Hours of grinding in Tom Dixon's London restaurant resulted in this weighty block of white Morwad marble and brass to smash, pummel and grind spices and herbs. An exaggerated rounded lip allows you a firm grip as you work, while the brass pestle gives a luxurious shine.

From the British design outfit Tom Dixon, this Stone Chopping Board adapts to your culinary needs, elegantly accompanying you as you work and serve. A slab of carved white Morwad marble provides the perfect base for chopping, cutting, and rolling, while the delicate, hand-formed brass saucer can be used to collect crumbs, hold dips, or whatever else you may need it for. The cutting board is shown with Tom Dixon’s Mortar and Pestle and Spice Grinder. These pieces are 15% off until October 22, 2015.

Tom Dixon's marble mortar and brass pestle with a cast iron core brings back the stone age, promising to cure impoverished senses by coaxing fresh herbs and spices to release their delicate flavors.

Contrast continues in the kitchen with a black-and-white palette warmed by natural wood elements. A Caesarstone countertop and backsplash with alabaster cabinets add a bright pop to the otherwise inky space—even the Miele and SubZero appliances are in dark tones. Arranged throughout are an Etu Home pizza board, Terrain ceramic fruit bowl, Waterworks cannisters, West Elm mortar and pestle, and a House Dr. utensil pot.

The mortar of their pestle and mortar is made with two types of marble while the pestle is handmade out of Guayacan wood that’s sourced from the Yucatán and is finished with palm wax and linseed oil.

Ceramic pestle and wood mortar. Simply roll the ball to crush herbs and spices. Quite satisfying.

The crushed, white rock landscape ties in with the white mortar cladding of the home.

Stainless steel salt and pepper grinders and porcelain mortar and pestle set by Ad Hoc. The wooden accents on all pieces are acacia.

Pill Mortar & Pestle is a minimal mortal and pestle created by Spain-based designers Bambú studio for Othr. The design is a contemporary reinterpretation of a classic kitchen staple. Available in matte black or white 3D Printed Porcelain. The designer equates the process of 3D printing to creating a mock­up on a piece of paper, only “much nicer.” The Pill Mortar & Pestle was inspired by the simultaneously rudimentary and nuanced act of crushing and mixing spices. Bambú has broken the mold of an object typically focused solely on function by creating a simple, understandable and user-friendly piece that the owner won’t keep out of sight.

The stone walls were built without any mortar holding them together, a historic technique that few masons use today.

Burnt cedar, Japanese cypress plywood, and mortar create a trio of contrasting yet simple surface textures that breathe a relaxed vibe into the Muji Hut.

These kitchen utensils are key elements of Dá Brand’s Raw Urban collection. “Designer Olubunmi Adeyemi believes in taking things back to their simplest forms,” Oshinowo says. “His mortar and pestle sets, spoons, and chopping boards are clean and distinct.”

Cum Grano Salis salt set, by Giovanni Alessi Anghini, Fabio Fassone, and Lorenzo Piccione di Pianogrillo for Alessi. A modern salt cellar that makes room for four varieties of the ancient spice, along with a mortar and pestle for mixing.

And now for some major news from Tom Dixon: the Briitsh lighting design standard-bearer is moving into the decor market, with a range of home accessories fabricated in Dixon's signature materials: copper, marble, brass, and wood. Here, some statement-making mortar and pestle sets. The company is expecting to have US distribution by Fall 2012.

Casa Dosmurs home was designed with comfort in mind. After being lowered into the plot of land, the two main walls were lined with insulation and a layer of local bricks joined with a matching red-tinted mortar. The finish offers a peculiar warmth despite the industrial palette of materials.

The spice unit is a major feature in the concept, as the design team points out that herbs feature prominently into most vegetarian cuisine. A large built-in mortar and pestle is surrounded by Dekton, and the two removable wood cutting boards also fit perfectly over the sink unit. Spices and herbs are stored within 36 custom terra-cotta jars. Also notice the iPad docking station at top.

Kaksi is a minimal chopping board and pestle created by Helsinki-based designer Olli Mustikainen. The chopping board and pestle are constructed of oiled ash and oak respectively. The board features a shallow dish that not only perfectly fits the pestle, but provides a reservoir for the crushed food or spices. The pestle has a curved edge on one side for easier gripping.

A dark, almost black mortar on the lower portion of the home makes it feel grounded in the landscape.

