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Grey Aksent 3D Stone on a UK Modern Masterpiece
One of the really amazing things about Norstone is our worldwide distribution network. With distributors in Australia, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, we get to see and share the projects we are working on. It’s cool to see the same stone veneer products get used in a vast range of projects and styles across the globe. In certain instances, our preconceived notions about what architecture and design look like in a certain area are blown away, which was certainly the case with this project from Southern England. Situated in an outer suburb of Poole, England, a major shipping lane across the English Channel from the UK to France, this fantastically modern design home which used our Aksent 3D Stone Veneer Panels on the exterior looks like it could have been plucked from a California hillside.
One of the major things that stands about this project is the contrasting yet natural color range the design team employed throughout. White pavers and knee walls contrast the Grey Stone of the Aksent 3D Panels, which flow neatly into metal doors and accents, large sections of glass, and wood look large format composite siding. Set in a heavily wooded area, all of the major colors in the design scheme can be found within a few feet of the buildings themselves. The great contrast in colors keeps the buildings themselves clean and modern looking, but we’re glad the design team choose to a natural color pallet which will allow this project and design to age gracefully for decades to come.
The side building in the photo above is a garage that is separated from the home. What a detached garage might lack for in convenience, this particular one makes up for in design. With a generous amount of the smooth stone veneer around the garage doors, this outer building compliments the architecture of the main building nicely. Detaching the garage in this instance also allows for a more uninterrupted use of the property, which sits on a hillside with the rear of the property sitting lower than the front. While a bunch of fill dirt could have undoubtedly been brought in to level off the lot and leave the rear of the property unusable, we applaud the designer’s choice of separating the buildings and working more within the confines of the lot. The result – buildings that look amazing and fit nicely within the nicely wooded property and not another McMansion built after a developer knocks all the trees down and levels the ground for fast and easy construction.
While there are a lot of great materials and products being used on the outer envelope of this home, we think the grey stone veneer has the most powerful impact owing to the abundance of texture the product creates. With everything else smooth and flat, the Aksent 3D Panel allows for a clean lined, smooth faced look to match the other materials, but also gives the walls that dimensional “pop” that comes with stone veneer. The Aksent 3D panels come with about 1/2” of variation in depth, which is an important dimension to consider when trying to create a dimensional look on a vertical surface.
Another really cool design feature of this project is the landscaping / hardscaping. We really love the large format smooth pebbles used around the house. Color wise they do a great job tying together the pavers and other elements of the large driveway and create a nice contrast against the grey stone veneer panels. Texture wise, the smoothness of the rocks parlays nicely with the overall smooth textures found throughout the rest of the exterior, while the semi circular / round shape is a nice foil to the block geometry of the Aksent 3D Panel they but up against. Large format rectangular smooth concrete pavers form a nice outer ring to the pebble hardscape, reasserting a more traditional shape associated with modern design.
Thanks for taking the time to tour this really cool project with us in Southern England. We love how great our Grey Aksent 3D Stone Veneer Panels look and that our products get to be used on cool projects like this one. We have a worldwide team of experts ready to answer your stone questions and show you how Norstone natural stone veneer products can work on your next project – rustic or modern, we have the stone to fit!
