How To Choose Decorative Stone

If you are thinking of using decorative stone to enhance your home, garden or patio, it can be a daunting task. It can be difficult to imagine how all those pieces of rock are going to fit together into the overall picture you have in mind. Use of decorative stones has become more and more popular in recent years because they not only improve the visual appeal of your home, but are also low maintenance and relatively inexpensive. As you begin your selection of your decorative rocks, refer back to these guidelines to help steer you down the right path.

1) The first question to ask yourself is: how do you plan on using the stone? Is it going to be for a garden walkway or a family room fireplace? Is it for a pool patio or the outside of a building? Different types of stones may lend themselves more toward one project over another. You may know that you love the look of a particular stone, but narrowing down to the right project to use it for is the first step in the decision process.

2) What is the cost and availability of the stone you have selected? The cost of certain stones will vary depending on the area of the country you live in and can become a factor in making or breaking your budget.

 3) What is the method of exposure? Basically, what climate do you live in? What are the weather conditions in your area? Obviously, if you are doing a project that will be inside it does not matter as much, but for an outdoor project, taking stock of your environment is vital. Whether you live in hot, humid Florida or snowy Wisconsin, it is going to need to play into your stone choice.

4) How durable is the stone? If it is something that is going to be stepped on repeatedly, such as in a garden footpath, the stone needs to be ready to stand up to the abuse for years to come. Having a stone that is too soft or porous can make a beautiful project deteriorate rapidly.

5) What rock color will complement and enhance what you already have in your home and landscape? Make sure to take into account what you have to work with such as existing colors and textures. You want your decorative stone to blend well with the style and theme that the rest of your house has already set.

At first it may feel like a giant sized jigsaw puzzle with all the pieces dumped out onto the table and no box cover to refer to as a guide. Fear not. Find a finished project you like as inspiration and walk through the steps above. Soon enough you'll have the satisfaction of a visual, daily reminder of your decorative stone project. You can even use our product calculators to help determine how much stone you will need!