Granite Cobblestones for Kings School Driveway

Sareen Stone’s Charcoal Grey Granite cobblestones were selected by the Sydney Brick Paving Company to pave the driveway to The King’s School in Sydney’s northwest.

Charcoal Grey Granite Cobblestones are Sareen Stone’s best-selling cobblestone. Available in a stunning flamed finish, they can be supplied on mesh, for ease of handling during installation.  Alternatively, loose cobblestones are available on special order, which a minimum of 8 weeks lead time is required.

Sydney Brick Paving Company has specialised in brick paving for civil construction projects for over 20 years. They offer services such as commercial hardstands, sub-divisional streetscapes, granite cobble paving, consultancy & advisory.

kings school cobblestone driveway

The Kings School is extensive and set on 300 acres in Sydney’s northwest, now the demographic centre of Sydney. A private school, Kings has been educating boys since 1831. Australia’s oldest independent school, ‘King’s’ was established as a boys’ school that would provide Australia with its next generation of leaders.

Sareen Stone’s granite cobblestones are easy to lay, perfect for driveways, outdoor alfresco, and pathways. They are very low maintenance and incredibly durable for high traffic areas. Charcoal Grey Granite Cobblestones are a stunning feature to any home or commercial landscape. Fanned cobblestones are available as a custom order in Charcoal Grey Granite.  Note: Fanned cobblestones are available on special order only. Please allow a minimum 8 weeks’ lead time.

Sareen Stone Goes to Marmomac 2017

The stone industry comes together each year at Marmomac, Verona, Italy to discover new directions in the fabrication of natural stone and to discover new and innovative ways it can now be used in design and construction.

Sareen Stone’s MD, Duncan and our Sales and Product Development Manager, Angie, visited Marmomac earlier this month and were impressed with what they saw.

Marmomac 2017

Angie was particularly keen to see what new products were shaping up to be the new trends over the next couple of years.

“Marmomac is vast and it certainly didn’t disappoint this year. As always there were plenty of new ideas. While larger formats are still in vogue they have now expanded to walls including slabs for bathroom walls and showers and textured stone panels for feature walls which is pretty exciting.”

Marmomac 2017

“Notably, there was far less travertine on display this year and many more limestones and marbles with a greater number of finishes to cater to designs that transition seamlessly from indoors to outside, such as acid washed, sandblasted and brushed tiles,” Angie added.

Duncan was pleased to see new suppliers with new products at the trade fair.

“It was great to see products that were not only new to us and our market but were extremely interesting in their composition, colour and finish. It was also encouraging to see new and innovative materials and how suppliers are pushing the boundaries from internal & external tiles all the way through to claddings.”

Marmomac 2017

“One product that had a particularly strong presence this year was hard limestone, suitable for most surfaces and this was really pleasing. When selecting products for our range, hard, densely structured material is always on our radar – as this gives us confidence that the material will stand the test of time in both residential or commercial application,” Duncan added.

Creative stone installations could be found throughout Verona with some pretty quirky displays including these that demonstrate that not all stone is delivered with a straight edge!

Stunning displays, sometimes completely unexpected, were on show for more than 68,000 visitors to view during the 4-day stone fair.

New Manhattan Limestone Arrives This Week

Sareen Stone’s new Manhattan Limestone is a little like a martini with lemon, it comes with a twist!

Manhattan Limestone has all the hallmarks of a traditional limestone – durable, elegant, timeless and soft to walk on – which makes it the perfect backdrop for any design style. However, visually this new limestone resembles a marble with its stronger, darker coloured veining.

Such a mix of tones and veining in a honed finish, allows this limestone to be a highly practical choice for floors that see a lot of traffic. Perfect for office or commercial spaces and equally at home in the dining area, kitchen, open plan living and the foyer.

This brand-new addition to our limestone range is due to arrive into the warehouse this week. It joins Tavira Limestone and Tavira Alfresco Limestone as one of the newest of our Limestones.

Brand New Tavira Limestone Arrives

We are very excited to introduce two new limestone tiles to our ever-expanding range of limestone tiles and pavers. We have just had a sneak peak in the warehouse and both new limestones look gorgeous.

Limestone offers a touch of luxury and yet it is highly practical and durable. Its popularity continues to grow in part because its neutral palette is the perfect backdrop to most design styles.

Tavira Limestone is a lightly coloured limestone tile with an elegant yet relaxed ambience echoing the sand on the beach. Its durability, together with the lovely markings in this stone, make it a practical flooring option for high traffic areas.

Tavira Limestone has a honed finish and is available in the following sizes:

  • 610mm x 305mm x 15mm tile
  • 812mm x 406mm x 15mm tile

 

Tavira Alfresco Limestone has the light-coloured beach sand tones, durability and practicality of the Tavira Limestone, however it is lightly textured for use in outdoor spaces.

