I like complement much better then match. Go get several samples that seem to interest you and place them in the yard .. anywhere near where you are going to build your patio. Go sit for a while in the yard .. the stone that calls you to it first is the right stone. Just sit .. don't think. It will happen. Good Day ...

I would be much less bothered by details not being worked out to perfection than I would if the overall scheme was not worked out so as to function properly. If this house was newly built and had no walk or drive at all, would we be installing a drive whose left edge cut rightward at a pronounced angle (so one would back out of the left side of garage and run off the drive if they weren't being careful.)? You might examine the sidewalk issue by pretending that neither drive or sidewalk exist ... and how would you make them if you were starting from scratch? Working out the geometry of the layout would be the most important thing to get right. Once that is known, you could see how the existing surfaces can conform to the desired outcome. If the surfaces are in good shape, you could probably add on to them with the same material and obtain an integrated appearance. That has more appeal to me than adding bluestone or something else to the mix. Depending on the layout, it might work out so that another material could be added, but I'd want to see the layout first. If the string and stakes represents a new walk, you should think about making it a little wider. Also, why do you wish to have a separate walk when the drive and walk are in close proximity? In general, I think of "modern" as simpler, more direct and well functioning. (Modern people don't like to put up with things that don't work well.)

Ordinarily I would find myself in agreement with almost anything Gardengal would recommend, but not in this case. Setting concrete stones at or slightly below the level of existing grass is going to result in constant dirt washing onto the soil with a sandy soil mix, and in a high desert with the constant need for irrigation for a lawn, it will also tend to wash the dirt onto pavers. I personally wouldn't want all that lawn in a climate where it will increase your water bills so tremendously, but recommended mowing heights for a Tall Fescue/Blue Grass lawn mix will be 3 inches, so having it slightly raised about 1/2 to 3/4 inches isn't going to create problems for the lawn mower. Don't forget that when rain does tend to come, as infrequent as it is, it can be the season total all at once, again likely to wash soil onto surfaces that are set too low. As to a pathway set right up against the house, it is a more common design detail in contemporary as well as spanish influenced designs, and can be a classic Spanish/Californian design detail. A desert garden doesn't lend itself to the PNW garden style with tons of foundation plantings; more widely spaced plantings and more sculptural plants placed in a more architectural or natural to the desert way seems more sympathetic to the surroundings to me. I can understand the desire to have a large green lawn in the high desert, especially if you are used to British Columbia conditions, but it is not practical in the long run, and lawn substitutes make more sense. I guess you will have to suffer through ever increasing water bills and constant battles to keep the lawn alive and looking good to understand the potential wisdom of working with your climate instead of against it. A Kentucky Blue Grass lawn doesn't even make much sense here in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they tend to want to go dormant in the summer heat and take much more water and care to keep looking decent than other lawn grasses. I'd suggest that you look into real water miser grasses such as Buffalo Grass for the high desert. Admittedly it will go winter dormant in your area, but it fills in quite quickly with desert heat, and needs hardly any water in comparison to cool season turf grasses such as Tall Fescue or KBG. If your area has a good low water demonstration garden to visit, I'd recommend a visit. Most California Water Districts do have such a display garden to show the merits of plantings that take less water and care. There is a very nice Display garden in Las Vegas, which isn't exactly close, but is similar in climate to your conditions, and illustrates the wealth of plants that actually make sense in your climate.

We are planning for a new front yard walkway. I'm deciding between pavers and concrete, but leaning more towards pavers. I'm unsure of what design to go with. My choice of color will be slate with charcoal as the borders. I'd like to see what others have decided on. Thanks!