No matter how sophisticated machinery is and how effective alternative surfaces have become, there is still a strong need for natural materials and real stone worktops, for those who can afford it of course.

Someone who recognised the potential growth of stone materials in kitchens and bathrooms is Alan MacNae, the owner of Stone Interiors in Westminster. His knowledge and expertise of working with stone is renowned throughout London's KBB sector and MacNae lists some of the top London retail showrooms as regular customers. 

"I've spent years building up my reputation as a quality craftsman among some of the top architects, builders and retailers in and around London," he explains. "I've worked with Alternative Plans for 12 years and our relationship has developed over time as they've recognised the standard of work we are capable of here. We also work closely with Tsunami, Timber Fusion and Boffi Chelsea among others."

Understandably MacNae is extremely proud of his business and the fact that work from these top end studios comes solely through recommendation based on the expert stonework and quality workmanship he and his team are able to produce. 

By his own admission, MacNae wasn't particularly academic and got into the stonemason trade after getting work as a labourer with a construction firm working on the Financial Times building. He learnt the trade from the bottom up, working with several firms specialising in exterior stonework. Eventually he landed a job with a firm specialising in domestic interior stonework and realised that this was the area he wanted to pursue. Seven years ago he and a business partner decided to go it alone and opened up their own stone manufacturing facility based in Westminster. 

"I'd gradually learnt more about kitchen worktops and about using stone in bathrooms and realised this was the niche area I wanted to get more involved in," he explains. "I could see that this area had real growth potential. We opened the yard seven years ago. I was the stone expert and my partner was the business brain." 

MacNae and his wife Lesley, who now runs the Stone Interiors showroom, are currently in the process of taking over the entire business since his partner recently emigrated to Canada. 

Market appeal

As you'd expect from the clients of some of London's top showrooms, many of the homes MacNae works in are based in the affluent areas of London such as Chelsea, Kensington, and Hampstead where sticking to a budget is generally unheard of and recessions rarely register on the radar.

"The average house price of a job we'd be working on is around £10m so the people our clients represent aren't very sensitive to costs and have considerably high budgets," he says. "It's great for us because the only real constraint on the finished look we can achieve is the budget, so we can be really imaginative if we want to."

Stone Interiors also attracts business from as far away as Qatar and MacNae tells me about a property they are currently working on in Guernsey that is valued at £55m. But what about business closer to home?

"I think there's a lot of potential for business in the areas closer to the yard and we're planning to target those in the next few months," he explains. 

"As a business you can't get complacent. We want to broaden our market and although these areas aren't in the same league as Kensington or Chelsea, I feel that there's still a lot of potential business to be had. 

Although he is keen to talk about how the business is growing and what direction he is hoping to steer it in, something he is unashamedly proud of, he also assures me that he would sacrifice growth of the business to ensure that each job Stone Interiors works on is done to a very high standard. 

"Everything's suddenly coming together, the business is really starting to take off in a big way. That said, I'm very conscious it's not good for a business, or the standard of their work, to grow too quickly. I've seen it happen before, when greed takes over and a small business can't cope with all the work they end up taking on," he says. "They stretch themselves too thin and don't fulfil their potential on each job. Their standards suffer and in the long run that doesn't help business. It's taken a while to build up a portfolio of work and contacts but we're in a strong position now. We've got a lot of experience with worktops and working with kitchen designs and we're getting more and more into the bathroom side."

The popularity of natural stone worktops has been strengthened by the current trend for thick and chunky work surfaces specifically at the top end of the market. 

"Working with stone is an expert job and that's why the retailers come to me for their worktops," he says. "Thick slab worktops are very popular at the moment but you need to know what you're doing to create something special. We mitre all of our stone and that's the sign of a quality stonemason. That gives the illusion of a 60mm top but it's actually hollowed out, making it easier to handle, install and brings the cost of the stone down."

Stone Interiors has specialised in kitchen worktops since it was established seven years ago but, as MacNae explains, there is real potential for stone in bathrooms and this is the area of interiors he is keen to explore.

"We've always done a lot of kitchen worktops because there's an obvious need for them. In terms of bathrooms, I don't think stone is ever going to take over and become massive simply because of the diverse range of porcelain products available on the market," he explains. "It really comes down to budget and personal choice. Most people don't even know the possibilities of working with stone, I'd like to open their eyes to it really. It's still a niche area for us but one I'm keen to push forward."

As a manufacturer of stone and supplier of products to retailers, architects and builders, Stone Interiors' main operation is its fully automated stone yard, where all of the creative aspects of the business emanate from. 

Considering the list of high-profile clients they deal with, two years ago MacNae decided the business would benefit from a studio that would act as a gallery showcasing exactly what Stone Interiors was capable of achieving with its stonework. 

Showroom concept

"We do a lot of work at the top end of the market and the showroom gives us the chance to display examples of the work we can produce," explains McNae. "Our clients tend to have already decided that they are going to use us, so they come to the yard for a look at how we work and the materials we use and I'll take them across the road to the showroom for inspiration." 

The showroom opened in May this year but MacNae explained that it had been an ongoing project for the past two years, hampered by busy schedules and the state of the building at the time of renovation.

"I had the idea for a showroom two years ago but because I'm still very hands-on with the business, it's just taken this long to come to fruition," he says. 

"The building was completely derelict when we took on the lease, so it's taken a lot of time and effort to get it finished. You wouldn't recognise the place if you'd seen it before we took it on."

He goes on to explain that the lease was only ever for the short term, three years to be exact, and as it took two years to complete they've only got one year left before the building is due to be pulled down. So are there any plans to open another showroom when the year is up?

"I want to build Stone Interiors up as a brand and extend our capabilities, so having a studio to show off our skills is an important part of our future," he explains. "When this one closes I definitely plan to open up another, probably on the outskirts of London, where I can really show off what we can do in terms of bathrooms, kitchen worktops and general interiors."