I agree that the 50s look was all about modern and also that the concrete isn't unattractive. However, there are veneers out there with modern appearances if you want to change the look. You don't have to go with something like flagstone. I don't suggest a natural stone, either. I live in clay/quarry country and it's a common product and there are several outlets for it in our little community. My husband and daughter have done a lot of natural stone work outside on our grounds, but when we wanted a product to use on our house, itself the salesman at the quarry suggested a manufactured veneer. It's made of concrete and has a lighter weight, but looks so natural you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. It not only comes in stone, but brick, and very decorative concrete block styles suitable for a house in your style. You may want to check something like this out.

You're welcome! maire_cate - No pool, but the existing patio does get slippery when wet, especially when I am in flip flops. tinam61 - Our patio was poured, and then it was suppose to be acid stained. Instead, they rolled some type of stain on top, and then sealed it. As I said, the inside has held up with two more applications of sealer in the last 5 years. The outside has actually been re-stained (after the first season and flaking began)and has been sealed 4 times. Yes, the overlay has color applied before the epoxy is poured. Are you thinking of having the lower driveway done with stamped concrete, or brick pavers? If you are in an area that gets lots of snow (and salt) I would not try the stamped concrete. My neighbor has has his torn up and redone, and still had it ruined over the winter with the salt trucks. susieq07 - I've seen your driveway before. You've had that quite a while. Has it held up well? Talked to DH today. We are going to wait for the estimates to come back on our project. If the numbers are within our budget, I think we are going to go ahead and either add to the existing pad before having a coating put on it, or tear the pad up and pour a larger pad. We could also do pavers instead of a concrete pad. Maybe the yard would not get as torn up if we are just taking out the old pad, and not having to have a new pad poured. Again, it all depends on the expense and our budget. I wish for a larger patio to be able to serve our needs. Here is the rest of what we are doing. Pergola will be attached to house. So instead of four columns, we will have two. This will improve our siteline from the house and screen porch. From backyard looking at patio and screened porch From backyard with pergola mock-up From backyard with pergola, grill enclosure and fireplace mock-up Fireplace and/or pergola examples that I like. We are not sure whether to go with brick to match our house (if we can find it) and use stone accents like this. There would be seats on either side and the chimney will be higher to tie in with pergola. I like this the best, but chimney would not be quite this tall because we will have gas. Take away the two columns, and scaled down a bit, plus add the seats. Original dream photo. I've hung onto this for a couple of years. Saw this at General Shale yesterday and was determined that this was it! Today, I am having second thoughts that it may be TOO formal. Plus, the white detailing may become a headache for cleaning. I think that I'd rather go with detailing like the following photo, whether used with stone or brick. Did I tell y'all that we will also be improving the looks of the screened porch post? Instead of the solid paint stain on rough treated post, and the vinyl cladding on the outside of the porch, we will have the post re-wrapped with a smooth paintable wood and then redo the screening and trim them out. Again, this is something with can put on the back burner if needed. After all, I just stained the post last summer. Throw in some landscaping, lighting and furniture, we will be all done!

You can use everything from interlocking deck tiles (which are really cool and easy to do yourself)over concrete or perhaps concrete stamping would be a better solution and can be used on a porch or patio. Both can be done directly over your concrete porch and give it an entirely updated and unique look. There are a multitude of different products available to do just what you are looking for.

Don't do it! If you want "texture" go with a high-end stain+epoxy finish with the LOOK of stamped (some of these guys are ARTISTS who LOVE to create a "look" using stains and etchings...some of them will get a "wood texture look" with just stain...truly stunning). If you are going to have "finished" concrete floors, you need to tell the concrete slab guys BEFORE they pour, not after!!!! They will need to revise their estimate to INCLUDE a high-end concrete finish = micro-topping. They can do this....so long as you TELL THEM. Don't spring this on them AFTER the darn thing is poured. Your cost will go up astronomically. And I'm not kidding on that. Poured concrete for a slab is NOT ready "to be finished". Too many people believe they can save money by finishing their slab as "concrete flooring". They find out (later) they were wrong. That "finished" concrete is EXPENSIVE. More expensive than a decent laminate+labor ($4 + $2 /sf). A finished concrete floor is a LIFESTYLE choice (ahem...$Mill homes, condos, etc). They are stunning. They are expensive. And they are often covered up (by regular home owners...not millionaire homeowners) inside of 7 years. Why? Because they are HARD to live with (hard on the feet, ears, etc). Ask yourself why you want finished concrete. And then ask the concrete people how much they would charge EXTRA to prepare the slab for "finished concrete floors". I think you will be surprised by the up-charge.