With a little bit of planning, updating your garden paving can make a significant difference to the look of your outdoor space. And with a wealth of choice, there’s a trend to suit every style and budget.
Organic modern is a popular interior design look that’s starting to make its way out into the outdoor landscape, too. This trend leans toward organic shapes and curves, with softer hardscapes like a crunch of gravel underfoot on pathways, naturalistic stone pavers defining an outdoor patio, or a heritage vine overhead on a pergola or trellis.
Paving options that feel fresh and modern also work with this aesthetic, such as brushed or textured surfaces. These give a clean, contemporary feel to modern garden paving trends designs and offer unique flecks that aren’t found on riven-finished paving. Paving manufacturers are offering more and more choices in textured paving, from simple pavers that are buffed to smooth for a clean look, to pavers that are rough cut for a more rustic appeal.
One of the biggest paving trends for 2023 is a move away from dark colours, and instead embracing a palette of soft blues and purples that look more in keeping with the natural landscape. This reflects the growing interest in sustainability, as well as the desire to create a space that feels fresh and calm.
Adding a sense of movement to your garden is another big trend for this year, and one that can be achieved through the use of directional pathways. This can be as simple as laying a line of pavers on a 45-degree angle, as shown here, or a more complex pathway that incorporates stepping stones and gravel. This style works particularly well with modern paving styles, such as the herringbone pattern used here.
Pathways can also be a great way to reduce the amount of paving you need, as in this example where a simple gravel pathway takes you through the planting without requiring you to walk on the grass. The use of a mix of textured and glazed paving gives the whole area a really stylish look, while reducing maintenance to a minimum.
Another key garden trend for 2023 is the emphasis on accessibility, with many aging baby boomers now looking for ways to stay active in their gardens. This can be as simple as creating raised beds that don’t require bending down, or creating firm, wide pathways that are easy to navigate for people with mobility issues.
For a Mediterranean-style garden, Tom Massey MSGD has combined bespoke concrete cuboid steps with sandstone paving to create a stunning solution to a suburban slope. The use of contrasting materials and textures helps to define the different zones in the garden, while creating a strong visual link between the walls and the paving. This garden also demonstrates a trend for incorporating vertical planting to add scale and drama, and to tie the landscape together.