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8 Rock-Solid Ideas to Build a Grand Entrance to Your Home
Stone can really make a statement to your home's entrance. Here's how you can create a feature worthy of your abode
Stone is as ancient as it is time memorial. There is something solid and comforting about stone that naturally lends itself to defining or leading you to the entry of your home. Perhaps this stems from the Egyptian pyramids or the Roman Colosseum – all significant buildings made to last the test of time were constructed of stone. The most important building in my life is my home. Is it yours also? Why not treat it with a little reverence and dress is up with some beautiful stone? Here are some rocking ideas to inspire you…
Step inside and you will not be disappointed as these beautiful rough stone walls are authentically retained. Add the subtle highlights from a wash of light from the recessed floor lights and the entrance makes an amazing transition from the past to the present and from outside to a welcome indoors.
2. Secluded entry
You traverse the blue stone path and discover behind the gate an intimate courtyard. You are struck by the deck that cantilevers over an expansive pond. The natural stacked-stone wall is the pivot that directs you to the inner sanctum of the home. It grounds the end of the glass conservatory entry. The wall is terraced and appears as dry-stacked wall but is constructed in panels. Each panel adheres to a cement sheet substrate. The key to successfully designing a stacked-stone wall is finishing the corners and edges. The capping stone to this terrace is custom made from the quarry to match the stone. The corners have been constructed for a seamless fit with the stone panels.
You traverse the blue stone path and discover behind the gate an intimate courtyard. You are struck by the deck that cantilevers over an expansive pond. The natural stacked-stone wall is the pivot that directs you to the inner sanctum of the home. It grounds the end of the glass conservatory entry. The wall is terraced and appears as dry-stacked wall but is constructed in panels. Each panel adheres to a cement sheet substrate. The key to successfully designing a stacked-stone wall is finishing the corners and edges. The capping stone to this terrace is custom made from the quarry to match the stone. The corners have been constructed for a seamless fit with the stone panels.
3. Tiered sandstone
Located in Sydney this tiered sandstone garden retaining wall steps with the slope of the site. It defines the edge while a mix of sandstone and timber boardwalk invites you to the entry of the dwelling. A glance to left as you stroll along this path and you glimpse the ocean. It provides a hint of the spectacular views you may uncover within the home. The dry-stack wall is recycled from the excavation of the site.
Located in Sydney this tiered sandstone garden retaining wall steps with the slope of the site. It defines the edge while a mix of sandstone and timber boardwalk invites you to the entry of the dwelling. A glance to left as you stroll along this path and you glimpse the ocean. It provides a hint of the spectacular views you may uncover within the home. The dry-stack wall is recycled from the excavation of the site.
4. Manufactured stone
This little gem has been cleverly designed using a reconstituted stone veneer. It is really coloured mixed concrete made to look like natural stone. It comes with a flat back making it easy to lay, but you do need consider corners and capping to pull this look off successfully. This tapper stone entry portico provides the solid base to support the stairwell above, which is enclosed by corrugated Colorbond cladding. The palate of the stone cladding draws into the entrance various tones of the snow gums at Dinner Plain, Victoria.
This little gem has been cleverly designed using a reconstituted stone veneer. It is really coloured mixed concrete made to look like natural stone. It comes with a flat back making it easy to lay, but you do need consider corners and capping to pull this look off successfully. This tapper stone entry portico provides the solid base to support the stairwell above, which is enclosed by corrugated Colorbond cladding. The palate of the stone cladding draws into the entrance various tones of the snow gums at Dinner Plain, Victoria.
5. Stepped stone
Here stone is used extensively in both the landscape and on the dwelling and stairwell leading to the entry. The juxtaposition of green foliage and stacked stone creates a layered effect, with multiple levels. The overall effect is to draw you up and into the entrance. The stonework is softened by thoughtful plantings working in harmony with the stone material.
Here stone is used extensively in both the landscape and on the dwelling and stairwell leading to the entry. The juxtaposition of green foliage and stacked stone creates a layered effect, with multiple levels. The overall effect is to draw you up and into the entrance. The stonework is softened by thoughtful plantings working in harmony with the stone material.
6. Flagging the entry
This tropical oasis, a short drive from Brisbane, uses stone cladding simply to flag the oversize door. The stone is understated and forms a backdrop to the real entry feature: the aqua blue pond and concrete stepping stones. Don’t miss your step!
Step inside this luxurious home
This tropical oasis, a short drive from Brisbane, uses stone cladding simply to flag the oversize door. The stone is understated and forms a backdrop to the real entry feature: the aqua blue pond and concrete stepping stones. Don’t miss your step!
Step inside this luxurious home
7. Designer pebbles
This lovely stone pebble mosaic with a delightful organic pattern defines the path to the timber boardwalk. It is a simple gesture that anyone could consider implementing at their home. This type of upgrade can be done without going to the cost of major structural changes that are part of installing a stone plinth or dry-stack wall as a feature at the entrance.
This lovely stone pebble mosaic with a delightful organic pattern defines the path to the timber boardwalk. It is a simple gesture that anyone could consider implementing at their home. This type of upgrade can be done without going to the cost of major structural changes that are part of installing a stone plinth or dry-stack wall as a feature at the entrance.
Gestures at the entry to your home can be grand plinths, monolithic blocks or very simple pebbles. It should complement the style of your home and garden.
TELL US
What makes your home’s entrance special? Share your photos with us in the comments section and let us know the story behind it.
MORE
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Home Front: Simple Ways to Personalise Your Front Exterior
TELL US
What makes your home’s entrance special? Share your photos with us in the comments section and let us know the story behind it.
MORE
Feng Shui: 13 Ways to Bring Positive Energy to Your Front Entrance
Transform Your Home’s Entrance From Daggy to Dazzling in Just One Week
Home Front: Simple Ways to Personalise Your Front Exterior
A historic Victorian Goldfields’ ruin, burnt out in the bushfires of 1977, has been heroically saved and reinvented. The entry has been reorientated to the side of the dwelling, at the junction of the old and new building. The rough stone wall leads you around the corner and the striking triangulated roof planes hover and point you to the new entry to the dwelling. It is a striking and sensitive re-use of the historic material that maintains and leaves intact the integrity of the ruin.