Stone Patio Pavers

It is always so interesting to me how the smallest touches like stone patio pavers can really make a huge difference in how your home looks.  We really didn't want to do much as far as renovations or outdoor design projects this year, but still wanted to revamp the place just a bit when the seasons changed.  We though that playing around with upgrading our stone patio ideas would be a fairly inexpensive and quick project that would yield a big result visual.  That was definitely true.  I never really realized how outdated our backyard looked until we added in these small stone touches.  Paving stones were not that expensive, and my husband installed them himself on the weekends, so all in all we achieved all of our goals. 

It continues to amaze me how versatile stone patio pavers are -- they can truly transform a space no matter what style architecture you have.  For example, I would have never considered using paver patio ideas in a desert setting like this.  It actually looks fantastic and works very will with the stucco fireplace that provides the focal point to the entire backyard design.  The key to making this material work is being sure to tie in the varying shades in other hardscaping elements of the exterior.  In this case it was the fireplace and the siding of the covered porch, but it could also be roofing, steps, or any other element of your patio designs.

I have heard a lot about stone patio pavers but I have never actually seen them in use until this photo.  I feel like patio pavers tend to get a bad rap in the design world as being a cheap material, but you can really elevate the look of them by doing them in different color, shape and texture variations (like this stone).  Used on this gorgeous pool deck, the pavers look awesome and help to tie each of the elements together really nicely.  I love how they carried the stone patio designs up to the side of the hot tub then over by the water fall boulder centerpiece and even the fire pit.  It is a well rounded look, mostly due to the cohesiveness that the lovely stone patio pavers brought. 

I was wavering between brick and stone patio pavers for our new pool deck and am so glad that I ultimately opted for the stone.  It can be really hard to pair things with a terra cotta roof like we have on our pool house because you can't use that material on flooring surfaces.  Most pool patio ideas that I have seen used brick to tie in the same rusty color, but I just didn't see that for our home.  My neighbor actually suggested using the stone because they ran into the same issue when they were redoing their backyard and found that this material was the perfect accent.  I can't agree more.  It is neutral enough that it blends in with the rest of the property, but at the same time can be used to create really beautiful paver designs if you want to be bold. 

Stone patio pavers were such a life saver when we were building this backyard pool complex last summer.  Originally we wanted brick but that was going to be way to expensive to cover the wide expanse of backyard patio ideas that we were installing.  At the same time, cement (the other option) could have really cheapened the space and would not have achieved the look we were wanting to go for either.  I started doing some research on potential alternatives, and stone patio pavers kept coming up as a great option.  I saw several beautiful patios on here that I would gladly replicate in our house, and the price was right so we went for it.

Stone patio pavers are one of those landscaping design trends that never really seem to go anywhere.  After using them to build our back patio and pool deck, I can definitely see why.  Paver patio designs are always extremely beautiful and high end looking, but also relatively easy to do on your own if you do enough research on the process.  Sure it is pebbly not a project that you want to take on if you don't have a tone of time at your disposal, but if saving money is you goal, then this is the project for you.  My kids and I built all of our patio ideas 2020 ourselves including installing this fire pit (minus the gas line and pool of course).