An ancient building material from Mexico is finding new life in high-end custom homes in Tucson.
One home builder predicts that cantera stone may even start popping up in production houses where homeowners want to add their personal flair.
The quarried igneous stone comes in many colors — Cantera Custom Creations offers 30 — and it ranges in effects from grainy to veining.
Skilled craftsmen can carve the lightweight and porous stone more easily than other types of stone. They can even replicate intricate designs that are more often found in wood.
"The nice thing about cantera is that you can have a picture of something you like drawn up and carved into any design you want in your house," says Cristian Dickson, chief executive officer and general contractor for Parker Design and Construction.
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"With cantera, you can create your own masterpiece."
Ancient civilizations in Mexico constructed buildings and monuments with the stone. Today it's used both for outdoor architectural elements and indoor design features.
Right now, cantera is found mostly in multimillion-dollar homes, says Chris Stratton, owner of Cantera Custom Creations.
With Tuscany the current rage in home design, cantera, along with other stones, is in demand, Stratton says. "A lot of people are looking for this Tuscan feel, and they're using a lot of stone trying to achieve that."
Cantera's rough look "has a lot of character to it," he says, and it conveys a rustic, warm feel compared with the formal elegance of marble or granite.
Indoor uses include columns, molding, countertops, fireplaces and flooring. Cantera appears in indoor pots, pedestals for bathroom sinks, bases for tables and picture frames.
Dickson says she has installed it around and inside niches to highlight the recessed features. It's also used for kitchen-fan hoods and for chair rails.
Cantera Custom Creations sells tile at $3.85 per square foot for 1,000 square feet, Stratton says. A fireplace starts at around $1,200, with an average simple one running between $1,700 and $2,000.
At a third to a half the cost of marble, cantera becomes an affordable option for high-end production homes.
Folks can afford to "do a splash of it here and there" in a home without overwhelming the décor, Dickson says. And not just for a Tuscany style.
She believes the stone looks equally at home in contemporary designs because of the ease with which it can be carved into any design and shape.
It can be "very clean, sleek and contemporary," she says.
» Resources
• Cantera Custom Creations, 4818 E. Speedway, 326-6051.
• Parker Design and Construction, 991-1230, www.pdchomes.com.