mixing paving materials

Mixing too many paving materials can be bad for your health. Somehow this intersection of cobble stone curbing on a chip and seal gravel driveway, brick banding around terracotta pavers and a richly mulched planter all seem to blend pretty harmoniously. Send in other images of blended materials that you think either work or fail.

stone pool steps and coping

Real stone is not recommended for submerged use like pool waterline tile and steps because the chlorine and other chemicals can fade the stones color quickly. Although, if you have a rugged stone such as these flagstones and don't mind a little color fading, stone steps in the pool can be a very handsome look.

mosaic pool tile

The gold leaf tiles really glisten in the pattern of this mosaic pool tile. This is the indoor pool at Hearst Castle.

antique limestone paving

This antique limestone paving without filling in the interior of Hearst Castle looks a lot like travertine. It has a nice patina to it that only comes with age. You can darken stone with tinted sealers and stains, but the color will be much more uniform than this.

terracotta and flagstone

It is unusual to see terracotta paving transition right into flagstone paving. This is a Hearst Castle patio leading onto a stone pathway.

banding tile on banding tile on concrete

Here is a more elaborate version of the tile banding on concrete paving. This is exposed aggregate, salt finish concrete with terracotta tile banding. The tile banding pavers also have decorative rope style tile banding on them. This is another exterior paving style at Hearst Castle.

basket weave terracotta paving

This basket weave terra cotta paving layout has random decorative tile inserts as well as plain, matching terra cotta tile inserts. Sometimes it looks even better with fewer decorative tiles and more plain ones. This is another paving style outside of Hearst Castle.

terracotta steps with decorative tile risers

These are classic spanish style steps with terracotta tile treads and decorative tile risers at Hearst Castle. I like the varying tread width on curving steps.

terracotta banded concrete

Even concrete can be beautiful with the right finish and banding. This exposed aggregate, salt finish concrete looks great with a simple terracotta banding at Hearst Castle.

brick and painted tiles paving

This is a nice weave pattern of brick with hand painted clay tiles in the spaces. This paving is in one of the outdoor patios of Hearst Castle.

marble pool rails

These are beautiful, solid marble handrails at the Hearst Castle Neptune pool. If the pool stair rails are marble, you can imagine the house.

cobble steps with planted joints

Here is another example of river rock or cobble stone steps, but this set has planted or soil joints where plants have been allowed to fill in. The planted joints have a more natural, rustic appearance compared to the mortared joint cobble stone steps.

cobble steps with large mortar joints

These cobble steps probably started out as planted joint or sand joint cobble paving and the mortar was added later. It even looks like the mortar has faux joints within its lines to appear like more cobbles.

brick banding and terracotta paving

I wouldn't normally use brick and terracotta together, but if you get complimenting hues like this terracotta field with a brick band you can pull it off.

limestone fountian coping

For a French taste, use a carved limestone coping for your fountain or water feature as well as a antique terra cotta adjacent paving.

brick lawn step

A lawn step is just as it sounds, a step in the lawn. It can be gentle or have a sharp change in grade to be used just like a hardscape step. Using a brick riser and tread for a lawn step can give a rustic idea a sophisticated look.

Gravel ranch road

There are two ways to skin a cat. You can create a meadow ranch road by driving in the same path over many years, or you can choose your favorite gravel (gravel here is California Gold), have it compacted in the tire width of your choice and hydroseed the surrounding area and middle strip with a meadow grass seed mix like this Eco-Lawn shown here.

flagstone path process

Here you can see a mid-construction view of a large and small combination flagstone path. The stone is river rock and random Bluestone.

travertine pool coping on a zero edge pool

This is a great example of a natural finish, travertine pool coping used with a zero edge detail. On a zero edge design, the water comes up over the coping. This pool also has a lawn adjacent to the coping instead of a deck.

Granite cobble stone driveway

Natural cleft granite cobble driveways with grout joints on a concrete base can make a house look completely finished and refined. Cobble paving gives age and credibility.

Broken concrete tree well

Using broken concrete as walls and landscape elements is much better looking than it sounds. Here you can see a hillside tree well built out of dry stacked broken concrete.

Santa Barbara Stone Paving

Santa Barbara limestone paving on a patio or pool deck with rectangle edger stones and flagstone field has a nice casual but nice look.

Herringbone Brick Paving

Old brick laid in a herringbone pattern with grout joints is nice for driveways and patios.

Limestone Pool Coping

Santa Barbara Limestone pool coping with a snapped edge, natural finish and ceramic waterline tile.

Old Mossy Brick

Basket pattern brick in the border of a lawn makes a nice pause for a bench or found piece.

gravel with stone curb

A simple gravel or chip and seal paving looks great with a limestone edger or curb.

Handmade blue ceramic tile and flame finished bluestone pool coping

Terra Cotta Tile with cut patterns

Close-up of handmade green pool tile by Lascaux

Handmade green pool tile and matching green pool plaster

Painted concrete pavers

Old 1920's style random concrete pavers with mortar joints and painted accents.

Granite Cobble in driveway

Antique granite cobble on a driveway gives an old world look.

Acid Wash Concrete

Integral color, acid wash concrete driveway leaving lots of tire marks.

Green Ceramic Tile

Custom 2"x2" green ceramic, hand dipped tiles. Perfect for a fountain or decorative paving.