Terrazzo

What it is

Terrazzo is a floor made of fragments. Chips of marble, granite and stone are folded into a binder, poured in place, then ground back and polished until the surface turns smooth as glass. What was once a scatter of loose pieces becomes one continuous, speckled plane — cool underfoot, quietly luminous, and unlike any other floor in the world.

Its charm lies in the freedom. The chips can be fine and subtle or bold and generous, the colours soft and pale or deep and dramatic. Chosen well, terrazzo carries light beautifully, giving a room a sense of depth and calm. And because it is ground and polished as one piece, it flows seamlessly through a space, with no lines to interrupt the eye.

Where it comes from

Terrazzo was born in the villas and workshops of Venice, where marble-cutters set the offcuts too small to sell into the floors of their own homes. In time this thrift became an art. The Venetians perfected the seminato, the fine speckled floor, and the grander palladiana, with its bold shards of marble laid like a mosaic. Centuries on, that same patient craft still gives terrazzo its unmistakable, timeless character.