We spend a lot of time in our gardens throughout the year, and for many of us they’re a particular point of pride. So when it comes to making decisions about the colour, design and laying patterns of the natural paving stones you’ll use in your space, it makes sense that you’ll want to give those decisions some careful thought. After all, they’re not decisions you can easily undo!
That’s where we can help here at Bridge Street Stone. We’ve got natural Indian sandstone paving slabs in a range of colours and sizes, giving you plenty of freedom for you to express your own style in your garden. Here are a few of our top suggestions on how else you can do just that!
Experiment with sizes and patterns
In general, human beings like a certain sense of order - it tends to give us satisfaction and peace of mind. That’s one of the reasons that laying natural sandstone in neat, grid-like patterns remains such a popular choice for so many people when it comes to designing their gardens. Sawn sandstone is often used for these sort of patterns, which give the impression of a space that’s neat, polished and ordered. The understated tones of Kandla Grey and other sophisticated shades tend to lend themselves particularly well to this sort of pattern.
But those are far from your only options! We stock a wide variety of different sized paving slabs here at Bridge Street Stone, giving you plenty of freedom to experiment with how to fit them together. Using an assortment of different sizes and fitting them together in a less orderly fashion can help create a space with a more relaxed and informal atmosphere, and this is particularly popular for rural spaces and country houses. Or, you can use a combination of the two, by creating paving with a discernible pattern, but with just enough variation in there to keep things loose. It’s all up to you!
Think about a little bit of landscaping with your patio
Your experiments with sizes and patterns also opens up a whole new range of options in terms of how to fill the gaps between your paving slabs. For a more rustic look, you might want to think about grass, plants and herbs. Low growing herbs like thyme are fantastic ways to fill the space (and they smell great too), or you could choose more robust plants that are even more durable to the elements, so your paving slabs retain that element of colour all year round. If you’re planning on keeping that sense of variation in the way you lay your paving, you’ll find that plants and grass tend to suit them particularly well.
Alternatively, if you’ve got a more evenly-spaced regular grid pattern with your paving slabs, you can choose something like grass to fill the gaps in between, as it’s easy to maintain so that you can keep that neat, ordered appearance. There’s also another alternative, though…
Lighten up
Who’s to say your garden is just for enjoying during the day? By getting creative with your lighting for the space, you can enjoy it after dark as well - plus, it makes the place that much safer if you find yourself having to take any trips into the garden once the sun goes down.
Post lights are a popular choice for garden lighting, as they add a decent amount of illumination to eat or socialise with family or guests, without putting you under the harsh glare that wall or security lights tend to provide. There are plenty of affordable and efficient options available, as there’s no shortage of solar-powered or LED garden lights on the market. You’ll need to obviously think about placement carefully, as you want enough light to be comfortable and safe, but without so much that you end up washing out the space completely. There’s definitely a certain art in terms of picking how many to use, and where to use them!
Don’t forget to consider colour, as well. If you’ve got a space that leans towards being more sophisticated and contemporary, you might want soft white lights to enhance the feel. On the other hand, if you’ve got Autumn Brown Indian sandstone slabs or something in a similar colour, you can choose something warmer in yellow or orange, to really bring out the shade of your sandstone in the evenings and make things feel extra cosy.
Consider using aggregate between your paving slabs
Aggregate in this context tends to mean stuff like gravel, pebbles and small stones, provide a brilliant way of adding texture to your space. They can be used to fill the evenly-spaced gaps between your paving stones (especially if they’re something like Kandla Grey or Kota Black), which can add some extra visual interest. Or if you’d like, instead of laying the aggregate between your paving slabs you can instead use stones and small pebbles to establish a border, framing your paving area nicely.
Smaller pieces of sandy-coloured gravel or smooth pebbles in particular are great choices if you’ve got sandstone paving - something like our Gold Leaf natural stone, as it really enhances that lovely informal country garden feel.
Stepping stones
This one might not be for everyone, but it’s a wonderful whimsical way to link different parts of your garden, especially if parts of it are sectioned off with hedges or arches - it encourages a bit of exploration! Plus, in family homes you can even set things up so that children can play a casual bit of hopscotch. However, whether or not you want to paint your natural sandstone paving slabs is entirely up to you…
Whatever your plans for your Indian stone paving, you can count on us to have patio stones in plenty of colours and sizes for you right here at Bridge Street Stone, so you’ve got no shortage of choice in terms of achieving your vision! All are sourced directly from India, and we’re able to offer free delivery to most areas. To make an order, feel free to give us a call today on 01282 860571.