Residential driveways set the tone for the entire property. While entry doors may get the curb appeal love the driveway is a powerful component of both the exterior design and landscaping schemes and can make or break a home’s overall look. Today there’s such a head-spinning variety of paving materials and designs available that it can be difficult to know what’s hot and what’s not. Here we’ll take the pulse of driveway paving and see if we can’t determine what is trending for 2016.

Hot Trends in Driveway Paving

If the time has come to give your driveway a current look it can be difficult to determine what’s popular today and why. Here’s what we believe will be trending for 2016.

Tar and Chipped – Tar and chipped is hot asphalt poured over a gravel base with loose, crushed stones sprinkled over the top and rolled into the asphalt to make the final surface. Its rough texture makes it an excellent surface for gaining traction in winter and on the whole it’s affordable, easy to install and easy to maintain. If you’re driven by practical considerations it doesn’t get much more practical than tar and chipped.
Stamped concrete – This design option has been trending upward for several years. Customers who might have gone for a plain concrete driveway just a few years back are now opting for stamped concrete and it’s easy to see why. Stamped concrete is a relatively inexpensive way to add an interesting visual element to your driveway. Color is often added to the concrete as well to give it a ‘stone’ look and feel.
Pavers – Pavers aren’t new but there doesn’t seem to be anything holding back their popularity. With interlocking concrete pavers the only limit is your imagination. Any type of pattern can be created and enhanced by using various color stones. Pavers have the additional advantage of being reusable. Should you decide on a different driveway paving option in a few years you can repurpose the pavers to make a walkway in the yard.
Cobblestones – Granite cobblestones are the original pavers. Many Toronto homeowners who like the idea of pavers and want to go the extra mile authenticity-wise are opting for granite cobblestones over concrete pavers. Cobblestones won’t make shoveling the driveway any easier but they’re incredibly tough, won’t succumb to the freeze/thaw cycle, are scratch resistant and just plain beautiful.
Accessories – Lighted piers at the street end of a lengthy driveway are a good way to mark its start on a dark suburban street. Deer grates at the beginning of the driveway are becoming increasingly popular as the North American deer population continues to its relentless growth and running lights along the edge of the driveway from the street to the garage door have gained quite a few fans recently.

Driveway paving has taken on an unexpected life of its own. A hundred years ago your options were dirt or cobblestone while today those options run from plain blacktop to elaborately designed stamped concrete to beautiful interlocking pavers. With oil prices near 20 year lows paving solutions that include asphalt have shown remarkable life in the past year and that trend will likely continue for the near future.

M.E. Landscaping is one of the Toronto area’s leading landscape design companies specializing in a variety of driveway paving solutions, with interlocking pavers being a point of special focus. We can execute any type of traditional or leading-edge paving solution for you that will significantly enhance the curb appeal of your home without breaking your bank. Call us today on 416-455-9296 to find out more about our entire range of landscaping services.