CLADDING - DESIGNER'S DREAM MATERIALS
Stone cladding is becoming a much loved feature of home design. It’s simple, it’s tough, and it’s a great design feature. It’s also a good alternative to other forms of cladding which may clash with the look of a modern home. This is one of the most dependable, easiest to work with forms of cladding, as well as a great aesthetic option. Stone cladding is rapidly becoming one of the most popular forms of cladding with designers, home owners and builders.
Stone cladding- What it is and how it’s made
Stone cladding is also called “dressing”. The range of types of cladding varies from brick-like cladding called strip cladding to random pattern designs, a bit like a mosaic in abstract. The cladding is composed of cut stone, fixed to a surface. The construction of random patterns, which include various different shapes of stone pieces, is actually very closely related to a form of traditional stone masonry, fitting cut stone together creates a good strong surface.
Stone goes with anything
This is called “decorative” stonework, but in practice it’s real stone, and the benefits include a range of very practical uses. Stone cladding uses very high quality stone like quartzite, sandstone, limestone and slate, and these stones are both beautiful features and area coverage.
The stone cladding also behaves like stone. It acts as an insulator. Stone is very temperature resistant. The stone clad fireplaces you sometimes see are designed to reflect heat outwards from the fire. As external cladding, it’s very tough, and effectively indestructible. It outperforms all other forms of cladding in this regard, because any maintenance requirements will be minimal.
Stone cladding- the perfect design feature
It’s in the colour and texture area that stone cladding leaves everything else for dead. Stone cladding comes in an entire spectrum of shades from a truly elegant range of blacks and whites, to brilliantly toned reds, yellows and blues. Stone cladding creates vibrant living spaces and beautiful aesthetics.
This is where natural stone really makes a design point. The huge range of colour can be used in any environment. It can be a quiet, beautiful design feature, or a fabulous excursion into colour usage, a collage of colour and form.
The universal popularity of stone cladding is no coincidence. Designers are happy to work with the endless possibilities of stone cladding, and home owners love the results. It’s also a good way of doing something about bland, dull brickwork, relieving the monotony of brick facings which bore the mind as well as the eyes and need more than a coat of paint.
As external features, stone cladding can do quite literally anything. Getting an external design from the bland and ridiculous to the sublime is a lot easier than many homeowners may imagine. It can liven up an entire building with ease, add features to landscaping, and even decorate basic garden designs like retaining walls.
Stone cladding can create a dream home. When you find the stone you want, you’ll see why, as well as how.