How to Choose the Best Patio Paving For Your Garden

There are many reasons to have a new garden patio installed.

By combining attractive paving and a creative design with top quality professional installation, you can transform any garden large or small and create an additional outdoor room to your home.

It will add enormous value to your property.

But with such a wide range of paving available these days, how do you possibly decide on which is the best for your garden?

Indian Sandstone, Porcelain, Granite, Slate, Limestone, Concrete, York stone, where do you start?

It can sometimes feel like a daunting task deciding on the best paving, but it needn’t be.

In our latest article we’re going to be offering up some advice on choose the right paving to suit your garden and your budget.

Research Online

The best place to start is by researching online. You can use google image search to get ideas or you could visit the websites of paving manufacturers such as Marshalls, Natural Paving and London Stone.

You could also look at the portfolios of local landscaping contractors too.

Always pay particular attention to any captions that may accompany the pictures.

That’s because many of the pictures you may see online are when the paving is wet. Many contractors take pictures of the paving when it’s in this condition if they believe the paving looks better.

Often it does as the dampness usually enhances the colours, particularly of Indian Sandstone.

Don’t despair if you only like the look of a particular paving when it is wet though, you can always seal your paving with a ‘wet-look’ sealant to achieve the look semi-permanently.

Obtain Brochures

If you prefer looking at pictures in print rather than online, again many manufacturers are more than happy to send you copies of their brochures.

This is especially useful if you are intending on creating a mood board as you can cut out the pictures and attach them for ideas and inspiration.

Sometimes brochures also have pictures and information that you might have otherwise missed on websites.

Obtain Samples

Pictures are all well and good but there’s nothing quite like viewing paving in the flesh.

Many manufacturers, including Marshalls, offer a free sample service. This means that they will send you a small sample of your paving directly to your door.

It’s always best to view your samples outside, where they will be laid. As of course, different lighting conditions will make the paving appear different.

We also recommend that you soak the paving with water to give you an idea of how it may look when wet. In the British climate, its probably how your paving will look most of the time!

Requesting samples will also give you a better idea of the texture that the paving might have and how non-slip it may be.

It’s extremely important to remember – if you are requesting samples of natural stone, then don’t expect every slab to look the same, as they won’t. Samples of natural stone really only give you a rough idea of how the paving may look.

Part of the beauty of natural stone is that each slab is unique and there is nobody else in the world who will have exactly the same slab as you!

Visit Local Builders Merchants

It’s also a great idea to take a visit to your local builder’s merchants.

Many of them have display centres where you can often see different types of paving laid to create small patio areas.

Not only will you get to see different types of paving in the flesh, but you should also get a good idea of how your chosen paving may weather over time.

Always ask the staff how long the display has been laid for to give you an idea of how well the slabs have weathered.

Choosing the Correct Colour

When it comes to choosing the colour of your paving, you basically have two choices.

You can either try to match the colouring of your property or contrast it.

You’ll need to consider how much direct sunlight your patio will receive too. If it’s a dark area, then choosing a light-coloured paving is recommend, as it will brighten up the space.

Whether you contrast or match your property really is down to personal preference, there is no right or wrong.

Generally, it’s advisable to pick the colour you like the most, and as long as it doesn’t clash with its surroundings, there is no reason why your colour choice wouldn’t work.

You can always tie in your paving with your property by choosing a colour edging that complements the property.

Enhance Your Garden’s Surroundings

You’ll also need to consider the surroundings and style of your property.

Older properties tend to look better with more antique or riven styles paving, as it will give your patio a more cottage garden or stately home feel, such as Indian Sandstone or Yorkstone.

For more modern looking properties, you’ll want to choose a paving with a modern feel.

Granite, Porcelain and Slate tends to work best in this instance.

Consider Flow

In recent years, it has become very popular to choose outdoor paving that matches the tiles that you have inside your home.

Choosing a matching paving slab or tile can help to blur boundaries and provide a seamless transition from indoors to outdoors.

This is especially true if you have bi-folding doors, which have increased considerably in popularity in recent times.

By installing your paving up to the threshold, during the summer months you’ll have extended your indoor space and it will feel like you’ve created an extension to your home.

Natural Stone or Man-Made?

Natural stone can be anything from Indian Sandstone to York Stone or Granite to Slate.

Part of the beauty of natural stone is that every slab is unique. You’ll get various shades of colour throughout your patio for a more natural look.

To save on costs, you can often achieve the look of natural stone by considering a man-made alternative. Slabs such as the Marshalls Argent, Heritage or Coach House paving make for excellent choices.

However, for a more uniform look, why not consider some of the vast array of concrete paving slabs available such as Marshalls Saxon?

In recent times, Porcelain has become a more and more popular choice. It comes in a vast array of colours and textures whilst being extremely hard wearing and stain-resistant. It offers the best of both worlds.

What Type of Edging Should You Choose?

Edging your patio isn’t always essential, but it can add interest and detail and enhance the aesthetic appeal.

More often than not, most of our customers like to use a contrasting coloured edging, but choosing to edge your patio using the same material and colours often works too.

You can use either bricks, blocks or setts in various sizes and colours to compliment your patio.

It’s always best to choose the main paving first and then obtain samples of the potential edges and match them up to a sample of your chosen paving.

Conclusion

If you follow the advice set out in this article, choosing the perfect paving for your garden needn’t be difficult.

Its worth taking some time to consider the options and get it right first time.

If you do, you’ll completely transform your garden, creating an additional outdoor room perfect for relaxing and entertaining as well as adding serious value to your property.

If you are looking for professional, you’ve come to the right place.

Our custom designed and installed patios throughout Essex have won us several awards in recognition of our high level of creative workmanship.

We serve Chelmsford, Brentwood, Southend, Wickford, Billericay, Braintree and surrounding areas.

Why not give us a call today and we’ll arrange for your free consultation?

We’ll talk you through the different options available to you, help you choose the perfect paving and design a patio that perfectly compliments and enhances your garden environment.

Call us on 01245 697 688 or contact us here.

If you have any questions or would like some help on choosing patio paving, why not leave your comments and questions below, we’d love to hear from you!