How to Visualize Natural Stone on Your Home Before You Choose

Choosing natural stone veneer is about more than finding a stone you like on its own. The real question is how that stone will look on your home, alongside your siding, windows, roofing, trim and other exterior materials.

That can be difficult to picture from a sample or product photo alone.

Fortunately, visualization tools can help you explore different natural stone colors and profiles before making a final selection. They’re especially useful early in the design process, when you’re trying to narrow down your options and see how different materials work together.

Start With the Entire Exterior Palette

Natural stone is just one part of your home's exterior, so consider it alongside the other materials and colors that will surround it.

Look at your siding, window frames, roofing, doors, trim and any wood or metal accents. Instead of trying to match these materials exactly, think about how their colors and undertones work together.

For example, warm white or cream siding may pair beautifully with stone containing buff, tan, brown or warm gray tones. Cooler whites and grays may work well with stone featuring cooler gray or charcoal tones.

Black windows can provide enough contrast to work with a surprisingly wide range of natural stone colors, from light and subtle to darker and more dramatic.

Consider More Than Color

Color may be the first thing you notice, but the profile and texture of the stone can make just as much difference.

A linear stone profile can reinforce the clean lines of contemporary architecture, while a more irregular profile can introduce an organic element. Larger format stone can create a very different impression than smaller pieces with more visible joints.

When comparing options, consider the overall scale and architectural style of your home as well as the color palette.

Use a Photo of Your Own Home

Seeing stone installed on another house is helpful for inspiration, but seeing it on your own home can make the decision much easier.

The Pangaea® Natural Stone Project Visualizer allows you to upload a photo of your home and experiment with different Pangaea® natural stone veneer options. You can compare colors and profiles directly on your project and see how they interact with the materials already in place.

This can be particularly helpful when you're deciding between several stones that look similar on a sample but create very different impressions when viewed across a larger area.

Try the Pangaea® Project Visualizer to explore natural stone options on your own home.

Compare Several Options

Don't stop with the first stone that looks good.

Try a lighter option, a darker option and perhaps one that's a little outside your original plan. Seeing several possibilities side by side can help you identify what you really like about each one.

You may discover that the stone you initially preferred feels too busy with your other exterior materials, while a simpler option allows another architectural feature to stand out.

The visualizer is a great place to experiment because you can explore those possibilities before committing to materials.

Think About Where the Stone Will Be Used

Placement also affects how a stone will look.

Natural stone veneer might be used across a large portion of the exterior or more selectively to highlight an entry, chimney, foundation, column or architectural feature.

A stone that feels dramatic across an entire facade may be exactly right as an accent. Likewise, a subtle stone can have significant impact when used across a larger surface.

When using a visualization tool, try to approximate the areas where you actually plan to install the stone. This will give you a more useful sense of its scale and visual weight.

Remember That Natural Stone Naturally Varies

One of the things that makes real natural stone so beautiful is that no two pieces are exactly alike.

Color, texture, veining and other characteristics naturally vary from piece to piece. That variation creates the depth and character of a finished natural stone installation, but it also means that no digital visualization can represent every stone in the finished project.

Lighting matters too. Stone viewed in morning sunlight can look different later in the day or under an overcast sky. Computer and phone screens can also display colors differently.

For these reasons, a visualization should be considered a design tool rather than an exact color representation.

Always Make Your Final Decision From a Physical Sample

Once you've used the visualizer to narrow down your choices, the next step is to look at actual stone.

Physical samples allow you to see the stone's true color, texture and natural variation alongside your other building materials. Whenever possible, view your sample outdoors and in different lighting conditions.

Your local Pangaea® Natural Stone dealer can help you obtain samples and explore the options available for your project.

From Inspiration to the Real Thing

Choosing natural stone doesn't have to begin with imagining what a small sample might look like across an entire house.

Start with your home's architecture and existing color palette. Explore several stone colors and profiles. Use a visualization tool to see them in context. Then confirm your favorite choices with physical samples before making your final selection.

The Pangaea® Project Visualizer gives you a simple place to start.

See it on your home. Explore the possibilities with the Pangaea® Project Visualizer.