French Antique Limestone Slab

A French antique limestone slab with a trapezoidal outline that widens toward the back, so it interrupts a square grid of paving rather than joining it. The face is smoky blue-gray and charcoal with warmer taupe and ochre deposits, and the finish is matte. A deep natural depression sits near the front edge, a dip you notice with your foot before your eye. The edges are rugged and layered and the corners have worn round.

It measures 50 1/2 inches wide, 52 inches deep and 3 3/4 inches high. The broken sides suit a mortar-heavy installation where the floor levels are uneven, and the rounded corners mean there is nothing sharp at ankle height. The varied color masks dust and wear. Condition is as found, including the depression, which we would keep rather than grind out.

Set it as a hearth stone where the shape breaks the line of the floor, as an entry landing, or as a plinth base under a large planted pot in a courtyard. Angled layouts that defeat rectangular stone are where this one earns its place. The slab is in our yard in Marina Del Rey; come and walk on it, or ask for a tracing of the outline, photographs and a quote. We usually have other gray limestone slab stock in the yard to compare it with.