Natural Thin-Veneer Stone: Thin and Real
“This may be a one-of-a-kind project,” Cassil concludes. “But, I think the project expanded Intermountain Health’s thinking beyond its typical palette of materials.”
CLAD ABOUT THE HOUSE
SPOKANE, Wash. – When Ken Warren and his wife decided to sell their 23-year-old family home and build something new, all the options now available in construction materials provided a number of surprises.
Among the ones they chose to incorporate into their new abode: plenty of thin-veneer natural stone.
Granted, the Warrens’ new residence isn’t exactly a tract home. Situated on six acres, with a view of Mt. Spokane off the back deck, the home itself encompasses 5,000 ft² on the main floor and another 5,000 ft² in a day-lit basement, with a four-car, 2,000 ft² attached garage. Then, there’s the 5,500 ft² garage – attached by a breezeway – to house Ken Warren’s car collection, and a 2,000 ft² utility building with a covered carport situated off the lower level.
The Warrens didn’t exactly approach designing a new home in the traditional way, either. Although a key goal was getting the master suite, a guest suite and the laundry facilities all on the main floor, the couple did a lot of the legwork themselves.
“We like our previous home, but there were some things that if we were going to start with a clean piece of paper we thought we’d add a little extra on this end of the room, or whatever,” says Ken Warren. “We did a lot of research in books and magazines and at local and regional home shows, trying to find a design and a floor plan we liked and merge it in with the dimensions of many of the rooms from our older home.”
It was only then that they called on an architect to, as Ken Warren says, “put the jigsaw puzzle together.”
Once that was done, the Warrens began seeking out an exterior look for their project. It was then that they encountered options that hadn’t been available years ago.
They ended up visiting the local outlet of Mutual Materials Co. and settling on Canyon Creek, a thin-veneer stone from Kalispell, Mont.-based Glacier Stone Supply LLC that ranges in color from chocolate brown to tan to blue/gray.
“We made our selection from what they had available and what we liked,” says Warren. “I wanted to use real stone rather than the manmade stuff. This just lent itself to the color concept we had for the house and the choices we made with paint and peripheral stamped and sand-washed concrete used on all the drives, sidewalks and decks.”
Warren adds that he liked the idea of a thin veneer product.