Sing you Home by Jodi Picoult

Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book that I read by Jodi Picoult and I would say the best book I have read this year. This was 5 star reading material but the middle to the end of the book slowed slightly for me. The courtroom trial part of the book was not my favorite. It seemed to drag on and lacked some of the creativity and suspense. I enjoyed the character of Zoe the most. Her role as a musical therapist was inspirational. I would read a follow-up novel with her character in a heartbeat. Issues of homosexuality and infertility and abortion are at the forefront of this book and the author does hide the characters opinions. Picoult also displayed enormous skill by tackling these issues without sounding cheesy or preachy. I think the character of Max could have been better developed. The outcome of Max seems a little forced at the end of the book. I fear that this book fit my emotions and beliefs just right. And therefore I may not like Picoult’s other novels but I am definitely going to try

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Ocean Course View taken for Granite!

The outside fireplace is much smaller but the view of the Ocean Course Golf course from this porch is absolutely extraordinary.  

Take a look at the bluestone used on the porches.  The colors selected for this project are magnificent.  The owner went to extremes to select the perfect granite material to use on the hearth on mantel on this fireplace.  

This is a great shot of the before on the interior fireplace.

Here is a close up of the interior fireplace and the arched surround over the opening.  The material is set out from the rest of the stone to create a unique look.  

Gilchrist Masonry installed the stone on the fireplace.  Imagine taking a pile stones shown in the picture below and creating this fireplace.  It takes a master craftsmen to do this feat. 

The stone selected was a granite stone we call Adirondack Granite.  It is a medium to coarse grained granite with a diverse blend of rustic earth tones.  

This stonework on this job is fantastic. 

Take a look at the finished product with the granite hearth installed and the mantel.  

Here is a professional shot of the completed job.  

Under Construction... Continued

 

2013 Design Trends in Stone

2013 Design Trends             Rectilinear Design - The use of rectilinear design is becoming more prevalent in our outdoor spaces.  Common among interior flooring, the use of straight lines in your design can direct your interest to a focal point or divide a smaller space into rectangular quadrants.  The Blue Ice Sandstone material below has been laid in this pattern. Click here to see more examples of stone used in this format         Warm Tones - Many of our recent projects have been leaning toward warm tones in their design.  Mustard Yellow is a popular color in 2013 because it blends well with shades of brown and emerald green.  Our Bronte' Sandstone shown in the picture below would blend well with a tangerine orange or eggplant.          Old World Influence - As stone providers we constantly see homeowners interested in products with a story.  A designer feels the need to use products with a tradition, rooted in our our history and our culture.  Or another way of putting this, something that looks old or has been there for centuries.  Our Chateau Limestone has this history.  For use in a wine cellar or screened porch it looks as if it has been there forever.

Under Construction

The first picture I have included was the homeowners inspiration for the project.  They both liked the larger stones and the mixture of colors on this home. 

On the first visit to our showroom the homeowners picked out this sample panel as the closest match to the look they were trying to achieve.  They did not like the orange colors in the panel below and they did not like the chiseled look of the stone. 

 

 

We shipped a sample pallet to the jobsite for a mock up approval by the homeowners shown below.  The homeowner approved the mock up by the stone mason on site and decided to go with the Weathered Fieldstone Squares. 

 

Here is the house before any exterior siding or stone.

 The pool contractors were on site getting ready to pour the pool.  Which as you will see soon will also have stone incorporated.

The material arrived on site.  For this project the homeowner decided to use full bed veneer stone.  It took us 5 full semi-loads to get all the material on site.  Had they decided to use sawn back natural thin veneer the amount of loads would have been reduced to two.   Something to think about when you plan out your project.  However, the owners felt that the look feel and insulation (energy saving) properties of full depth stone was important to them.

This gives you an up close look at Weathered Fieldstone Squares with a joint.  The mortar is still dark because it has not dried.

TO BE CONTINUED