Decorative concrete flat work and most hard exterior surfaces are traditionally just a finish over the extent of the project. This can be for a number of reasons, including additional cost to the contractor, availability of materials, or even lack of vision.

The best way to add a wow factor to any Area ID by incorporating the use of other elements in the design. This could include using borders, patterns, or dividing the large area into smaller sections and using contrasting finishes and textures to give the area more visual interest.

Most homes will have more than one finish on their exterior. For example, you might have a brick home that has a tile roof or a plastered exterior with a colored tin roof. If a house were just a large box of the same color and texture, it wouldn’t gain much interest. Your concrete or paved area should be no different. Some simple examples would be for the main area in a concrete colored to match the colors of your home’s walls and having only one contrasting color to match the color of your ceiling or vice versa.

There is nothing right or wrong when it comes to choosing these effects, it all comes down to a matter of taste.

Another way to divide the extension is to add a motif or emblem to the area to draw attention to the space. In a business setting, this could be your company logo or tagline. In a private residence, it could be that they add a design to the center of your driveway or a design to the middle of your patio area. Designs in the center of a driveway can scream elegance and can look high class if done tastefully.

By using contrasting textures you can also get the added benefit of combining finishes that are not as decorative but sturdy and dressing them up with a very high-end finishing edge or adjoining section that doesn’t get as much traffic. What is very popular is having a very low maintenance and strong surface like exposed aggregate concrete for the main section of the driveway and possible turning circle that wears the most and uses a more elegant finish on the edge or driveway principal. that’s not gong to take the same beating. In this way, there is no risk that the finish will deteriorate more expensively over time.

With the wide range of finishes available today and almost unlimited access to products that are so readily available compared to twenty years ago, the only limitation you really should have is your imagination and budget.

Take the time to search the internet for inspiration and talk to various contractors before starting your project to get the most practical and aesthetically pleasing space possible.