Five Must Know Tips when Interior Decorating with Stone Veneer
1. Honed veneer is perfect for high maintenance areas
Honed stone veneer is the kind of stone that has been polished to a high gloss. Use it in bathrooms and kitchens where cleanup needs to be done well and often. Since the polishing process eliminates many of the crevices, this is the stone veneer of choice when it comes to moist areas since it does not offer any areas for mildew or fungi to take root and grow. (A great example of honed stone veneer is shown by Natural Stone Veneer.)
2. Chiseled finish stone veneer adds character to any spot … except when moist
Rough stone veneer looks great around the fireplace, as a wall border, or around windows; whatever you decide, do not place a chiseled finish into the bathroom or kitchen – unless you are prepared to spend a lot of time cleaning on hands and knees with a toothbrush. Mold and fungi love these kinds of stone veneers and if you are not careful you might actually harm your home’s overall worth when you place this kind of finish in the wrong spots.
3. Synthetic stone veneers not only are a fake, they also look it
Sure, synthetic stone veneer is cheap and for larger areas this sounds like a perfect solution, but is it really? The short answer is a resounding no. Synthetic stone is little more than bits and pieces of real stones that are embedded in a synthetic resin and colored in a number of ways that make them stick out like sore thumbs. You will be better served to save up for the real thing than compromise and put fake stone veneer into your home. Don’t think you can tell the fake from the real thing? Check out this Mountain Red Stone panel and let me know what you think.
4. Avoid big box home improvement stores and go straight to the manufacturer
Ask any big box home improvement store clerk who might be busy working on cutting a piece of pipe or measuring a bit of linoleum about the feasibility of applying split face stone veneer to a floor, and you might get an absentminded nod. Truth be told, split face should never be used horizontally but only vertically. The multitasking big box home improvement store clerk does not know that because s/he is not fully trained in the intricacies of stone veneers and nobody should fault this clerk for it. Smart consumers who are not so well versed either should go to see the experts in the field.
5. Color coordination is an art, not a science
Assuming you will stay away from the synthetic stone veneers, the odds are good that you will head for the more natural colored real stone choices. One thing to keep in mind when interior decorating with stone veneer: colors vary, hues change, variations are legion, spots happen, and veins are neither guaranteed nor excluded. You are dealing with a natural product and it pays to remember this when ordering. To be sure, order all of your stone veneer for the project from the same lot. Compare lot numbers when taking receipt and do not be afraid to send back the entire delivery if it is cobbled together from different lots. Even though lots themselves also are not a guarantee for uniform appearance, the odds are a lot better that most of the stone veneer will at least be close in appearance.
Source:
http://www.naturalstoneveneer.com
http://www.fauxpanels.com
