Belgard is once again excited to be the exclusive hardscapes sponsor of the most fabulous horticultural event in the country — the annual Philadelphia Flower Show — which began on March 2 and runs through March 10, 2019. In honor of the event, Belgard is giving booth visitors a chance to enter to win a charming Weston Stone® Fire Pit to enhance their backyard. Those who can’t make it to the show can still enter to win by clicking the image below!
Those attending the show will be treated to amazing displays across the ten-acre Flower Show floor. The world’s leading floral and garden designers used this year’s theme of “Flower Power” to explore how flowers convey a wide range of messages in a universal language that transcends cultures and borders. Stunning landscapes, vibrant gardens, and breathtaking floral displays interpret flowers’ power to inspire and enrich our lives. Through imaginative exhibits, concepts like community, healing, peace, transformation and hope have been brought to life in surprising, vibrant ways.
The Belgard display booth at the Flower Show was designed to emulate the experience of walking through the lush outdoor spaces of a beautiful home, from the front paver walkway and garden entrance through the Ultimate Backyard. This year’s backyard design features raised planters, a vertical garden, an outdoor theater, and a fireside conversation area with two fire features: a Bordeaux™ Series Fireplace and a contemporary linear gas fire pit. In a nod to the “Flower Power” theme, the display showcases how flowering plants and lush greenery can be incorporated with a wide variety of pavers and landscape walls to create welcoming outdoor living spaces for both relaxation and entertaining.
In addition to use in the Belgard booth, Belgard paver and retaining wall products were used in displays throughout the show in a variety of creative ways. Click on the galleries below to peruse images from the show.
Designing well-coordinated outdoor living spaces just got easier! Say hello to Collections by Belgard, launching in the Southwest, Midwest, and Southeast regions for this year’s building season with a nationwide rollout to follow. Collections combines complementary products in a way to more effortlessly pair hardscapes with a home’s style or design aesthetic, simplifying the design and planning process. Collections by Belgard features six unique looks, which each relate to architecture trends and styles across North America.
Legacy Collection
Perfect for evoking old-world charm or providing a timeless accent, the Legacy Collection represents the traditional aesthetic and classic spirit of Belgard. With soft edges and ground or split-face textures, the Legacy Collection creates a time-honored look that never goes out of style. You can also look here for border inspiration and accents to enhance the look of any design.
Heritage Collection
Where traditional style meets modern convenience, the Heritage Collection allows for a time-worn aesthetic without the wait. Antiqued and tumbled so that every piece is unique, this collection adds charm and warmth to neutral palettes.
Natural Collection
The Natural Collection embraces the casual spirit of life without borders, featuring natural stone textures with organic warmth. With laid-back, design-forward products, this collection is perfect for combining old and new, living in harmony with its natural surroundings.
Metropolitan Collection
Strong lines paired with smooth textures give the Metropolitan Collection a bold, modern look. This streamlined, contemporary aesthetic emphasizes natural light and neutral tones with wood accents to give a modern flair that is cozy, not cold.
Porcelain Collection
Versatile and ultra-contemporary, the Porcelain Collection is stunning with a streamlined, upscale appearance and superior performance. Compact, resistant and virtually non-porous, this collection provides a modern aesthetic best complemented by blacks, whites and other pale neutrals.
Environmental Collection
A true marriage of form and function, the Environmental Collection ensures that homeowners can be water wise and house proud. Classic lines and smooth finishes complement the traditional and the modern, providing a stunning solution to standing water and irrigation needs.
To find more information on Collections by Belgard, visit Belgard.com/locator to find a Belgard Authorized Contractor near you.
The antiqued tumbled-stone appearance of Weston Stone® instantly transforms a simple patio or back yard into a welcoming outdoor living space that compliments any architectural style. With a look that coordinates well with both classic and contemporary design themes, Weston Stone is a versatile wall product that can be used to construct retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, built-in seating and a variety of outdoor living structures and accents.
Now, it’s easier than ever to create beautifully coordinated outdoor living designs with Belgard’s new Weston Stone® line of outdoor living kits (availability varies by market). Each kit features an average build time of four hours or less and includes all the needed materials to construct each element, including the required number and sizes of Weston Stone wall blocks, Structure Bond™ masonry adhesive and an applicator gun. Because of the reduced number of masonry cuts required and the step-by-step contractor instructions, these convenient kits add beauty and function to outdoor living spaces for less time and with less waste, which translates to lower overall costs.
