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How To Add Tabby Concrete To Your Home To Create Coastal Charm

How to add tabby concrete to your home

How To Add Tabby Concrete To Your Home

Ready to see how to add tabby concrete to your home to create a coastal charm. If some of you don’t know what tabby is, except for maybe a cute grey tabby cat. It’s a mixture of concrete, oyster shells, sand and water.  Very popular here in coastal South Carolina. Here is some more history about tabby concrete

Tabby is a 200 years old process!

Tabby has been used here in the South for over 200 years. It’s amazing it’s still considered a very creative and practical way to protect your home from rot. The procedure for applying the tabby takes skill and mostly done by a mason.

how to add tabby concrete to your home like the front porch

How the tabby concrete is applied

As you might remember from my other house posts. I am approaching the final phase of the house. The tabby is applied to the different parts of the exterior of the house to give it a beachy look. Some builders can actually add the mixture to the entire house. I am just adding it to different parts of my home. For example on the outside, I am adding it to the lower part of the house, parts of the porch and chimney.

Tabby concrete inside of the home.

Here’s what I learned from my builder who has worked with tabby for years. It can be used inside the house. So instead of traditional brick or wooden fireplace. My builder applied the tabby concrete on the frame of the fireplace and on the oven hood frame. It was just amazing how awesome the tabby looks. I was so excited with the results. The fireplace and the oven hood turned out stunning as you see in these photos.

how to add tabby concrete to your home such as fireplace

How to add tabby concrete to your home such as your oven hood

how to add tabby concrete to your home for a coastal charm

Thanks for taking the time to read how to add tabby concrete to your home at the final phase of my home. My goal of getting into the house by April 25  is coming true. So all these final details are happening at the same time.

If you all want to see more and not miss out on future posts. I would love it if you subscribe to be part of Simple Nature Decor. Let me know if you do have any questions about tabby!

For more posts on a similar topic check out my other oyster shell projects: Oyster Candle Holder, Oyster shell Bookends and Oyster shell Wreaths


 

41 Comments

  1. Wow! I had never heard of or seen tabby before but I love it! It looks beautiful both inside and out.

    Tania

  2. I haven’t heard of this before….I do love how it looks, great idea brining it inside the texture of the tabby really adds a nice finish.

    1. Tabby has been around for over 200 years, very old process in the South
      Thanks
      Maria

  3. Love it on your home. This will be an outstanding home and can’t wait to see the inside décor.

      1. marjorie felser says:

        I am looking for a Masonary in Hilton head South Carolina

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Irs been very crazy for me, my house is suppose to be ready next week, but its far from finished. Yikes!
      Hugs
      Maria

  4. I have never heard of this before! It looks great! How wonderful to have a new house! Can’t wait to see the finished home!

    1. I never heard of it until I moved to the south, very popular here where I live near the May River and Coast.
      Thanks for stopping by
      Maria

    1. Its funny how some things popular in one area, and not others, learn something every day! thanks so much for stopping by
      Maria

  5. Wow this looks great! I do love the finish! Never heard it called tabby before but we do have something similar on the outside of our home in the UK! Visiting from Do Tell Tuesday link party 🙂

    1. I will be moving into the house this weekend, things are still not done, but atleast we can move in and they can work around me. Thanks for stopping by
      Maria

  6. Your house is beautiful – looks my dream home. 🙂 I have been searching the internet high and low and I finally stumbled upon your web site and found just the photo I am looking for in your fireplace. I live in Pawleys Island and love the coastal theme. I want to do my indoor fireplace in the tabby. Can I ask how it was applied and who did your fireplace? I have hideous tile on there now and am wondering how to mix and apply tabby? So happy for you LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your house. Thanks for sharing. Sherry Pawleys Island, SC catnip3@gmail.com

    1. Thanks for this nice comment, My fireplace and tabby was done by some local mason people. I think any one that is a good mason can apply the crushed oyster shell to your morter, just ask around locally and I am sure you can find a company that will do it. Show them my pictures.
      Maria

  7. Living in landlocked Missouri, I have never heard of Tabby, but I am in love with it, so very pretty! Thanks for sharing with us at Party in Your PJs, I can not wait to see what you share with us next week. Have a wonderful day.

    1. Yeah, we just moved to that house last week, I plan on making some tabby flower pots myself in a few week or when I am settled in. Thanks
      Maria

  8. This looks so incredible! I’m always so amazed by your talent. Pinned and tweeted. Please join us on Monday at 7 pm and party with us! It is so super fun to see what you have been working on! Lou Lou Girls

  9. I did the same on my fireplace on both sides. We are due to move in shortly. However, I did not really think about what I wanted to do on the floor per code so that the firebox is protected. Do you know what I mean? But dying to see what you did but it is cut off before it shows the floor. Please share!

    1. Hello, I ended using stained concrete everywhere downstairs and upstairs reclaimed floors. Did you see my post in google or through another blogger. I always love hearing where my blog goes :))
      Maria

  10. Love the fireplace! We have tabby on the outside of our home and I’ve thought about doing it inside on the fireplace. Where did you find that mantel??? I’m looking for one.

    1. Thanks so much, Our builder found the mantel at some barn. You can get a beam and have it cut and stained as well.
      Maria

  11. Do you have a diy on the tabby? I’m located in Santa rosa beach, FL and want to do this look on my fireplace

    1. M builder did it, but I can tell you the process is with concrete and shells. Your surface needs to be clean and free from anything. You have to start with a clean slate. Otherwise, the concrete won’t stick.

  12. Can you give me a point of contact? We live in Panama City Beach Florida and are wanting the tabby finish on an entertainment wall . Thank you so much , Betsy Putre

  13. I am starting construction on my coastal dream home
    I would like to know if you know of a good masonry person in the 28579 or 28516 area codes Morehead city, Beaufort NC area that knows how to do the tabby stucco work

    1. I do not know anyone in theat area. Your builder would know one or any mason person would. thanks so much for stopping by.Good Luck in your new home.

  14. Can I ask if the tabby can be sealed and what the sealant would Bev.

    1. You can use a stone sealer,I think they sprayed it on my fireplace, outside the mixture is probably already sealed in mixture. Hope that helps, what are you trying to seal

  15. The Tabby Concrete looks great!
    Do you think it is something for a DIY project or is it something left to a contractor?
    I am in the Murrells Inlet area, and that would look great around our fireplace as well

  16. how do you clean smoke stains on the tabby fireplace ? we have one in it has recently been used more and is showing a smoke stain

  17. Looks like white concrete was used for the indoor tabby? Is it quite a big price jump from the gray concrete?

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