Tips for Choosing the Colour for Your Pavers
When it comes to choosing outdoor pavers in Melbourne, you’re spoiled for choice.
You’ve got bluestone pavers, travertine in a variety of hues, teakwood tones, shades of sand, granite, limestone and much more.
Whether you’re looking for outdoor pavers or stone benchtops in Melbourne, picking the colour can be a tough decision.
So rather than wading through the nearly endless choices, we have a few tips to help you narrow down the choices.
Gather Inspiration
One of the best ways to decide on the colour for you outdoor paving is to gather inspiration. First and foremost, this means hitting the internet. Most paving suppliers and manufacturers will have galleries on their websites showcasing completed paving products. These are a great resource for getting ideas and inspiration.
Visual social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are also brilliant resources when it comes to design inspiration.
Landscapers and landscape architects will also showcase their work on their websites and social media accounts, and these can be a great source of ideas and inspiration.
Remember to bookmark the pages you like so you can discuss them later with your paving supplier or landscaper.
Consider Your Surroundings
If you’re paving a driveway, you might want to go for a paving tone that matches the colour of your roof to help tie the design concept together. Alternative, you might want to avoid a colour that matches the colour of your home. For example, a brick driveway next to a brick home can result in a look that is too red, where a grey or neutral paver would nicely offset the red brick of the house.
If you’re paving a backyard area, think about the tone and colours that dominate your garden. Or, if it’s a pool area, perhaps you want a paving tone that complements the blue of the water.
Don’t forget to make practical considerations when it comes to paving colour. If you’re paving a driveway, light colours can get discoloured by the rubber from your car’s tyres.
Tone
Before you decide on colour, you need to think about tone. When we refer to tone, we’re talking about how light or dark your pavers are, rather than the specific colour.
Light tones will make a space feel more open, while darker tones can create a cosier, warmer or more natural feeling.
Light tones will give an area a greater sense of light, but in direct sunlight they will give off a lot of glare.
Dark tones won’t reflect much light, but in direct sun they will absorb a lot of heat.
It’s important to think about how much direct sunlight your paved area will take in each day, as this may affect your decision.
Monotone vs Multicoloured Pavers
Do you want your paved area to be monotone (i.e. a single colour) or multicoloured? A monotone area offers a sleek, modern look that accentuates open spaces.
Multicoloured areas tend to blend better with outdoor landscaping, will hide stains better and are easier to repair or replace damaged pavers (since you don’t need to find an exact colour replacement).
If you’re considering a multicolour paved area, there’s a couple ways you can go about it. You can look for materials that have different natural patterns within each paver, like slate. Or you can go for monotoned pavers but vary the tone between paving stones. Bluestone pavers in different shades can be great for this.
Talk to Your Paving Supplier
Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, it’s time to speak to your paving supplier. Whether you’re looking for granite, classic travertine, or bluestone pavers in Melbourne, the pros will be able to work you through the different options and help you decide on the perfect paver to turn your outdoor area into and idyllic oasis.