The concept, called Vooking, was developed for the growing market of vegetarians, vegans and “flexitarians” (otherwise known as part-time vegetarians) in mind. Comprised of seven units divided into “passive” and “active” cooking zones, the concept kitchen contains a mixture of intriguing components, from a custom spice and built-in mortar/pestle station to an integrated sprout garden. Backed by big-name corporations like Gaggenau, Franke, and Dornbracht, the design team hopes to influence both the meat-eschewing consumer and the kitchen industry at large. Courtesy of Michael Liebert.

In the bathhouse, "clay bricks slip-glazed on two sides are laid with contrasting mortar to match the raw clay color of the other sides," says the firm.

The roofline of the addition has a double pitch; a tall, slim window punctuates the side. High sand content in the mortar gives it a yellowish tint that contrasts with the bricks.

The home in Austin is approximately 350 square feet and features two rooms, with an interior partition made from the same 3D-printed mortar as the exterior walls.

Wood-framed windows sit within the home's 3D-printed walls. ICON expects its proprietary mortar to have the same durability as traditional concrete masonry (if not better).

White mortar walls are finished with a different scraping technique on both sides, adding texture and softness to the construction material. The white walls are the perfect backdrop for the silhouettes of shadows that move across the facade throughout the day.

An aerial view of the restored roofs with the curving plane of the veranda cover tucked beneath. The designers used polymer mortar for the finish of the veranda roof, "which is smooth and forms contrast with the adjacent textured tile rooftops," notes the firm.

The open-plan living space is anchored by a black brick fireplace with a sleek modern profile. Muddox makes the commercial wire-cut thin bricks in ebony with liquid black added to the mortar mix. The Studio Floor Lamp is from Schoolhouse.

The bathroom, finished with a mortar that contains pigments and fine-grained sand, is half sunken in the ground to provide a worm's eye view towards the terrace.

Place & Thing is a minimalist collection of lighting objects created by Toronto-based designer MSDS Studio for Aesop. ‘Place & Thing’ is a group of lighting objects that explore rituals of personal care, scent manufacture, and domestic objects. Each item is abstracted from a thing found in the home. Closer inspection will reveal a ladle, mirror, bowl, cupboard, mortar and pestle, basin, and, in the front window, a landscape. The items are made in wood – some sandblasted to accentuate the natural grain – and a range of materials, colors, and forms taken from Aesop products. The group comprises a domestic tableau that synthesizes Aesop and MSDS Studio’s shared interest in space, material, and experience.

Project Milestone is made up of participants from Eindhoven University of Technology, mortar and concrete company Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix, engineering firm Witteveen+Bos, and construction company Van Wijnen. The land was made available by the local authority, and the homes will be bought by residential investor Vesteda and rented out to test their viability.

"My wife sourced pieces from nearly every corner of the world, from Canadian throws for the beds, to some Scandinavian details and Estonian cutlery," explains Nicolas. "We found Andean pieces such as stone mortars and human representations from the Mapuche culture." Here, a retro travel poster hangs above two fleece-covered milking stools.

The home’s namesake is a 26-foot-tall shade structure called a ramada. The name derives from the Spanish word for ‘branches,’ and it’s a regional construction technique mastered by the Tohono O'odha tribe. A total of 20 Douglas fir telephone poles support the 2 x 4 lattice canopy, which provides shade and casts dramatic shadows across the white, mortar-washed slump blocks.

For more from Casemore, be sure to visit its brick-and-mortar and other galleries at Minnesota Street Project in the city’s Dogpatch neighborhood.

A concrete skeleton covered in heat-efficient clay blocks addresses the high earthquake risk in southern Portugal and tightens up the home's envelope. Per the architects: “In our projects we only use thermal clay tiles with mortar-free butt jointing. These are produced in Portugal and are fast and easy to work with. Their thermal performance is more than twice as efficient than the traditional bricks that are conventionally used.”

The tiled roof in the bathroom was one of the most challenging aspects of the fit-out. “We used an extremely durable tile and applied it with a healthy mixture of elastic glues and flexible mortar,” says designer Welsh Weinberger. “The framed structure the tiles ultimately sit on is solid enough to hopefully reduce any flexing of the bus itself. That being said, you haven’t tiled until you try to cement board and penny tile a school bus roofline!”

ICON prints walls layer by layer using a new type of mortar developed specifically for the purpose.

"We had no plans to open a brick and mortar shop,