Picking the Right Paver Color for Your Project: Expert Tips

There is an astounding number of colors available to homes today; go into any hardware store’s paint department and you can marvel at the vast array of swathes available to decorate your home. It’s a big decision since it can be time-consuming and exhausting to redo the siding on your house or to repaint it. That’s why when it comes to choosing the right color for paving stones, there are a few things to consider.

While there are a number of colored patio pavers available to select from, not all of them will work well with the color of your home. Adding paving stones to your front yard, patio or backyard can greatly increase your home’s value and curb appeal when done correctly, but choosing the wrong one could result in a picture that isn’t taken out of admiration but rather confusion.

While you can sit and look at pictures of pavers all day to see if inspiration strikes, there are some general pieces of advice that you can follow to make sure that your new driveway, walkway, patio, stairs or accent walls will work well with your home’s existing color palate. Here’s a quick guide to selecting the right colored paving stones for your home.

Should Paving Stones Match or Contrast?

While matching your paving stones to your house can work in some instances, it is often advised to choose colors that are within the same color tone family rather than an exact match. When you match 1:1 with your home, it can blend as one continuous shade. On the other hand, choosing the exact opposite contrasting color (think blue and orange) will likely be too visually striking and distracting.

If your home’s color is within the grey family, choose a paving stone in the grey family that will work as a gradient upon inspection. If your home is a natural wood color, a grey stone with more blue can work well against it.

Another easy way to tell if a paving stone will harmonize with your home is to look at your roof. Red brick-like paving stones can play nicely with red roofs, while shades of grey will work well with charcoal-colored roofs.

Where Will You Put The Paving Stones?

Are you just replacing your driveway? Are you installing a patio or an outdoor kitchen? Will this be around a pool area or your garden?

If your garden is full of color, you may want a subtle grey to not draw eyes away from the lush greens and radiant reds. However, depending upon your plant life, a brick red paving stone may impart a feeling of warmth.

Pool areas, especially ones that will be in the sun most of the day, should be a lighter color to not absorb too much light and absorb heat. Conversely, walkways can benefit from a darker stone to hide any debris or stains that may pop up.

If you’re using a walkway to guide people to points of interest on your property, say an outdoor fire pit or a seating area, you may want to use lighter colors to stand out against the grass and to use as a shining path, especially if the destination is darker in color.

Can I Mix Colored Patio Pavers?

Using different colored paving stones to create internal contrast can work wonders for your hardscape designs. While we mentioned lighter stones around a pool area are beneficial to not absorb too much light to become hot, having darker stones placed throughout the pattern or along the pool’s edge can create striking visuals against the water. Similarly, having a darker stone on the border of a driveway or walkway can blend into your lawn and make a gradient effect. You can also use this little trick on your driveway as an outline to help yourself and your guests park.

Additionally, you can mix and match stones internally to make eye-catching patterns for your driveway, walkway and patio. Having accent stones breaks up the monotony and is an easy way to make an area stand out outside of your home.

If you have an outdoor kitchen that is lighter in color, consider using a darker paving stone to make things pop. Conversely, you can use lighter stones if your outdoor kitchen has a darker stone as the main color. If you have a lighter red, you can choose a darker red or almost orange to mimic the flames coming from the grill. If you have a beige, you can choose a gunmetal grey color to offset things.

Choose a Focal Point

We’ve mentioned this earlier, but making sure that the tones you choose for your paving stones depend on your environment is crucial; making sure the overall feel and harmony of the colors is paramount. If you want the patio area to stand out, choose more striking colors. If you want the color of your home to draw the eye, choose more muted paving stone colors that will keep things from clashing.

Putting it All Together

There are a lot of color combinations and options for colored patio pavers and driveways, so choosing correctly can be challenging. We recommend testing your vision before committing to laying down the paving stones – it’s easier to change directions if colors aren’t working in the planning stage than halfway through the job.

While no vision is necessarily wrong, you may not be doing your home justice if you choose a paving stone that doesn’t work with your environment or goal. Consulting a professional designer or contractor is often a wise decision as they have years of experience bringing dreams to life.

If you have any questions about colored patio paving stones, contact us today to learn more about our color and design options and to speak with one of our trusted contractors. Call or email us today to make your hardscape vision a reality.

We hope you found the article from Nicolock on picking the right paver color for your project both informative and helpful. If you’re interested in Nicolock products or other landscaping, masonry, and stone products, we invite you to explore our Products page. For additional assistance, please feel free to Call, Message, or Visit Us today. Our team is always ready to help you find the perfect solutions for your outdoor projects and ensure you achieve the best possible results.