Ideas for Incorporating Bluestone in a Landscape Design in the Stillwater, NJ, Area
There’s something about bluestone that makes it such a wonderful natural stone choice for a new landscape design. Its unique steel-blue hues—often accented with brown and rusty tones—works well with any architectural style and has an amazing ability to help blend the look of the home into the natural environment. It’s also a versatile stone with many application possibilities. Enjoy these ideas for incorporating bluestone in a landscape design in the Stillwater, NJ, area.
Bluestone for the Patio
Quarried in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and to a lesser extent in Canada, bluestone is a sought-after natural stone for a variety of landscaping projects, including the patio. An individual bluestone slab is gorgeous, but when the unique characteristics of bluestone combine, the result is breathtaking. It’s a surface you will never get tired of admiring. Over time, the stone slabs become as familiar as friends. And just like friends, you discover more about them with each passing year.
Uncut bluestone can be fitted together like a puzzle, which can be ideal if the intent is to design a rustic space with as few straight lines as possible. The spaces between the stone slabs could be filled with polymeric sand to prevent plant growth in the gaps or with gravel or ground covers. Uncut bluestone is a good choice if there is no defined border between the patio space and the surrounding natural setting—for example, if there are decorative boulders that share space with the patio, or if the patio extends outward in “fingers” that touch the softscape.
Cut and shaped bluestone is a good option for creating somewhat more formal or “finished” outdoor living spaces, particularly if the patio has a defined shape (whether it’s rectangular, square, or round).
Bluestone for Walkways
A walkway made with uncut bluestone lends itself to gently meandering through the landscape, encouraging a slow and unhurried journey, while cut bluestone can be ideal for walkways that are straight or feature right angle turns.
Both large uncut and shaped slabs are wonderful solutions for a stepping stone walkway that takes you through a grassy or wooded area in the most natural way possible.
Bluestone for Steps and Coping
Bluestone treads can complete the look if your landscape features elevation changes, and the transition involves bluestone on either end.
Bluestone coping could also be used to give a finished look to a retaining wall, seat wall, pillars, or to a water feature.
Bluestone Along the Pool or Hot Tub Decks
If your pool or hot tub is in a shaded area, then bluestone could be a good option for visually tying the pool with its natural surroundings. However, if the pool area is in a sunny spot, be aware that bluestone is a darker stone that can become noticeably hot on bare feet.
Landscape Design Ideas for the Entryway
If your home currently features a dull concrete stoop at the front door, replacing it with bluestone could give your entry an instant facelift. Cut bluestone will give your entry a formal and elegant look.
Stone Pairings
Bluestone can be paired with decorative boulders and crushed stone to create a trifecta of shapes and textures that work exceptionally well together.
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