Travertine at home: ferm LIVING's Hew, Lancet and Caseta pieces
Travertine is a porous spring limestone used since Roman times; ferm LIVING's Hew, Lancet and Caseta pieces vary, dislike acids and weigh 2.2 to 15.2 kg.
Short answer: Travertine is a porous limestone formed by mineral springs, used in building since Roman times, and ferm LIVING cuts it down to object scale in the Hew vase and centrepiece and the Lancet and Caseta mirrors. Expect every piece to differ in pores and tone, keep acids and wet glasses off it, and plan for the weight: from 2.2 kg for the Caseta to 15.2 kg for the Lancet.
A building stone with a long public life
Travertine forms where calcium-rich spring water reaches the surface and releases carbon dioxide. Calcium carbonate settles out in thin bands, often round plant matter and trapped gas, and hardens into a warm, layered stone full of small cavities. The name comes from the Latin lapis tiburtinus, stone of Tibur, the ancient name of Tivoli outside Rome, where the great quarries are.
The Romans built with it at enormous scale; much of the Colosseum's outer structure is travertine. Bernini's colonnade around St Peter's Square is travertine too. In the twentieth century it became a modernist stone: Mies van der Rohe set his Barcelona Pavilion of 1929 on a travertine plinth, and Richard Meier clad the Getty Center in Los Angeles, opened in 1997, in travertine from the Tivoli area. The appeal was always the same: it cuts readily, holds a crisp edge and wears to a soft matt surface rather than a shine.
Bringing it indoors as an object reverses that history. A stone meant to be built with and walked on becomes something you pick up and look at closely, which is why its pores, its weight and its chemistry suddenly matter.
Hew: a block, barely interrupted
The Hew pieces are carved from solid travertine and keep the outline of a block, with a softly rounded, concave centre cut into it. The stone is left to show its own veining.
The Hew Vase – Travertine is a rectangular form, 12 x 21 x 12 cm, and weighs 4.2 kg. That is a lot of mass for its height. A single long branch leaning out will not tip it, and it stays put when brushed in passing. It is made to hold one stem or nothing at all.
The Hew Low Centrepiece – Travertine flattens the same idea into a square, 27 x 27 cm and 7 cm high, weighing 7.4 kg. The hollow takes fruit, a few stones or a candle on a plate. Use a coaster or another soft layer under anything you put in it.
Open pores, acids and weight: a checklist
In floors and wall cladding, travertine's pores are usually filled and honed flat so the surface can be cleaned. On these objects the stone is left showing its texture, so ferm LIVING notes for each piece that colour, texture and pattern vary. You are choosing a material, not a fixed image.
Its chemistry explains the care. Travertine is calcium carbonate, which acids dissolve, so citrus, wine and vinegar can etch a dull mark into it. And it is heavy, so the surface beneath needs checking. We put the numbers together below.
| Piece | Size (W x H x D) | Weight | Check before you place it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caseta Table Mirror | 45 x 32 x 8 cm | 2.2 kg | A surface at least 8 cm deep; a felt pad under it on veneer or lacquer |
| Hew Vase | 12 x 21 x 12 cm | 4.2 kg | A soft pad beneath; the weight sits on a small base and can mark soft wood |
| Hew Low Centrepiece | 27 x 27 x 7 cm | 7.4 kg | Whether a floating shelf or slim side table is rated for it; coasters under what goes in it |
| Lancet Mirror | 53 x 64 x 12 cm | 15.2 kg | Fixings rated well above 15.2 kg, into masonry or a stud, and two people to hang it |
Wipe spills straight away with a soft damp cloth and skip strong cleaners. Lift each piece with both hands from underneath, never by the rim of the hollow.
Lancet and Caseta: stone around glass
The Lancet Mirror – Travertine takes its cue from the window openings of Can Lis, the house Jørn Utzon built for himself on Mallorca in the early 1970s, where deep stone reveals frame the sea. In the Lancet, a deep travertine frame surrounds the glass, 12 cm from front to back, so the mirror reads like an opening in the wall rather than a picture hung on it. At 53 x 64 cm it suits a hallway or entrance, where it is seen head on.
The Caseta Table Mirror – Travertine is the domestic counterpart. Its name is Spanish for small house, and the glass stands in a solid travertine base with organic indentations, one of which holds a ring or earrings. At 2.2 kg it is the lightest piece here and the only one meant to be moved often.
What to buy first
For a first piece of travertine: the Hew Vase. It shows the stone's pores and weight at a size that fits any shelf, it needs no fixing, and a single stem in it is enough.
For a dressing table or bathroom shelf: the Caseta, which gives a mirror and a dish for jewellery in one piece of stone.
For an entrance: the Lancet, if the wall can take 15.2 kg. If it is plasterboard without a stud where you want it, choose another spot rather than another fixing.
For a dining or coffee table: the Hew Low Centrepiece, on a solid table rather than a slim one, with coasters for anything wet. To see these pieces beside the ceramics and glass they will share a room with, browse our home decor collection.
