Creative Faux Panels

Astro Kids is a store-within-a-store at the world-famous FAO Schwarz toy store in New York City

World-famous toy store FAO Schwarz in New York City recently opened Astro Kids – an exciting store-within-a-store dedicated to everything geological. FauxPanels.com and sister site FauxWoodBeams.com were honored to help bring the concept for the exciting new store to life, helping create a fantastic dinosaur-themed retail display.

Faux panels perfectly capture the look and feel of an archeological dig

“We are exposing customers to gemstones, minerals, and jewelry at a very young age,” says Dennis Tanjeloffs; one of the masterminds behind the exciting new Astro Kids store at FAO Schwarz.  “Four to 14 is the target age group. Astro Kids could get big very quickly.”

Dennis, along with his brother Marc, are the third generations of an Argentinian mining family and New York institutions in their own right. Their Madison Avenue store is famous throughout the city for selling stunning gemstones and specimens.

They wanted to reach a new audience for their geological goodies, so approached Toys R Us, the owners of venerable New York toy store FAO Schwarz, to create a store-within-a-store featuring a range of gemstone products aimed at kids and teenagers.

Bringing the idea to life required products from both Faux Panels and Faux Wood Beams; which were used to frame the showcase piece of the Astro Kids display – an incredible t-rex skeleton created by New York sculptor Judy Richardson.

Astro Kids sells geological educational toys and learning products aimed at kids and teenagers

Surrounding the dinosaur are towering faux wood trusses, built like mine supports and encircling the 375 square foot retail space. Faux rock panels complete the display; mimicking real rock and brick and adding crisply vivid texture to the walls.

The result, as you can see from these pictures, is incredible – a beautiful display that makes you feel like you’re in the heart of an Arizona archeological dig; even while shopping in the middle of New York City’s most famous toy store.

If you have plans to visit New York City any time soon, make sure you check out Astro Kids – and, if you do, we’d love to know what you thought of it. Email us at info@fauxpanels.com.

Wainscoting and siding expert Brad Krohn recently sent us photos of a great new storefront design project he’d completed in Milton, Wisconsin – using our artificial stone panels to give a new business an incredible new look.

Ugly brick, flaking paint and crumbling plaster made this storefront anything but beautiful.

As you can see from the “before” picture, the storefront Brad was asked to transform had seen better days.

Bare brick walls, flaking paint and crumbling plaster meant that customers were more likely to cross the street than walk inside.

But Brad managed to completely transform the structure by using a combination of traditional exterior siding and our Carlton Fieldstone Wall artificial stone panels – creating a stunning dual-finish effect that makes the vintage building look brand new.

And the best part? Brad’s approach saved both time and money.

Traditional exterior siding was given a twist by using artificial stone panels as a contrasting texture.

Our faux panels are molded from durable high-density polyurethane; and attached straight onto the wall with just a layer of drainage mat in between.

This meant they took just hours to install – as opposed to the days or weeks it would have taken to mount real stone to the building.

Even better, because they’re molded directly from real stone and intricately colored to match, the result was practically indistinguishable from using authentic fieldstone.

The finished result was smart, modern and appealing.

Plus, because our panels cost a fraction of what real stone does (not to mention saving on material and labor costs) the entire project wrapped up well under budget; giving the new store owners an incredible finished store for a very affordable price.

Brad was justifiably proud of his hard work – and we’re excited to be able to share it with you here.

If you have your own faux panels project you think people would be interested in seeing, please be sure to send it to us at info@fauxpanels.com. We’d love to post it!

Back in February, we blogged about how companies were able to create a truly incredible – and portable – trade show display using our stone veneer panels. Today, we’ll check out one Midwest wholesale company that’s taken that concept to a whole new level.

Willoway Nurseries have created a portable nursery garden as their trade show display

Willoway Nurseries are an Ohio based wholesale nursery that carry over 2,000 different plant varieties; all offered within an easy day’s drive of half the U.S. population.

For over half a century, they’ve provided some of the country’s most beautiful plants and shrubs to florists and stores across the country; and continue to seek out new business by attending trade shows across America.

Yet wherever the Willoway trade show team goes, they’ve found a way to make sure they bring a little piece of home with them. Their stunning portable trade show display looks as impressive and permanent as any garden center gateway; with sturdy brick columns and rustic cobblestone walls.

Willoway managed to achieve this with two types of our faux stone panels. For the cobblestone walls and flowerbeds, they used Carleton Cobblestone faux stone panels in beautiful Summer Tan.

