A sedimentary rock created from the floors of shallow tropical seas, limestone often has small shells and fossils embedded in it. Limestones tend toward a smooth, granular surface. Colors range from black and grey to creamy yellows and browns. It most commonly has a honed finish.

Limestone comprises a broad family of different types of stone which vary significantly in character. Limestone is softer than igneous rocks such as granite, nevertheless it shares a timeless and monumental quality that is common to all types of stones. Some varieties of limestone are very hard and dense which makes them suitable for most interior and exterior applications including kitchen and bath countertops. Limestone offers sure footing when wet which makes limestone a good candidate for flooring in the bathroom. Aesthetically speaking, limestone is usually pale in color ranging in earthy shades from off-white to gold-hued and light gray. With its subtle textural pattern and neutral color palette limestone is especially welcome in contemporary style spaces.

All limestones are formed when the calcium carbonate crystallizes out of solution.  It leaves the solution in many ways, and each way produces a different kind of limestone. Limestone can be formed without the aid of organisms.  The type of limestone is forced out of the solution when the water evaporates.  Available polished or honed.

1. Evaporation of water in limestone caverns forms another variety of limestone called travertine, into stalactites and stalagmites.
2. Limestone contains a number of distinguishable characteristics, including calcite streaks or spots, fossils or shell formations, pit holds, reedy formations, open texture streaks, honeycomb formation, iron spots, travertine-like formations and grain formation changes.
3. Limestone coloration is generally a consistent pure white to off-white.  Many varieties do not take a polish well, so that the surface is typically a matte surface.  Limestones like marble and other calcareous stones are referred to as acid sensitive.