The border does serve a purpose. Depending on your climate and the soil in your area, as you use the driveway along with weather and heaving, the asphalt will have a tendency to want to spread and the driveway starts deteriorating at the edges. Vegetation wants to grow there also and forces up the edges of the asphalt. A solid concrete curb effect will do a better job if installed properly and will look better longer. The pavers or bricks will shift over time and become uneven and in my opinion, will not look as "tidy" over time. If its the concrete strips look you don't like, you can use some driveway sealer to cover them, to match the new driveway. Don't be taken in by the offer to seal your new driveway...it doesn't need it and will contribute to early failure. Use that money to have a good solid border installed. There are stamps that can be used on the poured concrete to give it a cobblestone look. If you want color, you can even tamp in dyes. That is being done to many bridges and concrete barriers these days to give it a more asthetic appearance.

A friend of mine in Connecticut went to the city of New Haven and obtained marble that was used as curbs in the city. They were removing the marble as they widened the streets and were putting in concrete curbs. The marble was slabs about 6 inches thick, 4 feet long and 12 inches deep. It took some digging on his part but really looked good. He then had the asphalt driveway "heat stamped" to give the whole driveway a cobblestone look. It looked good but I wonder what it will look like after a few snow plowings?

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I appreciate your comments. Based on what you have stated, I can see whay the concrete curb border may be the best situation for me, but I am still concerned about aesthetics. My contractor did tell me that he could pour the concrete in a different color (ie: black, etc.) but it would cost more money since they would have to clean out the cement truck. What other ideas can you come up with as far as how we can decorate the concrete curb in a cheap way. Can they put a texture on it in some way. I am still hung up a bit on the need for beauty and just think that a standard concrete curb is too plain compared to pavers/blocks, etc. As I stated before - my main concern is getting a good blacktopping job and the border being secondary. Thanks.

Frank....for around 12 bucks you can buy a 5 gallon bucket of airport runway quality asphalt sealer. You paint that onto the concrete and it will match the new driveway. That will be inexpensive and last almost forever. Don't forget, a proper border is as important as the driveway itself. Not just for looks but for long term integrity of the driveway.