Choosing The Perfect Paving To Pair With Your Pergola
Guest Post by Kelsey at Primethorpe Paving
A pergola can be the perfect way to add a final flourish to your garden that enables you to spend extra time in your yard, sheltered from the sun. We all love spending time outdoors and a pergola is a perfect way to make this more comfortable.
So, you’ve got your customer-designed pergola picked out and ready to go, but it needs something to sit on.
A paving slab base is an ideal alternative foundation for your pergola. They are decorative and varied – the paving slab you choose obviously has a huge effect on the look of the space. So how do you make sure you are making the right choice?
Design Goals Have the Biggest Impact
The largest impact on the best paving to pair with your pergola is going to be the design style of your yard. Western Timber Frame™ has 3 key styles of pergola: Traditional, Contemporary and Tuscan. Each one will pair effectively with certain types of paving, so it’s important to look at each in turn.
Traditional Pergolas – A Perfect Match with Sandstone Paving
The traditional design is all about a feeling orderly and clean, without feeling overly organized. This classic design style is perfect for pairing with a natural sandstone or slate paving slabs. Traditional style paving slabs have a natural ‘riven’ surface – you are using a natural material, much like what was used in the past. The best natural slabs to use you those with hand-finished edges, adding to that natural feel.
Raj Green paving slabs, for example, are the kind of natural paving slabs that would work perfectly with a traditional pergola. Sandstones come in all sorts of colors and styles, as do pergolas, so make sure that the color of your paving is going to match well with your pergola.
Overall, sticking with natural sandstone keeps your options open whilst guaranteeing you are going to get a product that matches well with your pergola.
Contemporary Pergolas – Porcelain Leads the Way
Contemporary pergolas are all about functionality. They combine straight lines and clean edges, with wide-open spaces for what is a relaxing, spacious area. When choosing the perfect paving slabs base, you want to choose something that is in keeping with this style. Clean edges, smooth surface and very exact. That’s why porcelain paving slabs are a perfect choice.
Porcelain slabs are machine manufactured, so it’s easy to create straight lines on your pergola foundations; which may not be so easy with a natural product.
A porcelain slab base is a choice material – they are anti-slip and low-maintenance so they are perfect for areas that will get a lot of foot traffic. They won’t take much upkeep once installed.
Tuscany Pergolas – Artistic License Welcome
If you have chosen a Tuscany style pergola, then your options are truly dependent on your artistic eye. These pergolas are designed to replicate the Renaissance style popular with master craftsmen of the era. They make you think of warm weather, sunny villas and vast vineyards in the distance.
Really, there are many types of slabs that will match well with a Tuscan style pergola, but it is important to keep it feeling light & bright. A Tuscan style is meant to invoke feels of warmth and comfort, so light colors are a must – the surface and style of the slabs are down to personal, artistic preference.
Light and bright “sandblasted” paving slabs can be perfectly paired with a Tuscan style pergola. They will keep the space bright and the added reds and oranges make space feel even warmer.
This style of the pergola is the one that’s going to be most open to interpretation. Get creative, but make sure you keep it bright if you want to get a true Tuscan/Mediterranean feel!
In Conclusion – Paving & Pergolas, The Perfect Pair
After choosing your perfect pergola, you need to make sure the paving slab foundation is going to help add to the effect you have set out to create. The important thing to decide on is the style you are trying to create and to make sure your paving is in keeping with that. We’ve tried to outline the best ways we think you can do this, but in the end, the choice is yours!
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