Stone Veneer Wall- Part 2

It's been some time since I've shared an update on our stone veneer wall in the dining room. Truth be told, this project was very daunting and we held off for as long as we could to decide what to do. I mentioned in the previous part 1 blog, I was inspired by Joanna Gaines gristmill kitchen walls and I wanted a similar look in our farmhouse. I wanted the walls on the room end caps to resemble European-cottage walls with loads of textures and stories.

We opted to hire out the second part of this large project because of how daunting mortaring the walls felt... especially with baby boy on the way. I reached out to Aaron of D.L. Day Masonry to come take a look and see if it was something him and his crew could tackle. After talking to him about the technique of over-grouting the stones, he was the man for the job. UPDATE, 02/22: I do not know what kind/color of grout the crew used for our walls, sorry!

In preparation for him to come and finish, we had some trimming and outlet extensions to install so that everything was flush on the stone veneer wall. We added about an inch trim around the sliding door and on the floor so that they could run the mortar up to the trim for a flushed finished look. We also added some electric box extensions to our outlets and switches so that our cover plates had something to screw into once the walls were finished.

We also went back and added smaller broken stones where we had large fist-size gaps between the bigger stones. Where stones maybe didn't fit, I added a dollop of stone adhesive between the stones so the finishing mortar had something to grab ahold of more than the smooth drywall. Once we had our wall prepped and ready- Aaron and his men began the project for us.

It took Aaron and his men just a day to finish out the stone wall and I was so happy to see this project done! I talked to him about using a lighter mortar for our wall and I expressed I wanted to see just a little bit of the stone fronts. Where I once had concerns about the red hued stones (as mentioned in part 1 blog), Aaron covered them with the lighter mortar- leaving very little red showing, yay!

After they were done, you could see where the mortar slowly started to dry. I knew once it would dry completely, it would be the dreamy texture I was craving.

I am very happy with how the wall turned out. Ultimately, we will do the same thing to the opposite side of the room but that will be at a later time. Next up is to hang some of Taylor's taxidermy mounts on the wall and add creamy tall curtains to soften the wall. I'm so, so excited to add those final touches.

Hugs, Alyssa

Stone veneer: Stone Master™ Gray Springbrook Veneer  | Wall color: SW, "Origami White" | Floor trim color: SW, "Into The Gloaming" | Door trim color: Jolie Paint, "Noir" | Dining room chandelier: Wayfair | Black candle scones: Hobby Lobby | Weaved demijohn: Cottonwood Shanty | Large floor basket: Found | Antique wall mirror: Found