Honestly, I think it really comes down to how do the two materials compare to each other visually? Do you have a pic? Also what will the long-term color of each be in about 5 years.

I suspect that a pre-fab kit of the circular pavers was selected, which is saving you $$ on the project, so be careful what you wish for!

thanks for the feedback, isabella. we are leaning toward doing the whole thing in pavers... your note about colors changing over time is a good one -- hadn't thought of that at all!

ribidibi

here's a plan i put together using the SmartDraw landscape tool -- broke my toe on Saturday and was bored and needed to keep my mind off the pain, so put this together over the weekend. it gives a little better view of what the final design is: {{gwi:41289}}

they don't have a circular paver tool, so i just used a gradient to give the idea of the circle. now, though, i'm concerned about color changes in the pavers -- the bricks are about 50 years old, so they are what they are. do pavers really fade?

We have one section of our yard where there are six different types of paver within a small area, due to some quirks in the layout. None of them is brick, but the circle is in a brick tone. The Roman pavers (large area, right forefront) are a brownish tone. How they go together might give you some perspective.

It won't surprise you to hear that I think you will be fine with the combination. The fact that the different colour will be making a different shape means that the difference will look deliberate, and designerish. It's actually a very clever solution for combining materials and differentiating areas.

And yes, everything fades and is subject to other colour-changing influences, from dirt brought down with the rain and leaves that fall and leave marks (this is when you remember that dyes are often made from leaves!) to sun bleaching. It's called "weathering," and everything does it!

KarinL

{{gwi:41290}}

Thanks so much for the picture -- that does help with the visualization. We're going to talk to our landscape architect again about it -- he may be able to bring us several color selections of pavers to look at in the yard itself to get a better idea.

Smiles... ribidibi

My inlaws have a circle of granite in a brick patio. I like the contrasting colors and textures of the gray and red brick, so my tendency would be to do gray pavers with the red brick, using it to define the different patio areas.

Here I am, years later. with a photo of the patio. We did use the red brick and grayish pavers. We love the look. The best part is the grandkids playing with their wooden trains on a flat surface! Please excuse the messy table - playing dominoes, having breakfast on the patio and reading the paper.

it's not messy -- it's in use! and what else would you have done all that work for if not to improve the functionality and beauty? nice!

So nice to see the finished project. Looks like a well used area. :)

What us the smaller grey circle for in the red brick toward the lower right hand side? Decorative only? Looks like a nice touch to me .

The smaller 'medallion' caught my eye too! It makes a very nice accent.

That's quite a train rack there! It's great that you have the space for it.

They ended up with a different design pattern in front of the porch than is shown on the plan. If you look closely, you'll see the brickwork pattern with the smaller round medallion in the middle. It is centered on the porch and looks so nice. One other interesting thing they did for us -- we have an electrical outlet coming up from the center of the big medallion, so that we can use the electric griddle to make pancakes, etc., out on the patio in the summer for the grandkids (without any extension cords, etc.). Love it! The boys really enjoy playing outside on the patio. And we love sitting out the reading the Sunday paper and enjoying our coffee. So glad we were able to do this!

Thanks for the follow-up photo. It's always nice to see what folks end up with after asking here. It looks like a well-loved and easy to use space.

I think the 2 different colors and materials look great. It adds visual interest.