Using Accents and Bordering in Your Paver Patio
There’s more to creating a distinctive and inviting Rock Valley, Iowa yard than simply installing a variety of flora as part of a unique landscape design. You’ll also want to incorporate relaxing elements like a water feature that adds the soothing staccato of a gurgling stream to your overall ambience. Many homeowners choose to install a focal fire feature that acts as a natural gathering spot for guests. And building a modern outdoor kitchen space is a no-brainer in terms of function and boosting the resale value and appeal of your home.
You also need to include practical elements like outdoor lighting to ensure the safety of visitors and create a welcoming environment when the sun goes down, and of course, you’ll want paver patios and walkways to provide lounge space and help family members and friends traverse your yard. If you’re interested in making a statement when choosing pavers for your patio, you’ll find that there’s no end of options for materials, colors, shapes, and sizes, and you can arrange them in myriad ways to create your one-of-a-kind patio. Here are just a few ways to add accents and bordering in your paver patio.
Complementing Existing Elements
Even though you want to add some personality with a singular paver patio design, you don’t want to go nuts and end up with an eyesore that does nothing to complement existing elements in your yard. For example, you may already have some stone or brickwork on the exterior of your home, or you might have existing paver walkways, fire pit surrounds, or retaining walls in your yard.
This isn’t to say you have to get matchy-matchy, especially since matching certain brick and stone colors is bound to be nearly impossible (especially if they’re old/faded). However, you definitely want to try to pick concrete, brick, or stone pavers that complement existing architecture, and one great way to do this is by bordering or accenting your patio with a close match that ties all of the elements together.
Using Contrast for Emphasis
There are a variety of ways to implement contrasting pavers to excellent effect when planning your patio layout. The most obvious is to use different colors of pavers. Even if they’re all the same size and shape, contrasting colors allow you to create a visually appealing pattern or even a mosaic, depending on the number of colors you use and how you arrange them.
Alternately, you can add clear borders to delineate space. You can also contrast shapes, sizes, and materials for all kinds of interesting outcomes.
Creating Eye-Catching Focal Points
If you just want to add simple, attractive touches to your patio, think about using accent pavers to create focal points. You might, for example, place large pavers at the center or corners of a patio made of much smaller pavers.
Or you could add stamped or colored concrete pieces amid plain pavers to catch the eye. You could even create a round central ring or disk in a rectangular patio to highlight a focal furniture piece like a table. With a bit of creativity and input from a professional designer, you can use accent and border pavers to create a truly original and attractive patio in your Sioux Center, Iowa backyard.