SEEING IS DECEIVING : Look Again. These Furnishings <i> Aren’t</i> Finished in Marble, Granite or Stone. The Surfaces Are <i> Faux</i> , Traditional Tongue-in-Chic Imitations That Are Now Making a Comeback.

1. Wallpaper and matching border with the look of marble and tile from Imperial Wallcoverings’ City Graphics and Country Plaids collection. (Wall coverings and fabrics shown are available at better paint and wallpaper dealers.) 2. “Stone” wall sconce from Design Express, Los Angeles. 3. Sculptural chair sheathed in “granite” laminate, Design Express. 4. Classic mirror with frame finished in granite-look lacquer, Bullock’s. 5. Marseille border from the Neo-Classic wall-coverings collection by Signature Group, designed by Gear, features bold three-dimensional print as does 6, the border from Imperial’s First Choice collection. 7. This cocktail table has all the characteristics of rough concrete, without the weight; Design Express. 8. Signature Group’s “columns” (purchased individually from the Neo-Classic collection) provide classic architectural detail. 9. Alsy’s columnar faux marbre floor lamp, Bullock’s. 10. Swath of fabric--called Sette--looks like marble tile, from Signature Group’s Neo-Classic collection (matching wallpaper available). 11. Cocktail table features subtly colored veining on its lacquered base, Bullock’s. 12. Ceramic table lamp by Sunset has the look of oxidized metal, Bullock’s. 13. “Stone” console table, Bullock’s. 14. Tempetto, a marbleized print fabric from Signature Group. 15. Signature Group’s Ravenna faux marble wallpaper and Pompeii “molding.” 16. A column-shaped pedestal made of lightweight aggregate compound with the appearance of stone, Design Express. 17. Alsy floor lamp in simulated marble, Bullock’s.

RENAISSANCE FOR A HEAVYWEIGHT This Innovative Furniture Was Literally Born in the Street. Made From Lighter-Weight Concrete, These Sculptural Tables and Desks Add Urban Ruggedness to Contemporary Interiors. 1. Concrete furniture pioneer David Hertz designed this inverted-cone table. Neon circumscribes the top of this Jon Grauman table. The whimsical lamp made from a fishing rod--complete with line and weight--in a concrete base is by Michael O’Kelly. Clock by Renaud Marchand; vases by Cameron Aston. All items on these pages available at Square One LA. 2. James Fishman designed this concrete, colored glass and wire table. 3. More concrete, wire and glass, this time in a desk by Dubin & Moore. Accessories by Renaud Marchand. 4. The glass top of this Myra and Geoffrey Frost table sits on neoprene rubber bumpers set into concrete columns; also available at Design Express, Los Angeles. Vase by Susan Murphy; ashtray by Sandra Miller. 5. Sculputural abstractions support the concrete top of this desk by Elizabeth Kellen. Glass bowl by Sandra Miller. 6. Bold, stamped patterns decorate the bases of these tables by Paul Chilkov. ROUGH CUT Inspired by the Lodges of Indian Tribes of the Northwest, Handmade Lodgepole Furniture Is Enjoying Renewed Popularity Navajo rugs, antique Indian pottery, baskets and other authentic Western and Southwestern Indian artifacts decorate this condominium at Del Rey Colony, Venice. Designer Joseph A. Terrell of Alcasar Terrell Inc., Environmental Group, calls his minimalist approach an “art space / cultural environment.” Terrell says that the furniture--chairs, sofa and bed of lodgepole pine, and dining chairs and table base of alder twigs, all from Umbrello, Los Angeles--was chosen because “it has a strong earthy quality and doesn’t trespass on the collection around it.”