Onyx has a translucent quality that makes it a perfect stone to have LED backlighting. A backlit onyx countertop can create a mood for a powder room which is most often used during the evening for entertaining. Large slabs are also a glowing addition to the wall in a bathroom. Onyx is soft and can bend so make sure you have a good fabricator.
Onyx is a banded variety of the oxide mineral chalcedony. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. Slabs of onyx (from the Atlas Mountains) were famously used by Mies van der Rohe in Villa Tugendhat at Brno (completed 1930) to create a shimmering semi-translucent interior wall.
Aria in Dallas has unique stones for a less conventional look:
1617 HI LINE DRIVE, SUITE 310
DALLAS, TX 75207 214-939-8000
~Suzanne
