With outdoor projects underway from early Spring right through to late Summer and early Autumn, one of the top questions customers ask is ‘what is the best outdoor paving for patios?’. When choosing natural stone tiles for your garden, it is helpful to understand the different products on the market, their benefits, and their characteristics. We have put together a simple overview of each material for outdoor paving and why they could be the best patio slabs for your own space.
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Natural Stone Patio Slabs Ideas
Natural Stone is a material that has been used for centuries across the world. The beauty of natural stone patio slabs is the variety of colours, finishes and unique characteristics – offering something for every garden paving project. As direct importers since 1995, we have dedicated much of our time sourcing the most beautiful natural stone patio slabs for your outdoor space. Our range of premium natural stone paving are marked as frost resistant – making them suitable for outdoors and in a 20mm or 30mm thick tile. Natural stone exterior tiles will also lighten slightly and season overtime, giving a lived-in and enduring look to your garden space. We advise sealing stone pavers upon installation which will act as a protective barrier against water and any potential staining.
Dijon Limestone Outdoor Tiles
Dijon limestone is a sedimentary rock, formed over millions of years. A combination of sediments, broken seashells, coral and the remains of aquatic animals deposited on the waterbed, slowly compresses over time into a hard rock. This makes limestone an extremely hardwearing and practical material and one of the best paving slabs for garden patios. As specialists in Dijon limestone, this natural stone continues to be a popular choice for outdoor paving. The mineral and fossil details evident in this stone, make it a forgiving choice for both interior and exterior applications, with soft beige tones and available in a variety of finishes from tumbled, brushed to seasoned. Photographed Dijon tumbled and Dijon seasoned.
Large Grey Flagstone Paving
A favourite for several reasons would be the Farrow Grey tumbled limestone paving. This flagstone paver features subtle tonal variations from dove grey through to soft anthracite with fossil details and warm hues blending effortlessly. Its timeless charm, durable nature, and ability to complement a range of garden styles make it the perfect option for patio slabs ideas – from a cottage garden to contemporary new build garden. Another choice would be our Clermont Gris aged tumbled limestone paving with its fossil details and aged tumbled finish for a rustic grey flagstone. Limestone with a ‘tumbled’ texture and finish also provides enough grip for outdoor areas, ensuring they are safe surfaces for those with young children or pets.
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Honey Beige ‘Cotswold Style’ Limestone Pavers
Whether you live in the Cotswolds or simply want to create a Cotswold style natural stone patio, there are plenty of ‘honey beige’ limestones that will bring warmth and a rustic feel to a garden. Our top choices would be the Sorrento aged tumbled limestone pavers loved for its rustic charm with a textured 'aged tumbled' finish and warm beige tones. For a honey toned tile, the Tuscany seasoned limestone paving ticks the boxes with a textured ‘seasoned’ finish, as well as rich fossilisation resulting in a characterful and durable patio paver.
Herringbone Paving Outdoor Tiles
Herringbone paving continues to be a trending addition to a garden space or patio, providing both charm and practicality with a decorative look from the popular herringbone pattern. The beauty of limestone stackers or brick tiles is their versatility in different sized spaces, from garden pathways to driveway patios, these smaller format pavers are wonderful at zoning patios and gardens. Photographed are our Dijon tumbled limestone herringbone paving
Stone Effect Porcelain Patios
When it comes to stone effect porcelain tiles for patios, the market can feel a little overwhelming with the vast amount of options! Porcelain is a man-made product that has seen significant advancements in the last few years. It is made of a combination of materials to form a clay that is then fired at an extremely high temperature – resulting in a strong and robust paver. All our porcelain slabs are sourced from Italy or Spain who are the leading manufacturers with state-of-the-art machinery using the highest quality porcelain clay. Some porcelain paving may be marketed as very cheap, but the quality of tile and realistic print may not match those of a premium outdoor porcelain paver. Stone effect porcelain is a wonderful choice being near enough stain resistant and will not lighten or fade in colour when used for exterior paving. Nearly all porcelains do not require sealing.
Tumbled Effect Porcelain Pavers
Contemporary Porcelain Paving
For those wishing to create a more contemporary feel to their outdoor space, there are plenty of other porcelain prints and styles that are the best paving for patios with modern designs. Most stone effect pavers come in large format sizes of 800x800 or 900x600 - ‘rectified’ porcelain also allows for ultra-narrow grout joints which helps achieve a sleek appearance keeping the focus on the tiles themselves. Along with its stain resistant qualities, many ranges of porcelain also carry more consistency in colour and tone than real stone, which will really help add to the contemporary porcelain paving look!
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White Limestone Effect Porcelain Paving
The Tiverton White Pearl is a best paving slab for its limestone effect look but with clean rectified and straight cut edges. Showcasing soft off-white tones with realistic flecking, this consistent paving tile works wonderfully in our customers outdoor garden space with modern wood cladding. When choosing a grout colour, select one slightly lighter or the same colour of the stone to create a natural and continuous look from tile to tile.
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Modern Square Stone Effect Porcelain Slabs
The Arlington Light Mist stone effect patio slabs are also perfectly suited for contemporary porcelain paving ideas. In a large 800 x 800 square format, this paver has lovely flowing movement throughout with subtle quartzite-effect detailing in a neutral beige to cream tone. These modern square stone effect slabs complement perfectly with Cotswold stone gravel for edging or with the slabs as stepping stones.
FAQ’s On Outdoor Paving and Tiles
What size should you choose for paving slabs?
Ultimately the decision is down to your own personal preference. We find larger format always look best whatever sized area your patio may be – majority paving slabs are 900x600, 800x800 or ‘Free Length’ formats of 500xFL or 600xFL. Large format paving slabs result in less grout joints and more emphasis on the tiles themselves. They are also great for the best coverage and least wastage as less cuts are needed for installation. Read more on our tile size guide here.
How do you clean patio tiles?
Limestone and porcelain patio tiles are simple to maintain and are very forgiving in nature. Part of the charm in limestone is that it will age and season, but there are still ways to clean your patio tiles and bring them back to their best – sweeping away leaves and debris, jet washing seasonally with a stone friendly cleaner and resealing every year are a few key tips, learn more on how to clean outdoor natural stone tiles. We also have a post on how to clean outdoor porcelain tiles which is helpful in cleaning your patio slabs.
Do you offer patio paving samples?
Yes, we do! A great starting point for any garden project is to order your complimentary patio paving samples. As well as visiting one of our UK tile showrooms to see large displays, we know seeing samples in your own space is a really helpful guide. Each sample is carefully packed by a member of our team and delivered straight to your door. You can order your free tile samples on every product page using the ‘add free sample’ button – once you’ve finished your selection (up to 4 free samples), simply go to your shopping cart and check out by filling a few details.
