How's this for history? Any solid stone flooring you've ever stepped on came into existence millions of years ago. Stone comes from the earth, where it forms deep beneath the surface under intense heat and pressure. This heat and pressure created massive blocks of natural stones like marble, granite, limestone, slate, and travertine, used then and now as stone flooring.

These stone blocks have been mined as building material from quarries since the dawn of civilization. Many surviving stone buildings and floors are thousands of years old. You need only look to standing Greek and Roman temples or the pyramids of Egypt for evidence of stone's longevity. Enormous blocks of limestone and granite were used to construct Djoser's Step Pyramid in Egypt, the oldest remaining structure created entirely out of natural stone.

Ancient European floors have been found with pebble mosaics, a trend that started with the Greeks and spread over the rest of Europe. Engineers during the Roman Empire enhanced the usage of stone flooring even further. They developed a floor heating system to heat stone floors from beneath using controlled fire and vents, creating a warm stone surface to walk on.

Stone Floors TodayStone flooring has been consistently popular since. While the extreme class divide of centuries past made stone floors too expensive for common use, these days there is no such problem. Stone is abundant in quarries all over the world. Modern developments like diamond–studded cutting tools have made the quarrying process much easier, further lowering the price point. For the modern consumer, a beautiful stone floor is a worthwhile investment that will last the lifetime of your home – in fact, it may last several lifetimes.