For the towering columns that create the structure of their display, they used matching Carlton Brick Columns.

Stone veneer panels and columns have enabled them to create a stunning display that's entirely portable

The result, as you can see from these pictures, is impressive. Even more so is the fact that this sturdy structure can be dismantled quickly and easily and taken from one trade show to the next; something that would be impossible with real stone materials.

Check out our gallery of other trade show displays to see how other companies have used our products to create conversation-worthy showpieces – and if you’re a business owner yourself, make sure to send in photos of your faux panel trade show displays to info@fauxpanels.com. We’d love to feature them here.

Homeowners love our decorative stone panels because they perfectly recreate the look of stone, rock or brick without the impracticality or cost. Unsurprisingly, TV and movie companies love our wall panels for the exact same reason.

In fact, a number of TV shows and film companies have made use of our faux panels to create set and set design projects that capture the look of stone or wood, without having to use the real materials.

For example, in this photo you can see an intricately detailed Parisian apartment, created by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition using our Cambridge White Brick panels. Paired with French artwork and accessories, it’s difficult not to believe that you’re stepping into a boulevard in Montmartre when you step beyond the doorway.

Brick veneer panels brought Paris to life

TV shows like Extreme Makeover have also used our products to turn their imaginative visions into reality. Here is one of their best-known home transformations – a “pirate” bedroom for kids created using our Oxford Rustic Barnyard Brown panels.

Shiver me faux timber panels!

As we’ve mentioned before, Renaissance Faire enthusiasts also love our decorative stone panels; using them to enhance their own homes, or create authentic looking medieval castles and keeps as a backdrop to their pageantry at Renaissance events all across the country.

Decorative stone is popular with renn faire designers

And even if you’re not producing a TV show or putting on a renaissance faire, you can still take something away from seeing these creative uses of our faux panels. The real benefit of our artificial wood and decorative stone panels is that their application is really only limited by your imagination. What could you come up with?

For some great examples of how customers have used our panels to create home improvement projects worthy of an Oscar, check out some of the other entries in the Creative Faux Panels blog. One of our favorites is a fairytale bedroom, created by John with our Wellington River Rock panels.

Stone veneer panels fit for a princess?

If you’ve used our faux panels in an especially imaginative or unexpected way, we’d love to see it. Send pictures of info@fauxpanels.com and we might even showcase them here.

When most people think of manufactured stone panels, they imagine them being used for impressive home improvement projects – exterior siding, wainscoting or on interior walls.

Karen recreated rural England with the help of our manufactured stone

But more and more people are coming up with truly innovative uses for faux wood and manufactured stone panels and columns – utilizing their lightweight and sturdy construction.

One example is at trade shows and events. We’ve had a couple of customers write to tell us how they’ve used manufactured stone columns to create amazing looking showpieces for their trade show display or booth.

Karen, from Long Beach, used Regency Stacked Stone Potomac Panels to create an ‘English Countryside’ display for a national dog show, which attracted plenty of compliments.

Tim used our manufactured stone columns as the foundation for an impressive trade show sign

Similarly, Tim from Sacramento used two of our Wellington Dry Stack Columns to build a sign for a conference at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas. In amongst the towering Las Vegas architecture, the sign looked like it was a permanent fixture – not something that could be packed up and taken home after the show.

With many of our columns weighing less than 10 lbs, they’re ideal for this sort of event. Their hardy polyurethane construction withstands the rigors of travel, and they’re waterproof and weatherproof – for use inside and out. They can be cut and drilled easily, with tools almost anybody has in their garage, and that opens up a world of possibilities when creating signs and trade show displays.

But perhaps best of all, they look incredible. From brickwork, to stacked stone or aged wood, the manufactured panels are molded from the ‘real thing’ and intricately detailed to mimic the look of wood or stone perfectly.

As one of our customers, Dean, told us regarding his home project: “Most people don’t realize that it is NOT real stone until they touch it themselves.”

In one of our recent blog posts, The Many Faces of Stone Veneer, we talked about a few of the many ways stone veneer can be used inside and out to enhance the look and value of your home or place of business. Since stone veneer can be applied in so many different ways, we couldn’t fit it all into one post – so read on for even more ideas.

Modular Homes

In the past, adding the look of stone or brick masonry to modular homes wasn’t really a possibility. The real stuff’s weight, complicated installation and difficult transportability limited the modular home’s design reach. Luckily, the invention of polyurethane stone and brick paneling allowed modular homeowners to get the look and feel of traditional construction without all of the expense and hassle. Now you can spiff up the exterior with a foundation covering, exterior siding or an entrance column, or warm up the interior with brick or stone in the kitchen, family room, around the fireplace and more.

