When most people think of retaining wall blocks, they picture those awful looking grey cinderblocks used in commercial building and landscaping. I am hear to tell you that there are so many other amazing options available to purchase now. We just did a landscaping project at our house that required us to build a small retaining wall around our patio in order to expand the outdoor living area to be more spacious and functional. When I went to the store to purchase the materials, I took one look at those ugly grey blocks and said absolutely not. That led me to do some research to find more attractive alternatives that would improve rather than take away from the look of our patio. We use that area for entertaining frequently so I wanted to make it pretty. After some searching, I found these stone-look patio pavers like work just like the traditional blocks you are used to, but look so much more beautiful. They blend really well with the flagstone patio and the stone architectural accents around the exterior of our home.
Paving stones are a great material to use if you have to cover a large area, amplify your design, and keep your budget low. Depending on the product you choose, they can have the same look as brick or natural stone, but are much more easy (and less costly) to install and are generally a fraction of the cost. Patio pavers have gotten somewhat of a bad reputation as being a low end material and one that does not coordinate with more elegant siding or decor. This is simply not the case. You can find coordinating patio blocks to create retaining walls, sitting areas, and fireplaces as well as finishes in nearly any color you can think of. We just finished a complete landscape overhaul at this Arizona mansion and used patio pavers and stones to create the gigantic pool deck, outdoor living area, and grill kitchen. The color we choose blends in perfectly with the stucco exterior of the home and looks fantastic paired with the stone fireplace, retaining walls, and columns we added.
I have been looking into using flagstone pavers to jazz up our existing pool area and have been searching for photos like these of homeowners that have already tried this trend out. Our landscapers told us that it would be much more economical to replace our old concrete deck with a more decorative option built from patio pavers, than to dig up our pool or even replace the liner with one of those dark lagoon style. I like this idea because it freshens up a larger portion of our outdoor entertaining spaces -- especially if we did a design like this that incorporates a nice accent material like these landscaping bricks. I think this project will completely transform the look of our backyard for a much more palatable budget.
I wanted to transform my basic backyard into a beautiful extension of my living space, so I called my interior designer over so he could re imagine my boring patio into something more modern. I mainly wanted to create an honest style where I could throw modest kickbacks as well as relax. Concrete patio pavers are preferred among most homeowners because they come in several different shapes, sizes, textures, finishes, and maneuverability. The well-appointed tailored pavers are durable, low maintenance, easy to install, has environmental benefits, and long material life. We ended up choosing an advanced design from the stone patio pavers family, Herringbone, to offset my brick house. My newly designed collected backyard also features chic patio chairs, a smoker, stainless steel grill and refrigerator, as well as a bar to sit at and a huge adjustable umbrella to sit under. The light brown color scheme elevates the patio and makes it simple, yet elegant and comfortable. My edited patio now has each piece of equipment and furniture placed with a distinct purpose and meaning.
A flagstone patio is an fantastic way to enhance the exterior of any home, especially one that features beautiful stone siding or a rustic English country style architecture. In case you haven't heard of this type of patio pavers, they are essentially large stone pieces that can be laid down with mortar or spaced out with decorative moss growing in the cracks (like this house). These patio stones are a great material to work with because they cover a large surface area (so they can be installed quickly), they are relatively inexpensive, and they are available in a substantial number of color variations to blend well with any type of siding you have. If you are going to install them in your outdoor living areas, I would suggest checking on the drainage and leveling of the area first. You want to make sure you have a fairly even and level grade underneath the stone so it lays flat and wears well. If your landscape is a bit uneven, it is no problem, you will just need to level the ground before installing.
Ever since I visited Europe in college, I have always loved the look of cobble stone streets and classic brick pathways. It is such a charming and romantic look that I think makes a property so warm and inviting. I wanted to recreate this look in my home using driveway pavers, but in a way that would blend in with the architectural styles of our South Florida house. Brick or cobblestone would not coordinate well with our mediterranean style home so we opted for more simple and geometric patio pavers that have a contemporary style that blends well with our stucco siding. Luckily we were able to utilize the same product that we used on our driveway as walkway pavers to lead up to the main entrance of our home. I think this really finished off the look and made the entrance so much more impressive. Although it does not look exactly the same as those streets I was inspired by in Europe, it has enough of that style to make me smile every time I pull up to the house.
