Creative Faux Panels

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.

Garden walls can be a great addition to your home’s property – whether you want to line the entire perimeter, surround a little sitting area or just add a stand-alone accent.

This wall made with Stacked Stone Tudor faux paneling nicely curves into the natural formation of property’s slope, it almost looks like it just happened to form there by itself.

What’s a garden without a little watering? This photo shows an exterior wall with Random Rock panels in Desert Buff – installed with an added twist. A little water spout/fountain hangs off the wall for a beautiful final touch. For more water design ideas, see our other blog posts “And the Fauxny Award Goes To…” and “Spring Spruce-Up Series: Garden Fountains and Ponds”

These wall fences with Kentucky Gray Drystack offers the homeowners privacy and blends very nicely with the home’s exterior and the surrounding foliage. But with its pleasing coloring it doesn’t say “go away” either.

Whichever style you choose, try adding a garden wall this spring – good walls make for happy homeowners!

Entrance with Nailon Stone in Glacier White

There are two towns in the area where I live that are about six miles away from each other, yet virtually a universe apart when it comes to their building aesthetic. One of them is your classic New England village, with stately old whaling captain houses – lots of white wood and black shutters. The other is well…not. The majority of the town is covered in little summer cottages and restaurants that are every bright color you could imagine, usually in the pink and purple families. We’re not talking understated lavenders and roses here…

Exterior with Glacier White Nailon Stone

So shocking magenta or violet may not be your cup of tea, but the average white wood house isn’t really your bag either. You might want to consider the look of white brick or stone. White looks good with everything, no matter what your landscaping or surrounding areas look like, yet the texture can give your house that little something extra. And what a more perfect time to spiffy up your home’s exterior than spring?

Luckily faux panels are super-easy to clean, and if after awhile you feel like a change, they easily can be painted. You just might want to avoid that can of Pepto-Bismol pink.

Colonial White Nailon Brick

Craig W. from Florida completed renovations to his home prior to selling and sent in this photo of the house’s completed exterior with Nailon Desert Buff  faux stone siding. Craig’s finished result is an excellent example of a house with terrific curb appeal – attractive, tidy and ready to make a great first impression to prospective buyers.

 In addition to the fresh look of the installed paneling, you’ll notice a few elements of the front exterior of the home that would draw in potential buyers.

• The front door looks new and bright, with an interesting window detail in the middle to catch the eye.

• There is a nice mailbox with surrounding vegetation with the house number clearly visible.

• The bushes and flowers in the front garden are neat, well kept and symmetrical.

• The white stones bordering the flower bed and the walkway nicely set off the green grass.

• The white lattice on the right side is a nice visual touch while also hiding the gutter.

• Wind chimes hung by the door can create a nice welcoming sound for visitors – you should make your house appeal to all the senses after all!