Decorative Stones for Your Home

Is your backyard landscape looking shoddy? It may be in need of a little sprucing up, and there’s no better way to do that than with decorative stones. Not only to they lend aesthetic appeal, they are also handy for curbing drainage problems. But decorative stones aren’t just for outside: you can also bring them into your home to make a bold statement.

Give Your Garden a Makeover
Backyard gardens, pathways, fountains, and other areas intended to attract attention should stand out from the other elements, and decorative stones make perfect additions. You have a range of stone types at your disposal, from pea gravel to granite to river rocks, all available in different shades and colors. Be careful what you request though, as Better Homes and Gardens explains that rocks differ from stones. Rocks are quarried fresh from the ground below, while stones have been exposed to weather or water for a long time, giving them a shiny sheen.

It’s fun to collect decorative stones over time, using them as accents in your garden beds and containers. But if you don’t have the time to start a collection, you can visit your local home improvement store, quarry, or landscape retailer. One nice way to incorporate stone is to build a stacked stonewall in your garden, behind which you can add a planting bed with drainage featuring crushed gravel, vines, and flowers cascading down the wall.

You could also create environmentally friendly pavers for your garden walkway, peppered with small decorative stones or pea gravel. If you’re using crushed, pea, or another small type of gravel stone, it’s best to build some sort of a border, as these stones have a tendency to get kicked aside when walked upon. If you can harvest from old stone fences and cabins to make a rock garden, you can blend the old and the new. This makes you a recycling-savvy gardener, and integrates the perfect drainage system for your rock garden.

Living Room Update
Decorative stones aren’t just for outdoor use. You can incorporate this element in your living room or patio as well, to bring a sense of the outdoors in. Better Homes and Gardens suggests making your own decorative terrarium, showcasing a collection of small glasses and vases to display flowers, plants, moss, and stone to really pull in the natural element theme. Place the collection on a side table in your living or dining room and frame it with botanical prints and gardening books for an overall decor that shows off your wild side.

If you love the sound of running water, add a tabletop fountain to your home. HGTV says you’ll need a pump to circulate water within a container or bowl, as well as a spout that pours the water over the rocks or even marbles. Assemble your fountain outdoors and bring it indoors when you’re ready to set it up, and when you have the flow the way you want it. Be prepared to do a little maintenance on your fountain, as algae grows in moist places. Adding a teaspoon of liquid bleach to the water every once in awhile should help slow down this growth.

With a little ingenuity and creativity, you can bring the natural elements of stone into your indoor and outdoor decor.

This article was written by Billy Dunham, a home improvement expert who hopes to help you have an even better home. He writes this on behalf of Texas Stone Sealers, your number one choice when looking for ideas for a total home restoration. Check out their website today!