When you think about pavers, chances are you’re visualising a driveway, a patio or a pathway. While these are all great uses for concrete pavers, there’s so much more you can use pavers for than just these traditional uses. Concrete pavers are a great way to liven up your landscaping and create some serious visual impact in your outdoor area. Plus, they give you almost unlimited design and aesthetic possibilities and options. So, pave your way to a creative and more appealing landscape design – here are some great ideas you can try.
Edge your garden beds
Surround your garden beds with a beautifully paved edge to add that finishing touch of class to the garden and differentiate the different areas of your space.
Create stepping stones
Stepping stones are a fun addition to a grassed area – and they don’t just have to be symmetrical either. While a symmetrical pattern will give you a more formal and elegant look, you can make your stepping stones any size, shape or pattern you want. They will add interest to a lawn, as well as creating a fun play area for the kids.
Intermingle pavers and plants
Be it grass, groundcovers, native shrubs – or even larger trees, there’s a wide variety of plants that can be used amongst paving stones. You can incorporate pavers into your lawn, or add plants in among your pavers, but either way it will make for a captivating look.
Pave a pattern
There are so many ways you can incorporate a pattern into your paved area – the sky really is the limit. And especially when you use pavers from Stoneworks’ unique range of artisan-style moulded concrete pavers which provide a huge range of colours, textures, sizes and finishes to allow you plenty of scope to create a striking pattern.
Symmetrical patterns and paver placement are more usual, but there’s no reason you can’t think outside the box and create a random paver placement to create interest. You could even use different types of pavers to really give it some visual wow. There’s also the option of incorporating your pavers into a pattern in your lawn, or adding accent stones into your paved area, to create an eye-catching feature.
Create an eating area
A paved eating area is a great addition to your garden, and will allow you to extend the usable area of your home. It doesn’t even have to be large and formal, you could instead opt for a small paved area containing nothing more than a fire pit and a few chairs. Use concrete pavers to define a space that is perfect for alfresco meals, entertaining or socialising.
Create a paved outdoor living room
If you live in a sunny warm climate where it’s pleasant to spend time outdoors, why not create a full-on outdoor living room, complete with comfy lounges, relaxing chairs, a coffee table, some lighting, a shade sail and potted plants.
Make an intriguing path
Garden paths don’t have to be boring – they can be as creative and interesting as your imagination allows. Design with different shapes, sizes, textures, patterns and add-ins. There are so many different ways you can use pavers to design an unusual path that creates movement throughout your yard or garden, as well as visual interest.
Edge your pool with interest
Don’t just pave the area around your pool – really make it a feature with an interesting pattern or design, or the use of grass or groundcovers amongst your pavers. Add some pool chairs or sun loungers and an umbrella or two and you’ll turn your pool area from ordinary to extraordinary.
Combine pavers with other materials
You don’t just have to use concrete pavers in isolation – there are many fascinating ways to combine them with other materials, such as timber, rocks, tiles or gravel.
Create a tree seat
For a great garden feature, create a circular seat surrounding a tree and pave the area underneath the seat. Add some fairy lights to the tree and some beautiful cushions to the seat for a magical outdoor area.
Make a water feature
Concrete pavers can be used in the construction of water features or seats that surround water features.
Build a life-size chessboard
Make your outdoor area fun by constructing a life-sized chessboard out of paving stones. You could intersperse the pavers with grass, or use different colours to differentiate the squares; again, you are limited only by your imagination.
Create a raised platform
Use your paving stones to create a raised platform area where you can add some seats or tables to make an outdoor feature.
Add an outdoor shower
An outdoor shower is a great idea for those living in warm climates, and provides the perfect place to cool off on a hot summer’s day. Use pavers to create the shower base, for a non-slip, stable surface that will still look good.
Pave a maze
This is a long-term project, but it could be a fun idea to create a backyard maze with paved paths and hedges.
Where to find inspiration
Consult Pinterest boards or social media sites such as Instagram for a wealth of paver design ideas for your outdoor area. You could also hire a landscape architect to create a custom paved area design for your backyard.
To access a quality range of unique concrete pavers that are suitable for each one of these projects, see Stoneworks’ range of artisan-style pavers.