Choosing Stone for Your Home's Exterior

by Rachel Lyon, Editorial Director for Direct from the Designers

The exterior of a home provides ample opportunity for customization, so take the time to create awesome curb appeal! Incorporating stone elements is one of the best ways to make a house stand out from the street; not only is stone the most stylistically diverse building material, but it’s also incredibly flexible. Whether you’d like to dress up your foundation or columns, or use stone for some or all of your siding, here’s how you can choose beautiful stone for your façade.

Study Your Architecture

Every kind of architecture has history behind it, and you can use that history to zero in on fitting finishing products. This works because we come to associate certain features with broader design movements—that’s why you’ll automatically think that large, blocky stone is suited to the clean and simple aesthetic of contemporary schemes while irregular river rocks are perfect for rustic cabins and colonials, which were typically built with natural materials available in the area back in the day. So, whatever type of home you have, explore its architectural background. You may just find an example you want to emulate!

Complement Your Surroundings

Unless you plan to build in a very dense area, your lot will provide the foreground and background for your façade. What kind of environment is it? Whether you can see pieces of geological history around or they’re hidden by foliage, it’s a good idea to look for stone that matches the land. You don’t want your home to stick out and look unnatural, after all!

If you aren’t sure what kind of stone is right for your area, don’t fret. Manufacturers produce many varieties of stone in different colors; some are available nationwide while others are only offered in certain regions. Products with limited geographic ranges fill the niche needs of those states, so they often make a great choice. If none of those seem right, a local supplier can always help point you in the right direction and make suggestions.

Consider Shape & Texture

Do you want your home to have a certain look? Perhaps you’d like to really emphasize its architectural background or add some variation to your façade to keep it interesting? This is where the adaptability of stone truly shines! If a chic look is your goal, there are plenty of profiles with crisp edges that’ll deliver. For a more rustic finish, consider unique shapes without square corners and those with multifaceted surfaces that create plenty of highlights and shadows. You can use shape and texture to tailor the appearance of any kind of home—we’ve seen stone act as a neat, modern update to traditional architecture as well as add a rugged, organic touch to contemporary design.

Contrast with Color

Finally, make sure to select stone as part of a fully imagined scheme. Know the colors of your siding, roofing, and other exterior features so you can commit to everything at once, because there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to find complementary products when you lock them in one at a time. In most cases, you want your façade to have enough color contrast that it keeps the eye moving; you don’t want it to look bland, flat, or uniform. You can create appeal whether you opt for distinct stone that’s offset by the rest of the exterior or you stay within the same color family and mix it up with different tones. Don’t think you have to take it to extremes to have an impact!

Take a look at Cultured Stone® if you’d like to add some beautiful stone elements to your home! With a diverse collection of rustic and modern profiles and numerous color blends—many of which replicate the look of natural stone found around the country—you’re sure to find something that works for your design vision. Find a local dealer and start exploring the possibilities today!