Wine Cellars

If you’ve made the investment of adding a wine cellar to your home, you want to make sure that it’s walls mirror the sophistication and taste of the wine it houses. Luckily, stone veneer panels offer a simple, easy to install solution to help
create an inspired interior design. An added benefit is the panels’ imperviousness to moisture, a particularly important factor for a room that is often located in the basement level of a home.

Business Signs

In most cases, the first thing your clients or customers lay eyes upon when visiting your place of business is your sign. First impressions are key, so you want to make sure that your business sign invites confidence with a professional and attractive look. Many of our customers have found great success by using stone veneer panels to surround or accent their outdoor signs – a project that can be done quickly and with little expense to complete your sign on time and under budget.

To see even more ways stone veneer has been used in these applications, visit the Modular Home, Wine Cellar and Business Sign photo galleries.

Here’s this custom trailer manufacturer that started out 32 years ago making horse and livestock trailers. And here’s this tasty little winery that started 11 years ago in the same region of North Carolina, transforming grapes into Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Team these two companies together and you get — um, what do you get?

Nothing less than a fabulous wine cellar on wheels. That’s 18 wheels, including the tractor — custom manufactured by Golden Gait Trailers for Little River Vineyard and Winery. (Yes, that’s “gait.” Remember the horse trailers.)

But what does this have to do with artificial stone panels? The answer lies inside the glass doors that welcome you to the climate-controlled Little River mobile wine cellar.

Talk about a warm welcome. The Wellington Dry Stack artificial stone panels blend perfectly with the rich, natural wood and earth tones all around. “And the faux panels were much nicer than the website made them look,” says Golden Gait project manager Ben Hawkins. “That’s always a nice surprise!”

After an entrance like this, the wine racks themselves can’t be far away. And indeed they aren’t.

In the beginning, Little River was an out-of-the-way vineyard that sold most of its grapes to wineries in more populous areas. But eventually the folks at Little River asked themselves: “Hey, why should we sell our grapes to other people and let them win awards for their wine, when we could make the wine ourselves and do it just as well or better?” The problem would be getting the wine to the wine lovers.

The solution turned out to be a used trailer that Little River had bought — not for the trailer itself but for the generator mounted inside. Someone came up with the idea: “People aren’t going to go out of their way to come to us, so why don’t we use the trailer to bring the wine to the people?”

Little River and Golden Gait threw themselves into the project, and they’re justifiably proud of the result. They think of it as a time machine that transports customers back to one of the historic wine cellars of France or Italy.

And how can you have a historic wine cellar without stonework? The artificial stone paneling was the perfect way to add the right atmosphere in a place where real masonry was clearly out of the question. Real stone would be much too heavy. And it would be much too fragile, crumbling and cracking from the constant rumbling and stress on the trailer while traveling from place to place.

“We here at Golden Gait are professionals at turning dreams into realities, and this one is as real as it gets,” says Ben. And then adds, “All but the ‘rock,’ that is.”

To see more examples of how customers have transformed their wine cellar design with artificial stone panels, check out our Wine Cellar photo gallery.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. It’s a cliché for a reason: because it’s true. From a handshake, a smile, a good pair of shoes, you are judged at first glance—for better or for worse.

Same goes for your business. The sign out front—you know, the one that everyone can see when they drive by—is kind of like your interview outfit. (Yeah, I’m going to go with this tacky metaphor for a little longer, bear with me.) You want it to show off your personality, display your commitment, say, “I believe in what I do and am your best choice for this job.” So, don’t you want your sign out front to look its best? To be all tucked in and ironed?

We’ve had a bunch of people send in photos recently showing how they’ve used stone veneer panels to help their business’ signs reach their fullest potential. And we think this is such a great idea! After all, stone veneers are classy, professional, and varied enough to really show off your business’ point of view.

This gallery shows off our customers’ handiwork and is chock full of great ideas.

Love your current sign? Use faux stone veneer panels as a base support or bookended columns. The panels could also provide a cool backsplash or frame. Heck, why not get creative, like this hanging Texas sign which used stone veneer to make an overhead archway.

Veneer panels are great way to spice up indoor displays as well. Take them with you to company trade shows and be the baddest booth around (this is a good thing). The faux stone is lightweight enough to move from place to place, and will stand out against a sea of nylon banners printed at Kinkos.

But make sure you have a firm handshake ready; your sweet sign can’t be expected to do all the work.