Choosing the colors and textures of your pavers is no small decision. With so many considerations, following the advice of a paver contractor can help you select the right pavers for any application in your Cambridge and Brookline, MA, landscape.
Related: WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN SEARCHING FOR PAVER CONTRACTORS IN THE WELLESLEY AND ARLINGTON, MA AREAS
Current Style
One of the first things a paver contractor will look at is the existing style in your landscape and architecture. They will not mix a rustic, earth-tone paver with a sleek, contemporary home. When choosing the patio, walkway, and driveway pavers, it is important to take other stone and exterior features into account.
Color Variations
Within pavers, there is sometimes little color variation while in others the tones can vary widely. A paver contractor will look at existing retaining walls, landscape tones, and other details to recommend the right paver for your unique project.
Another important consideration is whether you want a patio paver to blend with the rest of the landscape or to stand out as a focal point. Pavers with little color variation can tend to blend well overall with other aspects of the home architecture and colors while pavers that have more variety can complement a simpler style.
Texture Choices
In general, your paver contractor will tell you that a textured paver can work well in a rustic, less-refined space while a sleek, even-toned paver works well with a modern aesthetic. When you want the best of both worlds, you can combine the two for a majority of one type of textured stone with a central design and banding around the perimeter of another type of textured stone. Combining more than one paver type is common and can result in an eye-catching combination.
Cool vs. Warm Colors
Cool colors tend to be grays, blacks, and whites while warm colors lean toward tans, reds, and oranges. When you look at the paint colors of your house, are they cool or warm tones? Do you have a lot of traditional brick or is there more concrete?
Most paver contractors will tell you not to mix the two tones since they don’t generally blend well. They can design a lovely multi-toned paver mix in a special combination for you that brings out the best in your home and landscape.
Light vs Dark Pavers
Lighter color pavers can tend to make an area look expansive while darker tones can absorb more light to make a space feel more intimate and smaller. When you have a large area for a paver feature, you can choose whatever you love but when your paver space is on the smaller side, stay with a lighter color paver and use dark pavers as accents and borders.
A natural tone paver can blend with the surroundings such as the trees, plants, and grass. natural colors can go well with a variety of home details and paint colors, too.
An expert paver contractor will encourage you to take some favorite pavers and place them where you intend to use them since the sun and shade can affect the appearance. This can be a great way to decide what colors you love most for an outdoor feature such as a patio or driveway. Your paver contractor can help you with combinations you never envisioned but that can give you the paver feature of your dreams.
