Hello,
I don't live in USA, but in Europe.
I know very well Tuscany and I have a lot of pics from this area.
Touscany houses are very small, simple and all of stone or all of bricks.

Decopierre, this is a sort of artificial (false) stone.
If you have natural stone, put this same on these chimneys or put special plaster.

Regards,

Gosia

I say leave it alone. After you get your flowerbeds and trees in, your focus will change. It's gorgeous now, to me. Salena

I have natural stone wrapped around my brick fireplaces and chimneys. It's a quartz product sawed into veneer.

ronnatalie,

if you don't mind can you tell me how the natural stone prices out per square foot?

Don't know really, I don't have it priced out separately. Ours is the "Copper Bay Master Cut" from Luck Stone (a midatlantic stone dealer). They've got a web site and I'm sure they can give you a ball park if you call one of their design centers.

Pictures on gallery.me.com/ron.natalie of our use. The house walls are just applied over a plywood underlayment, the planter walls are concrete block. The chimney and fire places were applied over brick.

If you ask me,
I thing the fireplace and the other mortar walls looks nice and goes nice with the stone.
If I have to select something that does not belong in this house is the courtyard brick wall. If it were me, I'd use the same mortar at the couryard and once you do that, the cortyard column will stand out.
I am not a fan of too many material in the elevations.
You house is beautiful.
Enjoy it

marthaelena

we are actually going to smear the brick walls of the courtyard with the same mortar. agree that you don't want too many materials in the elevation.

OP, I don't want to hijack your thread but that Decopierre stuff you mentioned in your original post does look interesting.

I just watched the video showing how it is applied tho and am wondering just how well it would stand up to the elements. The video showed that it could be "smoothed" by simply rubbing it with one's hand after it had set up awhile. Makes me wonder -- unless it hardens a whole lot more as it sits longer, wouldn't it get worn away pretty quickly by people brushing up against it?

Also, the video showed that the color is sprayed on top rather than actually being mixed in. They said the color is absorbed into the Decopierre but that raises additional questions. If the color is absorbed, that suggests the Decopierre will absorb moisture, which could lead to problems down the line. Or, if the color isn't really absorbed, then wouldn't it eventually wash off or wear off - especially if exposed to rain on a regular basis?

Of course it is possible that Decopierre hardens AND becomes more water impenetrable as it sets up longer. It does seem to be a concrete-like product and concrete doesn't reach full strength for months after it is poured.

But I didn't notice any warranty information anywhere on the website so I'd be hesitant to use it without talking to someone who had had it on their house for a fairly long period of time.

Too bad because I'd really like to find something to use on the edges of my slab to make it look like I have a stone foundation!

I do hope you'll post if you find any more info on the product.

And BTW, I think your house is lovely. If the decopierre stuff doesn't pan out, perhaps you could coat the chimney and the courtyard brick wall (and the upper walls on the left side of the house that are not stone) in stucco colored to match the darker gold-brown shades found in the natural stone.

thanks for the feedback.

does anyone else find that the chimney really stands out? to me it does, but maybe after landscaping it won't so much

I'm with Marthaelena -- The mortar on the chimney is good -- It's the brick that's wrong. Cover the brick and you'll be back in harmony.

The chimney perfectly complements the stucco portions of the home.

The Courtyard masonry is the conflict.

Overall, a very nice Texas Tuscan. Too bad the style would look absurd here in the frozen north.

Thanks for the reassurance. The masonry guys just have not gotten to the courtyard wall yet. Will keep you posted when they do

I think once you get the courtyard wall done, it will look awesome. It is a gorgeous home that lots of things will stand out but they also compliment each other. I hope that makes sense. I just built a home--take it from me--landscape makes a huge difference. Where are you in Texas?--I'm in Austin, and I know of a wonderful native landscaper--he did all of the landscaping at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center here in Austin.

we are in the dfw area

i think you are right, landscaping will make a big difference. my builder always tells me not to pre-judge until the home is complete

I think that it looks great! Can you please tell me how they applied the mortar onto the brick? My Sister is in contract on an older brick home and is wanting to do something similar.

Thanks,
Necia

Necia,

From what I understand, the masons just added a mortar dye and water to make the mortar more like paint and then just smeared it one with a large brush. Hope that helps.

Since you have the same brick over all the windows and doors, I think the brick wall looks fine. I'd leave the chimney alone too, or face it with the exact same stone as the rest of the house. A different stone would not look good.

We are having Decopierre applied to the columns and the bottom portion of our porch which wraps entirely around the house. They have been working for 1 week in the freezing rain and winds. Suddenly they had to pull off the job and now that the weather is better I am able to see their work. There needs to be alot of re-doing and the color seems to be different throughout the columns. I will keep you informed on the statis of their service. As of now I am very cautious.