If you haven’t seen our post about the exterior design concept, be sure to start there! That vision was the driving force behind all other decisions for our home’s exterior. The last blog post shared more information about our primary siding material, which is cedar. Today I’m excited to share more detailed information about our accent material, stone.
I have to say, finding the right stone was one of the trickiest things with our house design! I had a lot of ideas of what I liked, but sourcing the actual product required looking through dozens of online vendors and local stone suppliers, and HUNDREDS of products. Eventually though, I found the perfect option that complimented our cedar beautifully as well as fit the modern organic aesthetic we are going for.
stone locations
From the beginning of our exterior planning, I knew I wanted to mix natural materials, and I had a few ideas of where I’d locate them. I always wanted a stone hallway that connected the main house from the master suite. When creating the floor plan, I made sure this hallway was notched in from the walls next to it so we would have a natural stopping point of the stone. I love how it looks with a large black windows on both sides of the house!
I wanted to be sure to incorporate the stone on the front façade as well. Again, a bump-out for the entry/stairs created a perfect “block” for applying the stone. I’m never a fan of stone applied as a “skirt” — the 3′-0″ or so at the bottom of so many houses. I like it to look as intentional as possible, so bringing it up to the roof line to make it look more authentic.
The last location we have stone is on the outside of our fireplace. And one of our most common questions is if we have the stone on the inside of our house, too. The answer is — no! We have a more modern aesthetic and wanted to keep the interior very simple. I worried if I started pulling the stone into the interior, the home would start feeling too rustic or traditional. I think we’ve struck the balance of modern and natural quite well so far!
the specifications
I know this has already been one of the top questions about our house, so I’ll get right down to it. We chose Eldorado Stone’s Casa Blanca Rough Cut for our stone. Here’s what we loved: muted creamy white color, large sized stone mixed with some smaller pieces, organic shape for a more natural — almost primitive — aesthetic, and rough edges so the stone has a perfectly imperfect feel.
For our grout, there wasn’t a particular color we selected. When viewing options, none of the tints had the lightness we wanted without it turning grey. So our mason did a white sand/white cement mixture and it was exactly what I imagined in my head to keep the stone feeling natural.
We did an overgrout to further enhance a more organic shape to the stone. I found without this technique, this particular stone can have a more linear feel. We roughed up the grout with some scraping techniques to help get some texture to it. Be sure to check out this video that captures some of the installation!
the installation process
Since we live in a location with four seasons… i.e. COLD weather, we had to prepare for some chilly nights. This means the guys had to create a heat tent to prevent freezing or moisture variation in the mortar. The heat had to run throughout the night until it was cured. Thankfully, these guys are FAST and the overall installation took just a few days. Despite being in the middle of winter, we happened to get our installation days on some of the nicer days. The tent was still necessary for the evening, but boy did it get toasty in there! The guys were wearing t-shirts and it felt like a cozy greenhouse! Plus, it made it kind of fun to see the tent pulled away to get a final reveal!
the video reveal
I had so much fun capturing a few videos of the masons and I loved watching their techniques. It was exciting to see the last of the exterior together, and I hope you enjoy watching it as well in this video!
Overall, the stone added just the right element to our home and the look we are going for. We are super excited for some additional stone projects we will complete in the warmer months, including a gated entry and mailbox! We’ll also be adding an additional stone walkway to the future garage. Big plans ahead!
Have questions about the stone? Drop them in the comments below!
Sponsored Post: Transparency is important! I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with some incredible companies on our home project. These collaborations may include discounted or donated product in exchange for content. But rest assured – I actually selected products from these brands based on the fact that I love them! Collaboration opportunities came later, and I’m really grateful each company wanted to work with us on our project, too!
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