Tavira Alfresco Limestone has a lightly textured finish and is available in the following sizes:

  • 812mm x 406mm x 20mm tile
  • 812mm x 406mm x 30mm pool coping

Together, Tavira Limestone and Tavira Alfresco Limestone make the perfect combination for designs where a seamless flow from indoors to out is to be achieved.

Realised Vision at Sangoma Retreat

Spicers Sangoma Retreat has had a makeover courtesy of the Retreat’s original architect, Barbara Tarnawski of BT Architects  in collaboration with the Spicer’s design team.

For Barbara, ecologically sustainable design underpins her work ensuring clients receive long term comfort combined with financial benefits. At Sangoma Retreat it was very important to maintain the low impact, eco-certification of this intimate and romantic escape.

The layout is simple and flexible, providing a selection of indoor and outdoor spaces that easily combine in response to the seasons and their use. The retreat has been designed with environmentally sustainable design principles that utilise solar power, hydronic floor heating, recyclable materials and a passive solar design.

sangoma retreat

The outdoors also saw a revamp orchestrated by Angela Maroney, Landscape Architect and Managing Director of Urban and Rural Design by designing a Masterplan for the whole site. The retreat is surrounded by nature and offers a natural serenity. Starting at the front entry with unique sandstone artwork and encompassing the existing and new suites, the natural bushland setting was brought to life throughout the site.

Angela worked her magic bringing out the very best of the natural bushland setting which also encompasses a flowing creek bed and native palm garden as the showpieces to the entry reception area. She incorporated a rock garden, upgraded the pool area and surrounds and built brand new vegetable beds for use by the chefs. All outdoor spaces have been designed to respect and reflect the native setting which is the essence of Sangoma.

sangoma charcoal granite

sangoma charcoal granite

Angela chose Sareen Stone’s Charcoal Grey Granite flamed pavers which complement the beautiful alfresco and pool area and the stunning views across the valley.

For the entrance way to the Reception area, Sareen Stone’s Porphyry 2 Colour Mix Light and Dark Grey Cobblestones  were selected. Their durability, modern colouring and non-slip properties ensured they offered the top solution for this high traffic area. These cobblestones come on a mesh for easy installation and are available in a rectangular format in a flamed finish.


Sangoma
 is an African Zulu word that means ‘healing’. The new look retreat with its stunning landscape and eco-friendly and intimate appeal will no doubt achieve this for its many guests, in spades.

sangoma porphyry cobbles

Cobblestone Charm at Hillside Harvest

Hillside Harvest at Borenore just 15km from the regional food capital of Orange, has just launched its Farm Store showcasing its own fresh produce as well as products from the region of the Central West of New South Wales. The Farm Store also shows off Sareen Stone’s Charcoal Grey cobblestones setting the tone for some serious rustic charm.

Hillside Harvest’s new Farm Store began life as a packing shed and then was a ‘fruit & veg’ shop. Today it has been completely refurbished. Now it oozes chic country style with its large timber crates, open shelving, corrugated iron cladding and dozens of cartons of fresh eggs stacked precariously high.

cobblestones-driveways-stone

Visitors to the farm will receive a true country welcome and are encouraged to stroll through the rows of cherry, peach, apple or fig trees to pick their own produce depending what’s in season. If time is short, you’ve worn heels or traipsing down through the orchard is simply not your style, you can pay a visit to the Store or grab a sumptuous treat from the new Cafe. You’re sure to find that little something that will take your fancy and will be guaranteed to be fresh and flavoursome.

Open 7 days means constant foot traffic throughout the Farm Store. Being a working farm it also means there can be a little dirt and mud from time to time!

For the owners of Hillside, the Jones Family, choosing a flooring that could take the rough and tumble of farm life; sustain a busy store and popular cafe; be easily maintained and yet still offer a beautiful aesthetic with rustic country charm for their customers, was paramount. Sareen Stone’s Charcoal Grey Granite cobblestones ticked all the boxes.

cobblestones-driveways-hillside

You can follow the seasonal happenings at Hillside Harvest on Facebook (@hillsideharvestorange) and Instagram (hillsideharvest) or visit their website for open times and upcoming events www.hillsideharvest.com.au F.O.O.D Week Festival 2017 in Orange is on from March 31 through to April 7.

Congratulations Crystal Pools

Reaching a milestone of 60 years in business, we can only imagine what changes and challenges Crystal Pools has seen and endured during this time. Sareen Stone congratulates Crystal Pools on celebrating this major achievement.

