Good decision! I thought, too, that manufactured stone looked real, until I started looking a little closer. Outside a local bookstore they have faux stone and I thought it was real, and what I wanted. I looked closer when it got time to choose stone and could tell the pattern right way lacked depth. I went to my stone people and they recommended the Natural Stone Veneer (NSVI) to us as well. I love the look of our fireplaces and front porch posts done in it. Its called Canyon Creek. I will post below the brochure showing it and also some pictures (taken with my cell phone, so not the greatest). We're not in our house yet, but everyone that I've taken to see it loves the stonework. I'm so glad we went with real. The color in the pics is a little washed out. Partly because of the cell phone camera and partly because of all the lights on. I have to adjust my track lighting shining on the fireplace - it was just installed. I'll take some more pics with a regular camera. The color is more like the book, I'd say. Picture from NSVI book: My fireplace

Sorry to OP for hijacking this thread! Gardenchick! Thank you for your advice. Hadn't thought about the ledgestone on the gables. That might be what is making me think twice about it. We will have 2 gables accented with the stone and also a border around the house. DH and I are trying to compromise on this one. As far as the grout, I was thinking that the type used on Limestone makes a big difference in the look. Can't decide which one I like better because they all are very nice. In addition to going to look at the Cultured Stone, there is an area close by that has a lot of very old stone homes and an old farm nearby that has their old home and barn in stone. I'm going to drive through those neighborhoods and examine their type and style. Hope they don't think I'm some crazy lady! We are in the northeast. Building on 21 acres, with pond and some wooded area, not in a housing development. We are placing the home on top of the property, overlooking farmland, woods and our pond. Started the dig for the driveway and gas well awhile back. I guess our style of home is a mix. I jokingly said on another thread that it was old world meets the mountain or something like that. Inspirations came from lots of searching on the net,(this site included), driving around neighborhoods and new construction, from the different style of those to the style of the HGTV 2006 dream home and just recently added to that eclectic mix, the MidWest Living 2007 Idea house. We also want to make sure our home fits the property, but most importantly our family and our lifestyle, (4 young boys.), and yet something different then what is being built all around us, if that makes sense. DH really wanted to do all brick and stone but the cost for both would make us have to cut other things...some that DH didn't want to lose, and I just can't live without the stone, so we are compromising with shakes/board&batten and stone. We are meeting with hopefully what will become asap "the" builder tomorrow. Wish us luck, cross fingers, send prayers...we need it all!! LOL! We just want to start already--UGH!!

We also have a fpl at our lakehouse, in NY, and that is about what the vent looks like. But for whatever reason, in my renovation here in CT, look at what I ended up with! And as I said, everyone tells me that it is due to code. The mfr, the vendor, the architect, the GC. As I told them, no one would expect that and someone should have known and let us know ahead of time. Not sure what can be done now. Thankfully it is in a part of the house where it is out of the way, but, still .... Yours may look like all the ones pictured, just saying I would ask first.

We have a similar issue with our fireplace and, after considering various options, reluctantly decided not to disturb the overall structure. I would caution against removing the hearth. It's there for a reason: It's noncombustible and that's important protection against a fire. Lowering the firebox to floor level and then installing a hearth at floor level will probably be a very big, very messy and very costly undertaking, almost like rebuilding the whole thing. You might be able to remove the raised hearth and install a floor level hearth in its place. I think that would be okay from the safety standpoint, provided the new hearth is about the same size at the old one. You will then need to extend the fireplace surround so it goes under the firebox as well as over and on the sides. That sounds like the work of a mason, or maybe you can install metal -- either copper or powder-coated steel in black so it looks like cast iron, if you like that look and think it will blend. If you want to reduce the size of the firebox, you could consider a fireplace insert. The most popular ones are gas-fired, either natural or propane. They are expensive ($3-4.5K), and typically come with fireplace surround to cover the old firebox opening. I would guess that the kinds of changes you are contemplating would total about $6K or more. And picking a competent installer involves a leap of faith. Ask a fireplace contractor for a free estimate. Then you'll know.