10 Driveway Pavers Ideas for Lasting Results

If you want to instantly enhance the aesthetic appeal of your home and improve water drainage at the same time, concrete and permeable pavement are the colorful and functional alternatives to blacktop. We can help you come up with some driveway pavers ideas to personalize your —

• Patios
• Swimming pool decks
• Stairways
• Gardens
• Driveways
• Fireplaces
• Ponds
• Streams
• Planter boxes
• Cabanas
• Sidewalks

Permeable pavers are those precut stone blocks that build a mosaic out of your driveway by using unlimited colors and styles. Pavers are effective at clearing away water drainage and accentuating the beauty of any home. Unlike other materials, pavers withstand shifting soil because they are made up of interlocking modular pieces that are easy to wash clean and individually replace. They are also durable and feature a natural non-slip surface which does not require sealing like poured concrete surfaces and asphalt.

Ideas for Making the Most Out of Paver Materials

Most pavers are backed by a lifetime warranty that eliminates the worries of maintenance and erosion. This means that you can have pavers installed anywhere and think outside the box when it comes to being creative with them. If you are going to invest in something that will last a lifetime, you'd as well make it a masterpiece. This is why designers who work with driveway pavers ideas are known to create interesting designs that go over the top as well as more modest builds that retain their beauty and visual interest for ages. Let's consider the many options available for driveway pavers ideas and expressing yourself through durable pavers in other ways, below.

1. Concrete Paver Driveways

Image source: https://www.belgard.com

When it comes to driveways, concrete and permeable style pavers are the most popular choices on the market today after asphalt and poured concrete. If you have concrete or asphalt driveways already installed, we suggest ripping up the base material rather than covering over it with a layer of paver blocks. We find that the pavers sit better in the soil rather than on top of a buckling and cracking foundation of poured concrete. A variety of driveway paver colors and designs are available to complement the architecture, thereby adding value to any home. The new sand stabilizer compounds available help us keep your pavers sitting flush even after extreme weather. If you live in low-lying areas where water drainage is an issue, it is worth the upgrade to invest in permeable stones that will protect the foundation of your home and eliminate flood damage.

2. Historic European Cobblestones

Image source: https://www.historiceuropeancobblestone.com

We have all driven on some old cobblestone roads before and noted how unique these streets were in setting off the modern look of the area. If you have a home that retains some of the classic architectural styles, you may find that cobblestones are the match you need to set off your castle. Incorporating that Old-World-feel into your home endows it with a sense of heritage and antiquity like the old quarter of Jerusalem or the ruins in Rome. If you want your home to emanate with a sense of permanence, you just might like what cobblestones can do for you.

3. Outdoor Living Spaces

Image source: https://www.jacksondesignandremodeling.com

A number of people are investing in the beauty of multiple paver styles to express themselves in a cozy little backyard setting. When you use pavers to build your backyard patio, you then add any number of custom features like an outdoor kitchen or stone benches. An endless number of shapes, sizes, and styles are available to sculpt your outdoor living spaces into exotic works of art set in stone. Instead of using brickwork or concrete, you can use pavers to replicate and replace any walls, tables, benches, or barriers.

4. Cabanas

Image source: http://kierlandresort.com

After you install a custom-made cabana, visitors will awe at your freestyle architect. Whatever your vision may be, it is easy to find inspiration from the custom builds that others have chosen. A custom cabana doesn't have to be built completely from paver stones but can use a mix of materials. The posts can be made of any material and simply wrapped with paver stones to encase them into the patio or outdoor living space. Homeowners usually install custom cabanas near a pool or fireplace to integrate the separate elements into one unified ensemble.

5. Planter Walls

Image source: https://www.onechitecture.com

Instead of buying prefabricated planters to fix the focus on your favorite plants, you can build up custom planter walls and boxes that set them apart. Building them up from the same materials that you used to lay down your patio will create a built-in look that makes your outdoor living area look like it was designed by a master architect rather than something you threw together. Purchasing planter boxes loses the sense of permanence that comes with pavers and adds nothing to the value of the home.

6. Fireplaces and Fire Pits

Whether you want to build a barbeque pit or a warm fireplace to warm up after you hop out of the pool, pavers provide for a permanent solution. Pavers are ideal because they will withstand the heat and won't require the same maintenance as other materials. You will always be able to build the size and the shape of the fireplace or pit to fit your lifestyle. The sizes will come down to a matter of preference regarding how many people you may expect at your parties. If you have a lot of property, it would be even better to build multiple fireplaces to surround attendees in an aura of warmth if needed.

7. Entrance Ways

Instead of assembling bricks or ordinary stones to create an ornate entrance to your home, you can use colorful pavers. A beautiful entrance welcomes guests and provides that sense of permanence and sophistication like a castle. You can use a few evenly spaced large stones to build a more rustic walkway or lay down interlocking stones to clearly define the path. One method is to use loose stone material around larger stones to fill in the spaces. Purchasing pavement systems that are permeable and non-skid are a great investment for preventing injuries and for a more natural aesthetic appeal.

8. Winding Stairways

Image source: http://eartheffectslandscapes.com

You can easily build steps by laying down simple stone step blocks on pea gravel and then using wooden risers to wind them up or down in any direction. Adding larger stones to build a natural border also looks very rustic and cozy.

9. Mixed Materials to Form Garden Areas

When you are working with pavers, you don't have to make everything in paver stones. In order to make the texture and eye-appeal more interesting, many homeowners choose to blend a mix of patterns and materials. For example, you can add large flagstone blocks to build a garden or patio surface just about anywhere. If you fill the gaps with some other type of pea gravel or small black stones and add in some decorative plants like wild grasses and flowers, you'd be surprised at how artsy and flamboyant your backyard can become.

10. Ponds and Streams

Using pavers to build artificial ponds and streams can be incorporated into any garden area or set apart, all on its own, near some trees or shrubbery. Most homeowners choose to use natural looking cobblestones pavers for any places where running water would be expected to smooth over the stones. They might elect to use old Roman style pavers to build walls and paths to the ponds and streams. You can build a combination of circular landings and straight or curvy paths that wind through dimensions of your landscape.

11. Pools

While special types of tiles are used to line a pool for swimming, you can complement any pool area with this durable non-slip permeable stonework. The beauty of having permeable stones is that the water will run off and greatly reduce the chances of a slip or fall accident. The excellent water-drainage properties will also prevent the growth of molds and mildew that can cause the pool area to stink. Another other ideal aspect is that you will be able to wash the pavers clean with soap and water without contaminating your pool water from runoff.

In Closing

The problem with many homes in the United States is that they look one-dimensional and flat because they are made from uniform modern materials that lack character. Adding pavers is a great way to solve the characterless look of modern materials. This is especially true if you decide to mix the pavers with numerous other wooden, plant, concrete, and gravel elements. When you build functional components out of pavers, this provides your home with the uniformity of pomp that prospective buyers and visitors value because the pieces are set into the home construction. When we are talking about aesthetics, the reasons to use pavers in multiple areas of your home primarily boils down to this built-in custom look and permanence. The same comparison can be said between the value of a built-in fireplace and an electronic one that is simply propped up against a wall. We all know which component would add more value to the home.