The 50’s in Australia, like in many countries, was hailed as a time of vibrancy and optimism, a welcomed change from the era of doom and gloom of the Great Depression and World War 2. 1957 was a year that followed the Melbourne Olympics, an exciting time when advances in technology saw the introduction of television, Joern Utzon won the Sydney Opera House Design Competition and the year when Crystal Pools was founded by a pioneer of the pool industry, Les Denton.

Les Denton began his working life as a traditional cottage builder. At this time, it was very early days for the swimming pool market – in fact there really was only one company of any note at the time. When this was suggested to Les decided to make the move and established Crystal Pools in 1957.

crystal pools kellyville

This was a time when spray concrete was someone’s pipe dream and ready-mix concrete was a while away from becoming a reality. So, preparing the concrete for each swimming pool was seriously back breaking, highly manual labour. At this time, all plans were drawn ‘long-hand’ (in duplicate copy) and swimming pools were built in the conventional method of ‘form and poured’. Simple rectangular shapes were the expectation – varying shapes, sizes and depths were not really viable back then.

Les began Crystal Pools with the philosophy to limit the number of pools built each year to ensure quality control. His building background meant that he held traditional values and principles where there was only one way to do a job – the right way! This philosophy has endured for 60 years and is still embraced today by the award-winning team at Crystal Pools.

crystal pools paddington

Their expertise extends across commercial and residential projects, both locally and nationally enabling them to confidently set the benchmark for their industry. To date Crystal Pools has built more than 20,000 pools and counting. Their team has won over 220 major state, national and international awards and strives to continue to achieve many more.

From the team at Sareen Stone, happy 60th birthday Crystal Pools. We look forward to continuing working side by side with you into the future.

More Than Natural Stone

Porcelain Tiles

Porcelain tiles are relatively young compared to natural stone and ceramic tiles. 

Originally, porcelain tiles were developed for the commercial market providing a hardwearing floor tile. Porcelain tiles are pressed and fired at approximately twice the heat intensity of ceramic tiles. This means they are denser, stronger, less porous, and fundamentally a better option as floor tile where stain and water resistance matter.

Whilst popular as floor tiles, the range of colours and decorative options means they are also growing in popularity as wall tiles.

DOM Design Apartment Wins MBA Award

Sareen Stone would like to congratulate DOM Design on the success of one of their recently completed projects at the Master Builders Association (MBA) NSW, Excellence in Housing Awards 2016 where the apartment refurbishment was judged the Winner in the Housing Category for Home Unit Renovation 300k to $1million.

DOM Design’s Damian O’Mahony designed and detailed the complete refurbishment of the apartment along Rozelle Bay in Sydney’s inner city suburb of Glebe. The renovation involved the entire apartment being gutted and then rebuilt by Bacuss Constructions Pty Limited.

DOM Design decided on Sareen Stone’s Travertine French Patterned Tumbled paver for the alfresco area. The neutral tones of the travertine complement the beautiful classic styling of the interiors.

In the bathroom porcelain timber lookalike tiles were used to great effect. DOM Design selected Sareen Stone’s Etic Rovere Grigio Rough Porcelain Lookalike Timber tile for the flooring in the main bathroom and the lighter coloured Etic Rover Rough Porcelain Lookalike Timber tile for the ensuite flooring.

living room

dom design kitchen

The judging panel, for the MBA NSW Excellence in Housing Awards, agreed that the apartment was “…One of the most well-finished apartments the judges had seen for years.” They were also impressed by the “stepped ceilings” and agreed that the “Bathrooms, kitchen and general area were perfectly installed.”

Marmomacc Exhibition 2016, Verona Italy

When you consider the numbers from this international exhibition – 1650 companies from 53 countries and 67,000 specialist operators visiting from 146 countries, Marmomacc has every right to boast to be “…the centre of global trade in the natural stone sector.”

Our Managing Director, Duncan Blyth was one of the many thousands of international visitors to Marmomacc in Verona in 2016. Whilst Marmomacc was another great exhibition showcasing all of the latest materials in the stone industry, the standout was the focus on all of the new grey tones available particularly in marble and limestone.

We’re excited at Sareen Stone because we’ve got plans for some new and exciting materials to be added to our existing range in 2017.

Below are just a sample of the exciting & creative displays from Marmomacc 2016

MARMOMACC EXHIBITION 2016

Grey tones were definitely the theme throughout the show. What you can do with STONE is not limited by your imagination (only your pocket)!

MARMOMACC EXHIBITION 2016

Absolute PERFECTION – book matched Calacutta Marble Slabs

Inspired? Watch this space for new additions to our range at Sareen Stone. You can contact our experienced and knowledgeable Staff with any questions you may have about natural stone on 02 9666 9222 or email us at info@sareenstone.com.au