The Wicked Yard

If you’re thinking of updating your fireplace but are holding back because of the potential cost, time and mess of removing what you currently have, thin stone veneers may be the solution you’ve been looking for.

Topics: Fireplaces, before and after, masonry, veneer, Thin Veneer

Your mailbox is not only a gateway to communication with the outside world; it’s also part of the overall curb appeal of your home. If you currently have an existing mailbox on a wooden, plastic, metal or concrete post, chances are, at some point, you will need to replace it due to environmental erosion to the foundation or post causing it to lean, or rotting wood weakening the structure.

A granite mailbox post provides the everlasting durability of stone pulled and cut from solid rock. It’s just a matter of setting it in place correctly.

Topics: Granite, granite posts, mailbox posts, Woodbury Gray

After a year of spending more time than ever indoors, homeowners are upgrading their outdoor living spaces and making them the center of activity and a focal point for families and friends. One common backyard improvement is the addition of a granite fire pit. Whether you’re looking to entertain guests or enjoy down time at the end of a long day,  a granite fire pit is an essential addition to any home that can be enjoyed during all seasons and is quick to assemble. 

Topics: fire pit, Woodbury Gray, DIY Fire Pit

 

In 2020, backyards around the world suddenly became so much more: gyms, offices, bars and restaurants. As the new hot spots for social gatherings, outdoor living spaces took on new importance—and popularity. 

Topics: Fireplaces, Outdoor spaces, Outdoor living, outdoor kitchens, fire pit

 

Narragansett, Rhode Island was first surging in popularity as a summer resort town in 1887 when a Queen Anne Victorian home was built at the corner of Narragansett Avenue and Robinson Street. With stained-glass windows, ornate bargeboards, and a charming assortment of shingle styles, it was a turn-of-the-century dream home. Flash forward 130+ years and the once stately Victorian still stands in the Pier neighborhood of the quaint seaside town, but the exterior was weathered, the interior structurally deficient, and the home sat on its corner lot, vacant and abandoned. 

 

Topics: Historic restoration, Outdoor living, New England, Indiana Limestone, Woodbury Gray

Virginia-based interiors stylist Sarah Raak of SKG Designs had been planning a project to redo her backyard patio for a while. But if ever there was an impetus to finally get it going it was this thing called 2020. Although this year brought challenges, it taught us to learn to appreciate the nature, air and space around us. It also allowed us to think outside the box and to innovate — challenges that have always informed Raak’s approach to design.

Topics: Outdoor spaces, Outdoor living, outdoor kitchens, fire pit

Simply put, damp proofing works as a long term prevention method to ward off moisture decay in walls and foundations. The process prevents moisture and water from passing into interior spaces by creating a durable barrier. This process can also act as a barrier between the Earth’s elements and the surface of limestone.

Topics: Indiana Limestone

 

Nestled in the historic area of Norfolk County, Massachusetts sits the Swenson Granite Works Medway store. All four men on the team have a love and appreciation for natural stone, and all things New England.

Topics: Granite, New England, Massachusetts, Store Spotilght

There are many sustainable practices that manufacturers of building materials can adopt, but there is only one building material that is inherently good for the earth and good for your health — natural stone.

Topics: Granite, Natural Materials, Sustainable Design, Indiana Limestone, buy local

 

Swenson Granite Works’ Westbrook, Maine Store Manager Jeremy Walbridge has been working with the company for 27 years — over half his life. He has had family members and friends work at the company, and credits the family oriented nature of the business to his tenure.

“The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Swenson? Family. The Swenson name has a history attached to it. 133 years as a family business and I’ve seen all sides of it,” said Walbridge.

Topics: Granite, Store Spotilght, Maine