Brick pavers add character to your landscape, whether you’re choosing traditional clay bricks or concrete brick-shaped pavers. No matter the architectural style of your home, you’ll be pleased with the look. Here’s a guide to choosing brick pavers: What do the color and texture contribute to Macomb, MI, hardscapes? Brick pavers give you nearly endless design options to suit any decor.
Textures and Finishes
Brick brings a warmth to your landscape that is hard to match with any other material. Part of its charm is its texture. Brick pavers are available in various finishes ranging from relatively smooth to distressed. Weathered-looking bricks can add a relaxed “been there forever” look to your outdoor spaces—a beautiful contrast to sleek ultra-modern homes with minimal texture or a beautiful complement to traditional, contemporary, cottage, or rustic styles.
Read More: Smooth or Textured Pavers?
Texture is more than just tactile; it’s also visual. To create more visual texture, opt for jointing sand that’s lighter than the brick. For a more unified and simple look, use jointing sand that is the same color or very slightly darker. You can also use square bricks instead of rectangular bricks to minimize joint lines (and therefore texture).
Colors
With traditional clay bricks, you’re somewhat limited in colors, but that doesn’t mean you’re only limited to “brick red.” Clay bricks come in many shades of red (rust, pumpkin, and near-ochre reds) as well as tan, chocolate, light brown, bluish, gray, or charcoal. These can be used as the main field or as stunning accents to traditional red brick. Concrete pavers give you substantially greater color choices, including blended colors and finishes that you can’t find in clay bricks.
One tip you may hear is that you wouldn’t want to match your patio to the home’s siding. This can be overwhelming and wouldn’t give your outdoor space its own personality. A modern trend is to choose three complementary brick colors, and mix them randomly on site. This effect can add tremendous depth and interest to your outdoor spaces.
A brick patio can sometimes feel busy due to the relatively small sizes of bricks. For that reason, choose a maximum of three colors that work well together; for example, a warm reddish tone for the main field, and dual-color tan and charcoal accents. For a more subtle look, stick with one color and alter the laying pattern wherever more visual interest is desired.
Patio and Walkway Shapes
Brick (especially traditional rectangular shapes) lends itself to relaxed, organic spaces. Curved walkways feel more relaxed while straight lines give your landscape a more formal look. Bricks are especially charming on walkways: their slender shapes lend themselves to curves that encourage strolling through the landscape rather than rushing.
Learn more about the best paver patterns for curved walkways
Laying Patterns
The most common laying patterns for rectangular bricks tend to be running bond, herringbone, or basketweave; however, you don’t have to limit yourself to those. Skilled craftsmen can create stunning patios using circular laying patterns and fan shapes that add artistic expression and define spaces.
Square bricks can be laid corner-to-corner or in a staggered running bond. Achieve a unique and interesting look by alternating square and rectangular bricks. Either shape can be used as the main field, or as borders and accents. Vary the colors to create an even more dynamic space.