Weston Stone® Grill Island Kit
Whether part of an outdoor kitchen or as a stand-alone feature, the Weston Stone Grill Island Kit offers both style and performance with a Napoleon® Prestige 500 grill and matching stainless doors. The efficient design of the Grill Island Kit requires a total of only eight masonry cuts, ensuring quick and efficient installation.
Weston Stone® Linear Fireplace
Transform a patio into a charming outdoor living room with the stylish Weston Stone Linear Fireplace Kit. Featuring open-air European styling, the Linear Fireplace Kit includes a burner kit. With only three cuts required during installation, the marshmallows will be roasting in no time!
Weston Stone® Linear Fire Pit
The ideal centerpiece for a sitting area, the rectangular Weston Stone Linear Fire Pit Kit offers ample surface area for resting drinks or propping up feet to relax. The Linear Fire Pit kit includes a burner kit and requires only 14 cuts during installation.
Classic Weston Stone® Fire Pit Kits
An affordable way to add beauty and functionality to any back yard outdoor living design, the classic wood-burning Weston Stone Fire Pit Kit is available in either a square or circular shape, depending upon the market. Kits include a metal insert that adds durability and provides a finished look. Upgrade options include a variety of coping and wall caps to add an elegant touch.
Sample Color Options
Weston Stone outdoor living kits are available in a variety of color options to coordinate beautifully with other Belgard pavers and retaining walls. Due to the use of local aggregates in the manufacturing process, however, exact color options vary by market. For more information, click here to find a Belgard Authorized Contractor or Dealer near you.
Product Availability
Weston Stone Classic Fire Pit Kits are available nationwide, but shape varies by region, with some areas offering the round fire pit kit and others offering the square kit. The Weston Stone Grill Island, Linear Fireplace and Linear Fire Pit kits are currently available in Florida, Nevada and California with availability planned for additional markets in the future.
Smart Home recipient Army CPL Chris Levi finishes a Tunnel to Towers 5K run/walk.
Double-amputee and Purple-Heart hero Army CPL Christopher Levi is the most recent recipient of a mortgage-free “smart home” from the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The foundation honors both firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11th, and our nation’s military and first responders who continue to make the supreme sacrifice of life and limb for our country.
CPL Levi lost both legs and suffered major damage to his right arm and hand as a result of an IED explosion while serving in Iraq in 2008. On July 3, 2018, he was given the keys to his new high-tech home from the T2T foundation’s Smart Home Program for disabled veterans. CPL Levi’s new home includes motorized kitchen cabinet shelving, a mechanized lift that allows the stove to be at wheelchair height, and a variety of other high-tech accommodations that can all be operated from an iPad.
CPL Chris Levi’s new Smart Home
Belgard is honored to be a sponsor of the Smart Home Program and serves Tunnel to Towers by donating pavers and retaining wall blocks and by providing manpower to install patios and retaining walls for the homes. The patio for CPL Levi’s new home in Melville, NY, is the latest installation, and several others are in the planning or construction phase in various cities across the U.S.
A Belgard volunteer installs the Lafitt® Grana Slab patio for CPL Levi’s new home.
With help from generous local suppliers and installers, teams of Belgard volunteers have already installed outdoor living areas for four Smart Homes for disabled veterans in New York, two in Virginia, one in Texas and another in Maryland. Moving forward, Belgard has committed to provide patios for all of the Smart Homes currently in the planning phases, with locations dotted across the nation in Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas, Florida, Colorado, New Jersey and California.
Sumerduck, VA, retaining wall
Nokesville, VA, patio
Belgard volunteers
Sumerduck, VA, patio
Belgard voluneers
In addition to these hardscape installations, teams of Belgard employees have also pooled efforts to participate in the Run, Walk & Climb Series of charity races, which is a network of over 65 fundraising race events hosted by Tunnel to Towers in cities around the nation. The majority of the T2T events include 5K run/walk courses. Others consist of a tower climb, in memory of those who lost their lives in the Twin Towers. Some of the events incorporate both aspects. All are heavily attended by current and retired military and first responders, some of whom choose to run in full turnout gear to honor firefighter Stephen Siller and the other first responders who died on 9/11.
