Outdoor Stamped Concrete

I personally love camp fires. Hanging out with Family and Friends, telling stories, eating s'mores. So after a long, joyous July 4th weekend at the lake, it only seemed like perfect timing to post a project we just finished with stamped concrete around a Fire pit as well as other areas around the house.

This project in Stillwater, MN encompassed many natural, unique elements with Concrete. We stamped a patio and fireplace, and precasted architectural landscaped stairs. The patio was an Old Granite seamless texture that complimented the homes focal point, an Arizona Flagstone stamped Fire pit. To get from the the fire pit to the patio, we precasted concrete stairs. These stepping stairs are 5 inches thick with a hand chiseled edge to match the retaining wall. These three concrete elements enhanced the homes architectural landscaping appeal. See the pictures below.

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Decorative Concrete - Borders

Borders add dimension and depth to a decorative concrete piece and vary significantly. You can go from a basic saw cuts to intriquet details on both patterned stamped concreta and seamless textures. To make the border stand out even more, many times people will stain the outer saw cut a different color or even multiple colors. Again, it depends on your design aesthetic and what you envision your decorative concrete patio, sidewalk, driveway, interior, etc to look. Below are a few of the many options that are possible.

Basic Saw Cut

Basic Saw Cut with Stain

Detailed Borders

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Stamped Concrete - Seamless Texture

As we've been exploring the different options with decorative stamped concrete, I think its important to realize the main options that you can choose from. Many times stamped concrete looks are split up into 3 categories.

1. Seamless textures
2. Patterns
3. Borders

These three categories can be combined to display different looks. For example Borders will enhance a seamless texture, or patterns and seamless textures are combined in an "every other" pattern.

Because there are so many different options and combinations, today I'll focus and show just Seamless textures. Below is a close up and a broad look at a seamless texture. As you can see there are no defining stamped patterns.

Seamless Texture
Seamless textures also allows for creativity with dyes and stains. You can be subtle with the stain or dye you use or you can get creative with your design like the pictures below. Either way, its important to remember and realize decorative stamping and staining can reflect your personality and how you want to portray your home.

Decorative Stains
Carly Dus
Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Stamped Concrete Options

Many times consumers don't realize all the different options you get with stamped concrete. For instance our parking lot displays exactly 78 different options. In fact we have about 40 different stamps alone not to mention the endless combinations of stamps, stains, integral colors, and textures that can enhance the look and feel of a decorative concrete piece.

Decorative concrete or stamped concrete really is far superior when it comes to options and choices when compared to pavers and other competing options. Shown below are just a few designs of the many options of decorative concrete.

Carly Dus

Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/

Stamped Concrete - Pool Decks

It has been a while since I've last posted. We've had a busy last couple weeks. The Spring finally arrived and we've had a major makeover in our showroom. We've added another service to the company, thus needing to display all the treatments in our showroom/office. I can't wait to post the final product. I've added a few pictures to get you a sneak peek.

I also promised a few more stamped concrete photos of different patios and driveways. And since today is beautiful outside I was thinking pool decks would be a great option to show. The pictures below show three different styles of the many options that you can design for your stamped concrete pool deck.

The far left shows the options of the different types of stains you can add to your stamped concrete. The middle pictures shows the very popular star design stamp and stain option. Lastly, the far right shows an ashler slate pattern. These three options are just a glimpse into the endless possiblities when it comes to designing a pool deck or any stamped concrete surface for that matter.

Carly Dus

www.concretearts.com

Stamped Concrete

Decorative Concrete - Stampable Overlays
Someday soon Spring will come... I promise! However; it does seem bleak when you think about how we got snow on the first of April. Maybe Mother Nature is playing an April fools joke on us. Or maybe we are just lucky to live in the Midwest!

I decided I needed to lift up my gloomy spirits and stamped concrete would be a great post to do just that. The pictures exuberate warm weather and green grass that surround the many different textures and colors stamped concrete gives your home.

There are many different options you can do with stamped concrete. You can choose just one texture, no color. Otherwise you can spice it up with as many colors and stains and as many textures as you'd like.

Today I am posting one of my favorite pieces of stamped concrete. It's a Deep Limestone Texture. This particular stamped concrete project Concrete Arts did was for a pathway that went around a home.

For the next few posts, I'll give you other options that I really enjoy. Stay warm!

Carly Dus
Concrete Arts

http://www.concretearts.com/