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Landscaping & Garden Design

Garden Paving Ideas

June 28, 2012

Wondering where to start with your new garden layout? We’ve collated some of the garden paving ideas found across our website to get you thinking. Use the links below to find more info in each section.

Matt Haddon's Silver-Gilt winning show garden at RHS Tatton 2018 combined Black granite paving with clay pavers.

Defining the style of garden

So much choice in garden paving can be daunting. Narrow your field by thinking about the style of garden you'd like.

Traditional

Flowerbeds, winding paths, lawn. Is this your ideal? Generally, when people design a traditional garden they opt for sandstone paving, tumbled paving or even reclaimed Yorkstone. This is because these are more rustic in their style and blend in well with traditional architecture. People usually opt for random-sized paving.

Traditional meets contemporary with reclaimed Yorkstone paving complementing the old brick wall and contrasting with the crisp lines of a sawn sandstone bench.

Contemporary

Minimalist gardens with clean, straight lines and bold, contrasting colours. Porcelain and sawn paving are particularly popular for this type of design. Paving is usually laid with single-sized slabs in uniform patterns. And of course, there are plenty of gardens which combine both elements in varying degrees. Knowing the underlying feel that you want, though, helps focus attention on the paving that will suit you best.

Crisp linearity made possible with Urban Grey Porcelain paving and downstand steps and DesignBoard Traditional in this design by Tom Howard.

Porcelain paving for modern, linear designs

Porcelain paving is first port of call for clean straight lines and bold contrasting colours. A manufactured paving, it offers choices that are very uniform in appearance with very precise dimensions, which is ideal for contemporary designs. In designs like these, it’s usually laid with single-sized slabs in regimented patterns. Porcelain offers plenty of advantages for the modern lifestyle.

Calm and traditional, Autumn Brown riven Indian sandstone looks the part in this shady patio by Steve Hooper Landscapes.

Sawn natural stone alternative to porcelain paving

Sawn stone paving also fits cleanly into a modern rectilinear layout, making it a viable alternative to porcelain, but there is likely to be more variation in colour.

Riven natural stone paving for a traditional feel

There’s a reason why Indian sandstone is so popular. Robust, with a natural, traditional feel and in a variety of colours and slab sizes, it needs little maintenance and blends with and enhances so many of the domestic homes in the UK. (The same can be said of riven limestone.) Its good value and colour variations make this a good paving for large areas. A perhaps surprising option is dark paving designs. Deep colours, in natural slate or limestone, are a way to add sophisticated drama to your garden, if you've rejected porcelain colour options.

Tumbled paving

An additional treatment to riven sandstone and limestone and clay pavers, tumbling creates the softer outline to paving slabs. This weathered appearance has a more relaxed feel and is an attractive choice for patios.

Play with the shape of paving slabs

The size of paving slab is an important element. This is partly down to the amount of jointing required, as pointing lines influence the feel of your design, but the flow of space can be greatly enhanced by larger slabs. Small gardens require carefully chosen paving, perhaps even more than larger areas.

Tumbled mint sandstone project packs are combined with matching setts for a random pattern than complements the house brickwork in this design by Piers Lidbury and Thistle Garden Services

Mixed-size slabs

Project packs contain a mixture of sizes which blend well together when laid. When you use paving slabs that are all the same size, joint lines are continuous in one or both directions, depending on whether you lay stack bond or running bond. This mixture of sizes make a laying pattern with a random feel. This can give a more laid-back vibe to patios and is often chosen to blend with older buildings.

Bespoke Mirage sawn sandstone planks combine with gravel to create an interesting paving outline in this show garden by Amelia Bouquet, built by Urban Meadows.

Plank paving

Among the many design ideas for plank paving, one of the most popular is combining it with gravel. This introduces plenty of crisp lines, while softening the effect with aggregate. Choose a gravel that contrasts with the paving to emphasise the linearity of the paving, or a matching colour to draw attention to textural changes.

Yard 1200x1200 paving helps emphasise the angled design of these steps with their minimal jointing, in this design by Kate Eyre Garden Design.

Large format paving

A modern approach, designing with extra-large paving slabs reduces joint lines, creating a sleeker, more seamless surface, especially if pointed with matching grout. These larger slabs are made possible by the porcelain material, which is lighter than natural stone. The contemporary feel is bolstered by porcelain's precision-cut edges, with no tolerance, allow very straight, slim pointing.

Other garden paving ideas

There's no need to limit your choice to natural stone or porcelain.

The contemporary colour and slim shape of Amersham clay pavers complements the rectilinear design of this garden by Adam Vetere.

Brick Paving

A traditional material that’s been used for centuries, clay paving adds warmth, texture and pattern, Clay brick pavers fit harmoniously into a range of gardens and are often used to complement older architecture and surroundings. However, the wide range of colours, as well as sleek, modern options such as the Alpha collection, mean that clay paving is suitable for modern properties too.

DesignBoard composite decking is a low-maintenance, contemporary choice as an alternative garden paving. Designer Dee Stewart chose Silver for this garden patio, built by Brockstone Landscape Construction.

Decking

Not the orange-stained wood that gets dangerously slimy in winter. Decking has become so much more clever. Good composite decking gives you the warm feel of timber without the headache of maintenance. Choose between the real-timber look of Millboard or add sleek lines with DesignBoard decking, with its variety of modern colours. Find more garden paving ideas in our landscaping design articles. Alternatively, gain inspiration by viewing our garden paving at a showroom near you. Post updated: October 2025