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So much thought goes into the design of a new home, why not hand-select your slabs of marble straight from an Italian quarry rather than a cavernous Houston warehouse?

Aria Stone Gallery, with showrooms in Houston and Dallas, has created that experience for customers selecting marble for entire homes or doing major renovations. When a customer has budgeted at least around $200,000 for stone in their home, Aria will take the homeowners, as well as their architects or designers, to Italian quarries to see their stone right at the source.

April Graves, vice president of Aria Stone Gallery, said customers often ask how stone is mined and processed, and they want to be involved in the selection of slabs. During the weeklong visit, they tour the quarries and learn the difference between Carrara, Bianco Carrara, Statuario and Calacatta Gold.

Along with the real work at hand, they stay in boutique hotels, dine at Michelin-starred restaurants, shop and visit wineries.

Aria Stone is located at the Decorative Center of Houston, 5120 Woodway, and is open to the public.

Diane Cowen has worked at the Houston Chronicle since 2000 and currently its architecture and home design writer. Prior to working for the Chronicle, she worked at the South Bend (Ind.) Tribune and at the Shelbyville (Ind.) News. She is a graduate of Purdue University and is the author of a cookbook, "Sunday Dinners: Food, Family and Faith from our Favorite Pastors."