Link: http://www.pacificpavingstone.com

If you've been following these posts on the subject of patterns, you'll have noticed the similarities between how paving stones can be installed and other materials, like bricks in a wall or even woven materials such as basket work.


Here is another paving stone design that borrows from a different field: parquet flooring.

Instead of small wood panels, of course, this design uses interlocking paving stones, but the benefits of an attractive look on the one hand, and the physical strength of the interlock on the other, are the same. An entire patio design or paving stone deck can be laid out in a parquet pattern and will just look gorgeous. Although this design is a little more complex than some of the others we've looked at, it requires no additional time to install and still uses only a single, rectangular shape in a repeating pattern to achieve its effect.

The pattern can be laid square, as it is in the diagram on the left, or "offset" as in the one below. The square pattern creates long, straight seams that can be an effective design element in a walkway, for example, or in situations where you want to complement the shape of a narrow patio or deck.

The parquet pattern works well with a single color of paving stones, but varying it with two or even three colors can create and exciting finished look that speaks volumes about the elegance and beauty of a home and its environment.

In upcoming posts, we'll look at what can be done with square stones, and the almost infinite variations that can be created by mixing different sizes and shapes of paving stones within a single design.