The Wicked Yard

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

“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.

John Doherty may not have been there when the Swenson Granite Works Newtown store (located just outside Danbury, Connecticut) opened in 2000, but he and his team have basically been there ever since. Deep roots and long standing connections are what you will find at the store—and this scenic small town—as a whole.