Bringing in Brick & Stone

Patrick Wells, Majestic Stone

Over the past five years, we have seen more integration between brick and stone. In fact, some of the largest brick companies in the region have placed significant resources behind their marketing and sales efforts in natural stone. It is now very common to see brick and real stone on the same job. Often, homeowners will use brick to cover large square footage areas and then use the real stone as accent or staple pieces: feature walls on the exterior of homes, keystones above the driveway doors, and natural stone capstones on top of a retaining wall. In a place where the homeowner is trying to cover a large amount of square footage, leading with brick and accenting with real stone is a great option to consider. 

Jennifer Poole, General Shale

The current trends of craftsman, mid-century modern, and classic design are achieved by choosing bold and dramatic textures and tones offered by brick and stone. Brick and stone mixes superbly with metals, wood, and natural elements and is a lasting and socially conscious material. Using thin brick and thin stone is an easy, affordable, and innovative way to create a captivating focal point for kitchens, baths, basements, and outdoor living spaces and can be a simple way to update your space. For example, in living areas, it can be used as a room divider or incorporated into bookshelves, stairways, backsplashes, and focal walls. Outdoors, brick and stone can be the perfect addition to grills, pergolas, seating, and landscaping such as flower beds and water features.

Anna Baker, Stone Source, Inc.

Trends come and go, but brick sticks. There are not many decorative materials that stand the test of time like brick. We have seen a surge of different brick-look tiles in the past few years. From actual reclaimed bricks from Chicago shaved down to tile thickness, to glazed porcelain tiles that look like reclaimed bricks, painted brick tiles, and handmade terracotta brick tiles; they are everywhere. They look great on the floor or wall of the kitchen. It is a great way to add some texture to a wall and age to a new space.

Ron Coker, Jr., Artistic Pools

Our business has seen many different outdoor designs utilizing brick and stone, ranging from exterior walls and exposed beams to stacked stone pizza ovens. I recommend choosing exterior features and designs that coordinate with whatever is on the existing house. For example, we’ve built a hybrid brick and stone outdoor fireplace, which mimicked the home’s exterior – the stone veneer was meant to look like it was crumbling, revealing an underlayer of brick. This gave the property a consistent, antique look. The possibilities are truly endless for creating your outdoor paradise.