A member of Brooklyn’s Squad 1, Siller heard the 9/11 emergency call on his radio but couldn’t get through the blocked traffic in the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. Determined to carry out his duty, he parked his car, strapped 60 lbs. of gear to his back and raced through the tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he lost his life while saving others.
In September of 2017, a team of Belgard employees from Anchor Central in New York had the honor of running and walking in the New York City race, which takes the same route that Siller ran on that fateful day. “We were so emotionally touched, everyone wants to do it again this year,” said Lou Mangiaracina, VP and General Manager of Anchor Central. “There were more than 30,000 people running it. When you’re in the tunnel, you can hear all the corps running and chanting. When you come out of the tunnel, the West Point cadets are at attention on the left and firemen are in dress blues on your right cheering you on and shaking your hands. It was amazing. And to see the firefighters running in full gear, the same way Stephen Siller ran it, was impactful.”
Anchor team under Freedom Tower
Anchor team in the tunnel
Brooklyn Battery Tunnel
The Anchor team already has nearly a dozen enlisted to run the New York City race again this year, which will be held on September 30. After hearing about their experience, other Belgard groups are working on pulling teams together to participate in race events in other markets.
Due to the popularity of last year’s National S’mores Day Giveaway event, we have decided to celebrate again this August by giving away another fabulous Belgard fire pit. And to literally sweeten the pot, this year’s winner will also receive a year’s supply of Chuao Chocolatier® artisan chocolate!
Like last year, share your special fireside memories or unique s’mores recipes when you enter. We’ll compile our favorite entries to share on the Outdoor Living by Belgard blog when we announce the prize winner!
So many of us do have fond memories of sitting around a fire, sharing stories and roasting marshmallows. Just the mention of it is likely sending you on a walk down memory lane to a moment during a camping trip or a week at summer camp. Or maybe even just last week in your own backyard. After all, fire pits are currently ranked as the number one trend in outdoor living design.
Now don’t get us wrong, we do love the classic s’mores recipe of a gooey marshmallow sandwiched between melty milk chocolate and cinnamony graham crackers. But if you’ve never tried any other combinations, here are some tasty ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
We look forward to checking out your ideas for delectable fireside treats, as well as reading about your cherished fireside memories. Good luck!
As a proud sponsor of the HGTV® Dream Home 2018, we congratulate this year’s winner of the fabulous waterfront retreat in Gig Harbor, Washington, overlooking the picturesque Henderson Bay, an inlet of Puget Sound.
Emily Muniz, middle, is surprised by HGTV designer and host Tiffany Brooks with the news that she is the winner of the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway 2018. (photo courtesy HGTV)
Emily Muniz, a 29-year-old from suburban Nashville was randomly selected from over 123 million entries to win the grand prize package valued at more than $1.8 million. The giveaway includes the completely remodeled and fully furnished home, a new Honda Accord and $250,000 from national mortgage lender Quicken Loans®.
This formerly outdated home was selected by HGTV and completely renovated into a contemporary maritime retreat. Belgard was honored to be a part of this renovation as the exclusive hardscape sponsor. Belgard products were used to help facilitate complete front and backyard transformations, adding contemporary curb appeal and providing multiple entertaining zones for taking in the spectacular views of Henderson Bay.
Aerial view of the outdoor living areas of the HGTV Dream Home 2018. (Photo: Robert Peterson, Rustic White Photography)
“The outdoor space at the HGTV Dream Home 2018 in Gig Harbor made it truly our dream home,” Muniz said. “From the back porches overlooking the sound, to the gathering area around the fire pit and the grilling area for summer cookout, it’s a gorgeous property that has multiple spaces that are perfect for gathering with family and friends.”
The HGTV® Dream Home 2018 is outfitted with Urbana® Stone permeable pavers to help protect neighboring Henderson Bay from potential pollution from stormwater runoff. (Photo: Robert Peterson, Rustic White Photography)
In addition to providing upgraded aesthetics and functionality to the home, the new paver driveway, walkways, and fire pit patio are also environmentally friendly. Paved with Belgard Urbana® Stone permeable pavers, these areas filter any rainwater or other runoff of impurities before absorbing it into the ground below and returning it to local receiving waters.
To view before and after images of the outdoor renovation, read our transformation blog.
For more information on the HGTV Dream Home 2018, including an aerial video of the exterior, design videos, and photos of the interior transformation of the home, click here.
