The Blog Squad

Designing with pavers should be fun, and will keep you busy throughout the project life cycle. Following some very basic design guidelines will ensure that you will be completely satisfied with your new patio pavers, walkway pavers, driveway or pool deck pavers.

When you install pavers at your home you are creating a design feature, not just pouring a grey slab that’s serving a single purpose. Pavers are a decorative form of pavement that is used for pedestrian and vehicular areas, these same pavers happen to also be 4 times stronger than a poured concrete slab. Overall, designing pavers into your landscape or hardscape plans is simple. Pavers come in a large array of sizes, textures, colors and shapes, which ensures there is absolutely an option available that will mesh well with your big plan.

When choosing a color for your pavers take a look at the color of your house and sort through the paver color options that share a similar tone with your exterior walls. Pavers look great against any surface; a clay-brick color compliments stone or wood siding and tans, light greys and brown blend well with stucco or painted surfaces. You can also go bold and choose a sharply darker or lighter solid color. Doing this can create vivid contrasts to really define the nature of your hardscaping. Blended colors are typically recommended, and for many good reasons. Blended color seem to look for natural, after all, the majority of natural stones offer variegated color blends. Blended pavers help tie in multiple surrounding colors, it’s good to try to tie in the roof line color, and accentual colors from window or door frames, and of course, dominant colors of your garden.

Installing textured pavers will create interesting and eye catching patios and walkways. Using lightly distressed to heavily tumbled stones will create an old world charm that lends well to country french, Tuscan or ranch style homes. Smooth surfaced with beveled edge pavers will go with anything, including modern or southwestern style homes. You should, however, consider the location and purpose for the pavers when selecting a texture. Stones with narrower joints should be used in steeply sloped patio pavers or driveway pavers to avoid excessive sand washout. Smooth stones with narrow joints should be used around pool decks. This will be a little less abrasive to bare feet and will also reduce the chances of tracking sand into the pool. All pavers are skid / slip resistant, so putting smooth surfaced stone is not a concern.

Get creative when choosing the patterns for your pavers to be laid in. Your driveway or patio do not need to be laid in the same pattern, and switching it up can create a sense of emphasis and custom work. Pavers are available in circle, half circle or even fan patterned kits to create attractive, ornamental accents in your hardscape. A walkway laid in a basic running bond pattern can lead you to a wide open patio laid in a random pattern. This will let you know that you have arrived in the main entertaining area and it’s time to relax!