Do you mean stain or concrete coloring? We used Buff in our driveway mix. I really like it because it's not stark and blends with the house, woods and stone better than plain concrete. Down by the street, we had to do so many feet of black - which fades to gray and looks like asphalt. Very expensive to do the darker color. Here's a photo showing both.

we had sort of the same type issue. We have a wooden deck on one side of the house, then this horrible dirt strip that wrapped around a patio and sidewalk to the front of the house. So we had to tie into an old concrete patio poured first, a newer brushed sidewalk poured some time later, and a wooden deck. We solved the thing by having new concrete poured over the entire dirt area. Then, a concrete restoration company came and stained all ages of concrete one color, taped it into random stones (you could do bricks or anything), stained it in about 4 colors, pulled up the tape and sealed the entire thing. It looks amazing, and was under $6000 in Southern California. This was about 700 sq. ft. You have a much smaller area, I think. I like the seating wall idea also!

Thanks for all the responses of support! I took about 30 pictures but made a mistake by not calling the police the same day. I had an impromptu work meeting pop-up and it forced me to fly out of town for 3 days. I'll probably call it in tomorrow. I'm sure my insurance would cover it but it's not worth the deductible + the higher premiums to follow. And I highly doubt they'll cover the cost to remove and recast a slab - over $12,000. So for now I just have to live with the graffiti. After I arrived today to see it again, it didn't look as bad as the morning after it was done. The 4 hours of wire brush scrubbing paid off at least a little. It's still awful though. If I find the kids that did it I'd love to shock them with a stun gun, just for a few minutes (or hours). I've been told that concrete can take up to 20 hours (in humid climates) to cure enough that it can't be scratched. Since 20 hours on a lawn chair is not realistic, I'm going to Sam's Club tomorrow and picking myself up a surveillance system. If they're brazen enough to come back - with cameras focused in on them - on the next pour, they'll be visiting the holding cell. I'll report back with what the police say.

All materials weather and deteriorate over time, but concrete is one of the best at holding up over a lengthy period. It may get stains and blemishes, but people accept these as part of the material. Every so often, pressure washing spiffs it up some. Overall, if not abused (with salt or something) it holds up better than asphalt. I live in Florida. My mom has a property down here in a snowbird park where the huge majority of people paint their driveway. Most do it as some way to add a decorative detail. Some do it because it makes the driveway easier to clean. Some do faux effects of various sorts, which for the most part look terrible. The plain, painted driveways look better. If the driveway surface is prepared properly (mainly clean and not too new) the paint sticks and holds up very well, though it fades from the hot sun over time. We (cuz I have to do it) and the neighbors have to repaint the drive about every 5 years. But it is easy with a roller. The hardest part is getting around to pressure washing it first. Some paint does pull off but it is only where idiot people turn the car wheel while the car is parked, before they start moving (for god knows what reason ...??) So it ends up being just where the front tires are parked. Usually, it ends up exposing a better adhered under-layer of paint, so it it not too bad. If you paint, I would definitely recommend a darker color to minimize sun glare. One next door neighbor has very light grey drive. I can't even walk on it with sunglasses with my eyes open, it is so bright in the summer. It might as well be a mirror.