is as interesting as the stools themselves. Usually, hardened rock is cut and polished. Great things to people (gt2p) studio, however, first ground their lava stone to a granular state, then pre-cast, and re-molten it in special molds.
If you are looking for more aesthetically impressive lava stone designs, Formafantasma is worth a second look. Here is their obsidian mirror hanging that also plays on the contrast between a perfectly smooth mirror and a misshapen rough lava rock.
Brass adds another dimension to the design, rendering it even more contemporary.
Aesthetics is important. So if you seek it, Light Rocks collection by Laura Bilde would be a perfect addition to any decor.
Rocky lava stone stands with white laser-cut acrylic, LED-lit lights look cool and statuesque. They seem to
After trying their hand at lava rock design with coasters, Peca took on a slightly more challenging cubby shelf storage. These can also be used as bookshelves altars and credenzas.
Cool Sinks & Basins
There is no better focal point in a bathroom than an impressively designed sink. Lava rock is a great material candidate for such a design.
A bowl-shaped Thera sink from Signature Hardware may not look overly complicated, but it does have an alluring stone cold texture.
Bali Moon looks a bit more unusual but mainly thanks to its shape and shallow basin. One of the volcanic rock’s unique properties is to imitate other stones like concrete and granite.
Bronze hardware makes an unexpected appearance next to the contemporary-looking basin.
Kawena lava stone sink combines the rough rock texture with smoothness of a washbasin. It’s a beautiful coupling, if you like contrasts.
Darker inner side also allows the grey stone stand out more. The dark vanity countertop is a fitting pedestal for a sink like this as well.
Rock and metal isn’t the only stylish combination. Oak and lava stone look as organically together as they do apart.
KBH makes a stunning statement with both in a bathroom vanity and a deep lava stone bowl sink. Beautiful natural texture patterns of both wood and stone complement each other rather well..
Lava Rock Lighting
Lights can make a world of difference in decor. From dining room to bathroom, stylish pendants can transform every and any space.
Bentu design used black lava stone to create their ultra modern Shang lamp with brass and aluminum tops. The three of these would make any kitchen suddenly more interesting.
Ranieri Lava Stone lamps come in a similarly minimalist style, but colorful glazing disguises the natural irregular lava stone texture.
Together all three, including the one in natural lava stone finish, make for a stylish combination for kitchen, dining area, or bathroom.
Basalt Drill Lamp is a minimalist table lamp design by LeviSarha. It differs from all of the others by having a denser surface texture.
It is so simple, it hardly looks like a lamp, considering that you cannot see its bulb. It may become an indisputably cool object on your working desk, though.
Daniel Stoller went with a bolder, more sizable lamp design in his workings with basalt. His Aso San pendant looks quite unusual thanks to its atypical shape and soft incandescent bulb.
Lava Side Tables
Exploring modern materials, designer Jeonghwa Seo found that the smoothness of brass makes for a great base for the porous basalt.
The difference in colors is also what makes this particular side table so attractive. Matt grey and golden brass are made to enhance stylish interiors.
After something more telling of the rock’s natural aesthetics? Here is a Lex Pott lava stone table that is bound to tell each and every one of your guests that this is special.
A smooth round stone tabletop makes it a perfect side table, but you better not stick it between a sofa and a wall. It must stand somewhere it could be seen and appreciated.
Volcanic Coffee Tables
Speaking of such demonstrative furniture items, coffee tables get all the glory, regardless of style. So it makes sense to invest into one made out of lava rock.
Formafantasma continue to amaze with their jewelry approach to design. Here is their lava stone coffee table that has more in common with a cufflink.
Another glorious addition to the living room is this Palecek lava coffee table, which can give a live edge design a run for its paper money.
Luxurious finish definitely enhances the natural form of the rock. Angular chromed base may seem a bit underwhelming, but it’s a good point of contact, if you want to use it in a contemporary interior.
While some lava rock designs are porous, others come with more pointed rocky surfaces. This Phillips Collection table is an example of the latter.
Dark and spiky, it should look fitting in an all-white contemporary minimalist living room. The sheer contrast will blow anyone away.
Unlike our previous example, this lava coffee table looks more like a table than a boulder. Its massive chromed supports work a nice dynamic with the top’s rocky underbelly.
Lava Stone Eatery Furnishings
Volcanic rock isn’t just a fancy accessory material. You can find designs that are a little more practical in daily life like dining tables made of the stuff.
Here is a beautifully minimal Grigorio table from mg12 that implements the industry favorite brass to accentuate the modern grey shade.
Another Peca design is this round dining table made of wooden four legged base and a volcanic rock tabletop. Its carved-in pattern gives it even more detail.
If you don’t expect elegance from lava stone designs, maybe these two fellas can convince you otherwise.
Rough Surfaces
Lava stone designs aren’t limited only to furnishings. They can make up entire surfaces and big designs like kitchen units as well.
Here is a basalt washbasin on a basalt countertop by mg12. A perfectly cool addition to a grey marble backsplash.
Volcanic countertops don’t have to be dark and somber. Enamel glaze can hide the dark hole-ridden texture quite easily (not that many strive to do it).
Minà kitchen from Minacciolo got a new countertop made of lava stone, although you’d probably couldn’t tell because of the colorful Sicilian glaze.
Nerosicilia is a lava stone that forms on the slopes of Etna, and extracted for production of the most contemporary designs.
Here is a kitchen design Boffi commissioned Patricia Urquiola to create with a nerosicilia countertop.
The lava stone’s porous texture seems unsuitable for wet and high traffic areas like kitchen or bathroom, but its color is its main advantage when it comes to resisting stains.
Nerosicilia also bring decorative patterns to their lava stone designs, which makes them all the more attractive and unusual.
Lava stone tiles have a gorgeous stylish presence. Their half matt surface glistens with some sort of a finish, but it’s only an impression.
In fact, the slabs undergo no chemical treatment, and aren’t covered with enamel. The only treatment they go through is the natural process of cooling and hardening.
If you wondered what an architectural scale of lava stone designs may look like, the Canterbury Road Residence in Melbourne, Australia is a perfect example. Contemporarily cool.
