Over the past 20 years, Stoneworld Oxfordshire have had a hand supplying many ambitious and unique garden design and landscaping projects across the UK. From natural stone paving and porcelain tiles, to decorative sculptures and eye catching pools, Stoneworld have helped solve many challenges faced in creating outstanding gardens.
Natural stone offers extensive opportunities to get creative, offering an abundance of varieties, each with their own features such as durability, flexibility and of course overall appearance – in addition to being a lower carbon alternative to many alternatives. With spring just around the corner, and activity starting to come alive again, we’ve put together some ideas for your next project, offering 7 creative applications of natural stone for your clients.
Steps
In a project with a height variation, or spread over two or more levels, movement and the overall flow of the landscape becomes essential. Stone steps can create a perfectly balanced connection between spaces, and offer a wide scope to get creative. Whether incorporating lighting into bespoke stone pieces, or breaking up straight lines with curved steps and stairs, we are always seeing new ideas on this core element of garden designs; such as this smooth, flowing La Roche Luna limestone project recently completed for a client.
Sculpture
Advancements in digital stone masonry mean fabricating designs in natural stone has never been more precise. With extensive experience working with artists, sculptors and designers, Stoneworld have helped make hundreds of innovative ideas come to life. Sculpture is the perfect way to personalise a landscape and add a centre piece to any project. From modern art installations on commercial builds, to classical and historic stone features, there are really no limits to what can be achieved in size or scope, such as these individually carved lions on show in a country estate.
Water feature
Water is considered a key element in Feng Shui, representing prosperity and abundance as it flows around your home. There are few things more peaceful than the soothing trickle of water in your garden as you enjoy the Summer sunshine. A water feature is the perfect way to add life, and tranquility to a garden, as well as offering much needed sustenance to visitors such as birds and bees. Of course, stone is the natural choice, combining the beauty of nature with the possibilities of precision machining and sculpting to create eye catching designs.
Pier caps
On a functional level, pier caps help protect the column or pillar from the elements, but who says that’s where it ends? Pier caps are a great way to unify the look of a project, and add some elegance to an entrance, gateway or corner – and what better material to achieve this than an equally elegant natural stone? Whether a classical design, or something with a more modern twist, digital stone masonry and high quality stone, mean Stoneworld can fabricate pier caps of any size or specification for your project, and match them to paving and copings should they be required. This bath stone pier cap is looking fabulous as it waits to be sent out of our workshop.
Fire pit
With many predicting 2023 to be the year of the outdoor social gathering space, what better focal point for entertaining than the warm glow of the fire pit as the sun goes down? Fire pits can help centre the perfect “Outdoor living room”, and natural stone offers the perfect material. Adding to the natural, outdoors feel of the fire, there are many stones which offer the perfect heat resistant properties necessary for a safe and durable fire pit – this project combined natural stone paving and copings, with a contemporary centre piece in natural stone.
BBQ worktop
Garden kitchens are another element of the gathering space, and a great way to create all the elements of the indoors, outdoors. Barbeques and grills mean clients can enjoy entertaining in the garden in a fully equipped space. At Stoneworld, we have created an extensive variety of bespoke BBQ worktops, and stone garden kitchens for our landscaping and garden design clients. Made to measure, and using high quality natural stone, our team can also advise on which materials would be best suited to outdoor cooking, helping combine style with practicality and durability, such as this beautiful and spacious garden barbeque.
Copings
Years of experience mean Stoneworld are well known for high quality and innovative coping stones, for application in swimming pools, as well as in a wide variety of landscapes and gardens. Incredibly adaptable, copings can be fabricated to top off walling, helping combine paved areas and walling stone. Copings are also ideal for framing features such as ponds or garden rills, and with so many beautiful natural stones to choose from, the humble coping stone is a must for any project this year.
Natural stone is a sustainable and endlessly adaptable material for landscaping and garden design, offering a wide variety of applications and possibilities. Backed by over two decades in natural stone, Stoneworld have the experience and expertise to help you create imaginative and innovative projects in stone, and with our on site masonry facilities and high stock levels, our customers know that every order is fabricated with precision and delivered on time.
If you have a project in mind, our team can advise on any questions you may have, simply email us at sales@stoneworld.co.uk. You can also keep up with our latest products and projects by signing up to our newsletter.
