Nothing quite beats the old world charm and classic textures offered by brick and stone masonry when it comes to updating the exterior of your Waltham, MA, home. Not only do features such as home sidings, fireplaces, walkways, and patios improve the aesthetics of your home, they also enhance the functionality and value of your property. Here are some stone masonry features that can have a huge impact on the aesthetics of your property.
Related: Stone Veneer: Type, Styles and Patterns
Patios
Patios are a prime example of how well-crafted masonry can go a long way in making your outdoor living space beautiful and functional. While there is a wide variety of options when it comes to construction materials for patios, nothing quite beats the desirability and class offered by natural stone and brick masonry. Sandstone, limestone, and slate are popular variants of stone for patios, where their varied colors and textured visage blends in wonderfully with softscape elements. For those looking for a more exotic look, granite with its beautifully speckled look is an excellent choice. Bluestone is also a highly favored classic and works especially well in more modern exteriors thanks to its deeper, more subdued hues. For more traditional homes, cobblestones and bricks are more pertinent choices, giving a more rustic, old world charm to the whole design. In addition to aesthetics, these materials are hardy and have been used for centuries in home exteriors and are likely to last the lifetime of your home.
Related: Incorporating Stone Veneer into your Landscape Design
Walkways
Walkways offer an additional design dimension to your home’s exterior. In addition to the functional task of connecting different areas of your yard, they can be used to contrast and complement the materials and textures used in the exterior design. For example, baked clay bricks can be utilized to create pathways to contrast against the more subtle colors and textures of natural stone. Similarly, the striking rusty hues of clay bricks make them excellent for creating borders and accents.
Home sidings
Home sidings allow you to adapt the design of your home’s exterior to its landscape features to create a more consistent design. Moreover, home sidings play an important role in improving the longevity of your home, and act as insulation for the building as well. Brick and stone veneer are perhaps the most appealing materials for home sidings, contributing their pleasing textures, aesthetics and unmatched durability to the facade of your home. Moreover, they offer exceptionally easy maintenance, with a regular wash being all that's required to keep the exterior of your home looking pristine. For those looking to avoid the cost of natural stone siding, modern faux or manufactured stone sidings can achieve a similar look at a fraction of the cost. As with any masonry project, the expertise of your mason can go a long way in ensuring the durability, insulation characteristics, and beauty of your home’s exterior.
Fireplaces
Fire features are a must have for any home’s exterior living space, offering warmth and light that helps keep your yard usable during the winter and cool evenings. Fire features can be designed for both natural and modern landscapes. Fireplaces made of stacked stone or clay bricks are especially suitable for more traditional homes. For more modern homes, clean cut tiles are ideal, with their subdued colors offering a more sober outlook. As with home sidings, natural or manufactured stone veneer can be used to give you a more diverse range of colors and textures, and further enhance your design.
