If you’re considering updating your patio, walkway, pool deck, or driveway this season, you may want to know about these 3 brick paving trends in 2021 for the Trenton and Brownstown Charter Township, MI, areas. Get inspired here, and then talk to your landscaping contractor to bring a beautiful vision to life!
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Why Brick?
Brick is durable, beautiful, low-maintenance, and versatile. When most people think of brick, they think of small, rectangular shapes made out of clay; this is of course a timeless option that works well with any architectural style. Clay brick is wonderful in that clay from different parts of the world can feature a huge diversity of color, depending on the clay used; and clay brick holds its color better than concrete brick. That’s right: brick can also be made using concrete, and concrete gives you a few more options in colors and finishes.
Bricks are a wise long-term financial investment in your landscape. They can be used anywhere around the home, including your driveway. This gives your landscape a finished look with continuity of materials that just get better with time.
One of the most wonderful features of brick is the variety of laying patterns that you can use to give your outdoor space personality that many other materials can’t match. From the intricate herringbone pattern to the simple running bond, to the chunky basketweave pattern to circular or free-form patterns, brick is incredibly versatile from a design perspective.
Brick can make a space feel more intimate. And depending on the color of the jointing sand used, your outdoor space can have a dynamic or a unified look (opt for light-colored jointing sand for a more textured appearance).
Here are some trends where brick is the ideal choice:
1. Sustainability
Many homeowners are trying to reduce their eco-footprint through the use of sustainable materials. When it comes to sustainability, you can’t beat clay brick. Clay bricks use natural materials and can be repurposed many times over. If one brick should chip or break, you can replace just the one brick without disturbing the rest of the surface.
While concrete bricks do have a bigger environmental impact during the manufacturing process, certain concrete brick products can be installed on a permeable base which allows rain and snowmelt to filter through the joints into a special substrate that slowly returns the water to the aquifer. On a solid surface such as asphalt, water pools, or runs off, which is not ideal; the permeable option is great for homeowners who want a better-looking driveway that also doesn’t have such an impact on the environment.
2. Designed by Nature
A back-to-nature trend means that landscape design is being increasingly driven by nature itself, and not man-made forms. People are gravitating toward natural color palettes and textures. These are inherently inviting and soothing and blend seamlessly into the surroundings. Brick helps to blur the line between man-made and natural, which makes it the ideal transitional material between the home and the landscape.
3. Creative Expression
Due to the size and shape of bricks, there is virtually no limit to the level of creativity you can unleash on your outdoor living spaces. From a simple technique of altering patterns to create “area rugs” to following the contours of a prominent feature that shares the patio’s space (such as a decorative boulder), brick is an incredibly flexible and art-friendly building material that lets you make a statement throughout your landscape.
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