The title image features Beacon Hill Smooth concrete pavers.
Choosing the right pavers to match your home can be a daunting process, especially if your home falls into the “contemporary suburban” style that is a blend of traditional and modern aesthetics. Here’s a guide for using concrete pavers to complement the architectural style of a Pearl River, NY, home.
Related Read: Large or Small Pavers – Which Size Makes Sense for Your Outdoor Project?
Pavers make a statement that ideally harmonizes with the tones, textures, and style of your home, as well as your environment. This can be a tall order, but the first rule of a visually pleasing landscape is that not everything should match. In fact, every element in your hardscapes should not match, but rather complement the other elements.
Define Your Vision
Your hardscapes deserve to have their own personality. For example, a pool deck would feature lighter colors for cool comfort on bare feet, whereas darker driveway pavers will stick out less and give a more elegant welcome.
It’s also important not to exactly match your hardscapes to your home. Perfect matches might seem like a good idea to integrate indoor and outdoor living, but they can actually create an overwhelming and boring space where neither the home nor the patio serves as a focal point.
Choosing colors depends on sun exposure, the surroundings, the home, and the climate. While conventional wisdom might say to put light-colored pavers in a fully shaded area, this could make the space stick out too much from the surroundings, and it could make the space feel cramped since there’s a very distinct visual break between the paver surface and the landscape.
Likewise, in very sunny areas you want to avoid pavers that are too light (blinding) or too dark (too hot). Mid-tone pavers such as Richcliff in Pebble Taupe (or a mix of Pebble Taupe and Dawn Mist) are almost always a safe bet. If you love the idea of darker or lighter colors, considering using them as borders and accents.
The Effect of Weather
Also consider the effect of rain on concrete pavers. In the sunlight or on a cloudy day, the colors could be quite different than on a rainy day when moisture deepens and darkens the pavers. See about taking home samples and observing them in all weather and light conditions before making your final decision.
Expect that driveway pavers will be subjected to oil stains and tire marks. You can minimize staining by choosing pavers sealed with EasyClean, such as the flagstone-inspired Richcliff pavers. If you use complementary colors and varied laying patterns, you could use this gorgeous paver throughout your hardscapes. This way, each space will have its own character while maintaining a unified look.
Some people match paver colors to their roof, which gets changed out less often than siding. But you don’t have to be stuck with this, either. You could choose mid-tone neutrals such as the sleek granite-like Umbriano in Summer Wheat, Winter Marvel, French Grey, or Midnight Sky. Beacon Hill Smooth gives you the look of flagstone without a pronounced texture. Great mid-tone pavers include Tuscany and Steel Mountain. To create a modern linear flair, choose Artline pavers in the Umbriano finish (available in Winter Marvel and French Grey), or the Smooth finish in Copper Ridge, Tuscany, and Steel Mountain.
Consider Textures
You might want to contrast the textures of a brick-faced home with a smooth paver such as Umbriano, Beacon Hill Smooth, or Artline. Again, you want to go for complementary rather than matching—and mixing textures creates visual interest while giving both your home and our outdoor spaces their own character.
