After all these years, being involved with different scope of interiors, I have not changed my mind that, leaving the unfinished ends exposed is the natural way , unpretentious way, easier way, cheaper way ...... But homeowners loves to complicate the projects by thinking them like a piece of tailoring . Not that , it is impossible to achieve the look they want. It is possible, they just need to factor in the extra labor, material, time and cost int ot heir budget. Personally , I was glad to come across on my last visit to Getty Museum and see the splitter travertine panels, wrapping the columns in the usual unfussy way :)