Pavers for creating a beautiful and functional outdoor space
To create a beautiful and functional outdoor living space, homeowners use pavers to create patios and walkways. Depending on the architecture of your home and the benefits you are after, there are a several options to choose between. From to manufactured materials and Artificial Grass, there is a product for every wallet!
What paving type to choose?
Ultimately, paving stones can be split in to two main categories: natural stone and manufactured materials. They differ in many aspects, such as maintenance, structure and how it behaves outside. The natural stone is normally extracted through cutting and splitting while the composite material pavers are poured and molded to their shapes and sizes.
They all come with their benefits and advantages, making some pavers more appropriate than others for particular environments and usage.
Concrete
Concrete pavers are the most affordable option on the market and you can get them in a wide range of shapes, thicknesses, sizes but also colors. They are easy to install and are very durable.
Bricks
Brick pavers are a popular paver material and is normally made from clay. They come in different colors and shapes and you can be very creative with patterns. Bricks have a long lifespan but tend to chip or break and are therefore not optimal for patios that need to support a lot of weight.
Cobble stone
For a more rustic looking outdoor, cobblestones could be a nice option for your yard. Made from natural stone material, they are durable and will last forever! You find them in different sizes and stone types, but installing them is quite labor intensive and they would require a yearly clean for keeping up their appearance.
Porcelain tiles
You might think that porcelain tiles are only for indoor use, but they actually have many qualities that make it ideal for use outside. Made from clay and fired at very high temperatures, they are very durable and scratch resistant. Because of its hard surface, they are water resistant and can resist mold and moss growth. With none to low maintenance required, they will look like new for longer and you have many designs and colors to choose between.
Natural stone
There is a wide range of natural stone options for your patio and the most common types you might already heard of: Limestone, Granite, Travertine and Bluestone. They are very durable and great choice for outside patios as they don’t absorb heat as quickly as other materials and they are easy to clean. With their unique colors and natural tone, they are very popular for pool decks but they could be quite pricy compared to other alternatives.
How to choose the right paver
When deciding on the paver for your outdoor space, consider the architecture and of your home, but also the surroundings. For a modern home, more straight lines and geometric simple patterns will complement, or if you have a Mediterranean style home, you can translate the arches and warm colors in the pavers.
There are many types of pavers, designs and shapes, some are interlocking pavers that hold each other in place and other are slab pavers where you can design the pattern yourself. You can be creative with patterns and depending on the shape of the paver you have many options to choose between: basket wave, herringbone, stretcher bond and stack bond are just a few.
Depending on the material of the paver, you have many color options to choose between. Natural stone has its own unique color and porcelain tiles usually mimics the character and color from the stone or concrete to look more natural, while brick comes in a range of gray and terracotta colors.
What is currently popular within design is to bring the inside outside. Like in the case of matching the pavement with the home’s architecture, the same is for making sure the interior design style is translated to outside. This can be done with different details but also through color choices.
Plants between pavers
If you want to add a more natural aspect to your paving you have the option of having grass or moss growing between the pavers. By installing the pavers further apart from each other, leaving space for the plants to grow, you save on the cost of bricks but it gives it a softer look.
