9 Hardscape Materials to Pair With Brick for a Classy Look
See how to combine this time-honored paving material with other types, such as concrete and stone
Bill Cope Design, original photo on Houzz
Introducing color, texture and pattern all in one go, traditional brick can be a tricky material to combine with other paving materials. While you may not want to use only brick for patios, walkways and walls, mixing in other landscape materials, such as patterned stone, can create a clash. Before you invest in a new material for your landscape, take a look at these nine gardens that show complementary pairings with brick. Some are classic, and others may surprise you.
1. Concrete. Smooth cast-in-place concrete is a great material to bridge traditional brick with more contemporary styles. The concrete acts as a neutral foil to the pattern and color of brick paving. Here, a small strip of brick running through the poured concrete patio helps tie both materials together.
2. Cut stone. The trick to pairing natural stone with brick in a cohesive way is to get the tone right. If you already have the brick, bring samples of stone home and hold them up to the brick, looking for colors that run through both materials. Stay within the same tone (for example, golden brown-toned bricks with sandstone) or choose tones that complement each other (such as color-wheel opposites gray-green stone with salmon-colored brick).
3. Irregular flagstone. The informality of flagstone steppingstones set into grass gives a romantic cottage look to a more formal brick pathway running adjacent. As with cut stone, irregular flagstone comes in a wide range of colors. Choose stones in a hue that coordinates with the brick, paying attention to the color and tone of both materials.
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Traditional Landscape, original photo on Houzz
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4. Tile. Interspersing a few glazed tiles within brick paving works surprisingly well to bring color to a walkway. For this garden, the cobalt-blue tile pulls the color down from the doorway trim of the house for an integrated look. A simple, all-green planting palette draws attention to the hardscape materials and keeps the design from looking over-the-top.
5. Stone edging. Like tracing a drawing with a highlighter, adding a thin stone edging to a brick pathway focuses attention on the curve and form of the beds. Using stone edging is not only an aesthetic choice but also a practical one. In a hardworking potager garden, the slightly raised edge of the granite stones helps keep soil in the beds rather than on the pathway.
6. Gravel. Adopt a more informal style for a brick pathway by creating brick “steppingstones” surrounded by gravel. While darker and lighter grays both work well with brick, lighter gravel mixes stand out more in the landscape, while darker grays tend to visually recede.
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7. Wood. Pick up the rich red-brown colors of brick with a wood deck stained dark auburn. Look for opportunities to relate to the other colors in the brick — such as flecks of charcoal and dark blue — in paint colors of the home or outdoor furniture.
8. Granite. The cool blue-gray tone of granite complements warm-toned bricks in red-brown. Use recycled granite curbs as steps, or irregular granite slabs for walls or patios combined with brick.
9. Mixed materials. Using brick edging throughout the landscape can help tie together disparate materials, such as concrete pathways and flagstone terraces. If you’re connecting new brick-edged pathways and patios to older ones, keep a consistent brick pattern and — if possible — use the same bricks or match for color and texture.
