Japanese inspired stone walkway in Portland

We’re building a bluestone walkway in Portland, Maine. We’re based in Boothbay, but we travel anywhere for the right project, and it’s been a blast working in a more urban environment than we’re used to. Using some irregular, tumbled bluestone that was already on site, and combining it with square and rectangular pieces of granite, we created a new Japanese inspired walkway on Munjoy Hill.

Why do we like contrast? Why does contrast work?

Is this piece of bluestone small? If it existed alone in space, and you’d never seen another piece of stone before, would you call it small? If you had nothing to compare it to, would it still be small? What if the bluestone stayed the same size, but you were shrunk to the size of an ant - the bluestone hasn’t changed, but would you still call it small?

The granite in this walkway is only big compared to the bluestone. It’s thermaled texture is only rough compared to the smoothness of the well worn bluestone.

They don’t just compliment each other. One implies the existence of the other. They are different ends of the same spectrum. There is no big without small. There is no rough without smooth. There is no day without night.

Dragons on the roof next door.