Hard landscaping remains a popular aspirational development for many homeowners and the good news is that there’s a vast range of products with differing textures, colours and finishes available. This handy guide will explore how to get the choice right outdoors and how different materials form different aesthetics.
Here at Natural Paving Products, we have natural stone options to suit any project. Whether it’s creating a modern look with our Premiastone collection, adding a touch of heritage with our Cragstone range or sticking to the timeless with our Classicstone selection. Across these three paving collections alone are 33 different flagstones, giving builders and self-builders alike endless possibilities in crafting their dream garden.
If you’re looking to bring an indoor look outside, porcelain is a fantastic choice. Always choose a flagstone that is 100% porcelain, like Natural Paving Product’s Vitripiazza range. Some suppliers offer ceramic flagstones with a porcelain top layer, which adversely affects performance and should be avoided.
If a more traditionally-styled environment is preferred, opting for clay is always a smart choice. Our Baksteen Clay Pavers are an extremely versatile option, which can complement any project, from peaceful pathways to vibrant gardens. What’s more, self-builders can use different sets of Baksteen Clay Pavers to design unique patterns and create some very personalised spaces.
Raising the bar
Toby Stuart-Jervis, Commercial Director for Bradstone, reveals its Next Generation Concrete for garden patios.
The continued interest in high-end, contemporary design outdoors means the bar is constantly being raised on what is expected from paving products. These days, whatever look can be achieved indoors, homeowners are looking for externally too.
With the cost of paving itself relatively low, in comparison to the overall cost of a garden landscaping job, more and more consumers are investing in premium paving that will continue to look good and stand the test of time. This means qualities like colour longevity, stain resistance and finish are becoming increasingly important for the homeowner.
Bradstone’s new ‘Next Generation Concrete’ range allows beautiful, unique designs to translate to paving that are simply not possible to achieve with other materials. This means you can have a stunning weathered marble effect, for example, or an ultra-contemporary metallic effect that are each extremely resistant to stains, fading and algae.
A pre-applied coating means it is effortless to keep clean and you don’t have to worry about sealing it yourself.
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FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL
A new patio is a fantastic addition to any home, providing an eye-catching focal point to a garden, as well as creating additional usable space. Any patio project will only be successful if the sub base has been prepared correctly, therefore getting the foundations right is vital. Online tools such as Marshalls’ Paving Planner can be a great help to any project by allowing the user to create plans, experiment with different laying patterns and quantify the amount of products needed.
