Meet the Homeowners and Lafayette, CA
Our homeowners founded and own a small residential construction company in the Bay Area, CA. They build a mixture of projects for clients as well as spec homes to sell. Our homeowners self-perform most of their trades and are constantly looking to find the best suppliers for their clientele.
Lafayette, CA is one of nine counties encompassing the San Francisco Bay Area. Along with Moraga and Orinda, Lafayette is known locally as “Lamorinda”. The city was incorporated in 1968 and is named after Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer in the Revolutionary War.
The Vision
Our homeowners purchased a 2-acre lot with a teardown on it. They demolished the existing building and built a new 5,100 SF home with 6 bedrooms, 7 baths, a covered outdoor living area, and pool. The design vision for the home was elegant and classy. The house itself is on a knoll. The home design had to be long and skinny as dictated by the very narrow and long lot. The architect initially spec'd board and batten for the entire facade but our homeowners wanted something more exciting. They found inspiration from a picture of a Gil Shafer Maine house with a stunning granite and shingle facade. The property has many mature Oak trees, so the natural granite and dark painted shingles blend into the landscape well and do not to draw attention to the home. Instead, the focus on the property is the stunning 360-degree views that surround it.
Selecting the Stone
With the inspiration from the Gil Shafe Maine house, our homeowners were searching for a natural granite with a larger castle rock cut. The house is large so the stone proportion was important. They loved the mix of greys with browns to tie to nature and the colors of the home. They loved the elegant, timeless, sophisticated and yet understated look of Quarry Mill’s Plymouth natural granite thin veneer. The stone is completely fire resistant which is a major selling point in California. The house is on a ridge line so there were strict guidelines from the city as to what building materials and colors could be used. The guidelines help ensure the house blends into the natural landscape. Plymouth granite is reminiscent of the incredible local granite in nearby Yosemite.
About Plymouth
Plymouth is a natural blend of tight grained New England granite. The stone consists of soft beiges and greys with a natural and smooth texture. The black speckles within the stone give it a unique marbling that is sometimes referred to as salt and pepper. Plymouth is a castle rock style and characterized by the large rectangular pieces of stone. This style is also called square-rectangular or square-rec for short.
Completing the Project
Quarry Mill’s Plymouth was used for the lower-level exterior façade. The façade transitions into multiple tiers of retaining wall around the driveway and leading up to the house. The stone was used to wrap the patio and back porch columns and the two massive columns at the bottom of the driveway gate. The built-in BBQ on the covered back patio was also built with Plymouth natural granite. Quarry Mill’s Plymouth natural stone veneer was paired with Italian Bolsena bluestone for the flatwork and shingles painted in Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore.
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