15 Artificial Grass and Pavers Ideas for Your Outdoor Space
Growing natural grass in your backyard may prove impossible for various reasons. For most homeowners, extreme temperatures or intense shade may hinder natural grass from thriving. Regardless of the reason, your backyard shouldn’t look lifeless, as artificial grass and pavers can come in handy.
Artificial grass and pavers make it possible for homeowners to achieve the appearance of an upscale landscape without the high costs of regular maintenance. While installing them is a big project, the labor and upfront costs involved are worth it. Whether you want to liven your patio or create a mixed landscape, below are artificial grass and pavers ideas to explore.
1. Create a Sprawling Lawn
Artificial grass is a great solution for small and big lawns. You can improve your curb appeal by donning the entire front yard with artificial grass. While it may be costly, it takes away the time, money, and frustrations of maintaining your natural grass. Besides, you don’t have to water artificial grass. This makes it an eco-friendly upgrade and perfect for homeowners with tight commitments. You won’t ever need a lawn mower or chemicals in your backyard.
2. Combine Pavers and Artificial Grass in Different Designs
Combining pavers and artificial turf in different designs is probably the easiest way to improve your backyard appearance. You should consider these patio designs:
- Ashlar pattern – is the best option for homeowners who want a modern-looking backyard. It involves placing square pavers in alternating straight lines with synthetic grass in place of some pavers.
- Herringbone pattern – a unique and eye-catching pattern that is perfect for making a statement in your backyard. Rectangular pavers are placed at 45-degree angles with artificial grass in place of some pavers.
- Running bond pattern -it is a popular landscaping paver pattern because of its simple yet attractive appearance. Here, square pavers are placed evenly next to each other in straight lines.
3. Choose Artificial Grass and Paver Colors that Complement the Living Space
You can also use artificial grass and pavers to complement your living space. For instance, light-colored pavers are a great choice if your home has dark brown exterior walls. Similarly, your artificial grass should come in shades of light green.
On the other hand, if your exterior walls are light-colored, use dark-colored pavers and turf. You can also use light colors for paver seats and edges of your patio space.
4. Use Artificial Grass and Pavers on your Terraces
Another common artificial grass and paver yard idea is mounting a terrace with turf and pavers. You can install artificial grass with pavers on terraces in your front yard, backyard, or corridors. Bright-colored pavers are best for terraces overlooking the balcony and front yard, while dull colors are best suited for the backyard. You can use red or royal at the main door stairs and entrance and green in terraces in the hallway, kitchen patio, and backyard sitting areas.
5. Mix and Match Artificial Grass and Paver Textures
Mixing and matching artificial grass and paver textures is an excellent way to add visual interest to your patio and backyard. The best paver textures to consider include the tumbled, slate, flagstone, and non-tumbled pavers. Once you’ve settled on your preferred paver texture, weigh whether it complements synthetic turf with short, medium, or long pile height. You can use different pile heights for a dynamic patio appearance.
6. Create a Pet Paradise
Creating a pet paradise is another excellent artificial grass and paver idea. As the name suggests, this should be a small area for your dogs and other pets to play from. You should especially implement this idea during winter because artificial turf offers much-needed warmth to your dogs.
7. Complement your Outdoor Dining Area
Outdoor dining areas are slowly becoming a must-have for most homeowners. If you are in this fold, you can use artificial grass and pavers to improve the appearance and functionality of your outdoor dining area. Like with other options, the color of your turf and pavers matters. You should also choose chairs and tables that blend well.
8. Use Pavers and Artificial Grass Around the Swimming Pool
The swimming pool is undoubtedly the most valuable asset in your backyard. Using artificial turf and pavers in your pool landscape design can improve its appearance. For this, lay artificial grass with pavers some feet from the edge to complement your swimming pool’s finish. Don’t install grass very close to the edge to leave some space where swimmers can drain.
9. Build an Artificial Grass Driveway using Square Pavers
Building an artificial grass driveway with block or square pavers is probably the most basic driveway design. Ensure you leave gaps a few inches wide between pavers to minimize damage to your grass. Unlike natural grass, you won’t have to worry about too much maintenance for your artificial grass.
10. Create an Outdoor Playing Area for Children
Artificial grass is also perfect for smoothening your kid’s play area. Installing pavers and artificial turf in your backyard creates a perfect space where they can play freely without the fear of being dirtied by mud. The beauty of pavers and artificial grass is they are soft on the body and bare feet.
However, you should be cautious when shopping for pavers. You should choose specific types that aren’t hard on your kid’s fragile body. Soft options help them retain their bounce.
11. Innovate a Small Golf Course
Unsurprisingly, artificial grass and pavers allow you to bring the luxury of a golf course to your backyard. Having a mini golf course in your backyard is attractive and increases curb appeal. With this option, you could be teeing your golf morning and evenings instead of driving miles and paying a lot of membership fees to your local golf course.
You can also use it for practice with your friends and family. Your mini golf course will look better if you surround it with tall grass for privacy.
12. Introduce a Feature wall
You can make your bland garden wall stand out using artificial grass. Unlike natural grass, artificial turf doesn’t need light, water, or food to sustain. This makes it perfect for indoor and outdoor use. For this, you can use different colored turf or different shades of the same color to create unique designs while keeping your feature wall simple.
Note that installing artificial grass on your wall slightly differs from garden installations. Nonetheless, installing artificial grass on your wall is super easy. For starters, you should determine if the wall is made from drywall, concrete, or wood. If the wall is made of wood or concrete, use a hammer to drill in the supporting nails. However, use cable ties if your wall is made of meshes or fences.
That said, try the following artificial turf grass ideas:
- Staircase wall feature – install a wooden finish on your staircase and cover it with artificial grass for a rustic feel.
- Washroom wall feature – you can use artificial grass on the wall overlooking the mirror. Add some lights to the mirror’s frame for a stunning appearance.
- Home entrance – you can also cover one side of your entrance wall with vertical grass. This creates an attractive focal point.
13. Create Different Shapes in your Yard
Unlike natural grass, artificial grass is overly versatile and easy to shape. That said, you can create a unique garden by playing around with shapes and contour lines of your natural landscape. You can also use artificial grass to accentuate various garden features creatively.
14. Surround your Concrete Strips with Good Artificial Grass
This idea closely resembles building an artificial grass driveway using square pavers. Most homeowners looking to reduce the amount of visible concrete on their property currently prefer using artificial grass. If you want to maintain an environmentally friendly look, line two strips of concrete that lead straight to your parking space/garage.
However, you should measure these strips accurately when planning an artificial grass driveway. This ensures your vehicle tires fit well into both sides of the concrete. While you can adopt this idea with different types of pavers, ensure the type can support your vehicle’s weight.
15. Use Turf and Paver for Borders and Banding
Artificial turf and pavers are also perfect for creating decorative borders and banding on your patio. Pavers add a unique touch when used as borders around artificial turf areas or at the top. You can further this by creating custom designs, such as mosaics, using pavers of different colors and patterns.
The Bottom Line
You shouldn’t fully rely on natural grass to improve the appearance of your backyard. With the above-mentioned artificial grass and pavers ideas, you can make your garden as sightly as natural grass. Quality artificial grass lasts 15 to 25 years, while paving lasts several decades. This means you won’t have to worry about replacement issues sooner.
