Since we still have some summer left, I thought I’d touch on the beauty of real exterior stone and rock. Natural exterior stone has been used since the beginning of time as a building block material. Now we use it extensively to enhance the face of residential and commercial buildings, adding the much needed texture and dimension to a building.

Cultured or manufactured stone became very popular over the last 15 years or so, and it certainly has its merits, but when compared to the real thing, it’s easy to see the difference. Real stone, especially that which is quarried here on Vancouver Island, obviously suits west coast style buildings fittingly.

A great source for an amazing selection of exterior stone is Island Stone Landscaping Supply, 682 Ark Rd. off Shawnigan Lake Road. They have plenty of choice in rock that is quarried here on the island as well as landscape pavers, tiles, caps, veneers, stair materials, and the list goes on. I was up visiting them a few weeks ago looking for fireplace rock and had so much fun seeing all the different products. I wanted a predominately gray rock with some rust veining to bring in a natural fir wood tone and they had exactly what was wanted.

Another supplier of both Vancouver Island and BC stone is K2 Stone, 876 Langford Park Way. These guys have just increased their selection and their website shows some really terrific photos of projects. Most of their rock selection is also perfect for island buildings, my favourite is the natural ledgestone.

This ledgestone looks beautiful with cedar siding and fir elements and can look awesome indoors as well. The Langford location shows great examples of the varieties they carry and is certainly worth checking out if you have stone in mind for a project.

Sheri Peterson has been an interior designer for 22 years in Victoria. She designs for commercial, residential and hospitality clients.