In its most basic form, concrete is not the most attractive building material. It provides essential strength and durability to any project, but it’s not generally used for aesthetic purposes—at least, it didn’t used to be. These days, there are an ever-increasing variety of decorative concrete products and techniques used to give this plain material more visual interest and appeal.
Our team at Childers Concrete Company has extensive experience in the concrete business, and we offer a range of decorative concrete products to help you use this material to make your project look great. In this article, we’ll go over a few of the most popular types of decorative concrete to help you get a better idea of what is out there.
- Stamped Concrete – One of the easiest ways to transform plain concrete into decorative concrete is to apply stamps to the surface while it’s still wet. You can use this technique to give your concrete a wide variety of patterns and textures—for example, you can make a concrete path look like it’s made of natural flagstones, or you can give it the appearance of wood grain.
- Dyed Concrete – Another popular way to create decorative concrete is to use pigments in the mix to dye it a variety of colors. If you want to add color to a plain concrete path or wall, there are dyes available that can create just about any color you could want. In addition, you can use the pigments to create a variety of effects—for example, you can give your concrete a mottled or marbled appearance instead of dying it a single, consistent shade.