How this ancient building material is turning heads in the luxury property space

If you have to visit Italy for work, you’re doing something right. Enter Adele Vine, who creates statement marble furniture under her label, Just Adele. Vine, who has Sicilian heritage, travels to the boot nation and across Europe yearly to source the iconic natural stone.

Between seeing piazzas and eating pasta, she visits marble quarries. “To find special marble, you have to be on the ground,” she says. “When I first visited, I thought the marble was snow on the top of the mountains. It’s amazing to see how tall they are and the presence they have.”

It’s beauty meets business here. “I spend time in the quarry and the atelier going through blocks … If we’re making a custom piece, I’ll look at a particular material,” Vine says. She also plans new collections here. “I start with the materiality. It’s about the colour, texture and finish, [as well as] the veining and patterns and how they spread.”

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Giant slabs of creamy onyx and jet black nero, hand-picked by Vine, are then shipped to Australia and used to craft singular side, dining and coffee tables, as well as bars, plinths,
consoles, mirrors and other custom pieces.

“We use as much of a block or slab [as possible], so there’s minimal waste,” she says.

Marble is among civilisation’s oldest building materials, long admired by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Michelangelo used it for his lustrous sculptures, while larger masterpieces include the Taj Mahal and the Tower of Pisa. Even the byproduct is beautiful: chips become stucco walls and terrazzo floors.

“My love affair with marble started with seeing the architecture [in Italy],” Vine says.

Her enduring passion for the elegant stone comes down to how it stands out in a space – whether used through furniture or larger surfaces like floors and walls. “Marble has a
strong presence. It feels like a piece of artwork and is naturally striking.”

Vine designs and works with suppliers and local manufacturers both in Australia and Italy to create bespoke, one-off pieces for residential and commercial clients, including Cartier and the NGV. In recent years, she’s noticed a shift towards warmer colours, including pieces with deep and rich green veining.

She recently designed a 3.4-metre-long dining table that’s customised for home entertaining. The top is patagonia quartzite – a mostly-white marble with gold details – that plays off against a cylindrical brass base.

“We went through five slabs until we found the right one. It reflected the client’s vision of not just the space but the whole interior,” Vine says.

She has also observed a departure from solid marble furniture towards pieces that incorporate other materials. “We’re exploring how marble works with timbers and metals.” A standout is her Oro coffee and side tables, featuring earthy marble slabs floating atop brass bases.

“The metal has a warm and tactile feel, and is shinier, while the stone is softer with a honed finish, which creates a nice contrast.”

Just Adele’s pieces integrate boldness, colour, sleek lines and patterns to bring a slice of Italy into your home.

“Through the bespoke process, you get exactly what you want. You can trust your gut and go with your personality. That’s always worked for me, especially when designing – leaning into what you love.”