A type of decorative concrete that is ideal for a driveway is exposed aggregate. The pebble aggregates are highlighted in this style of paving to give it a textured, gravel-like appearance. You can customise the elements that go into the concrete during the driveway installation. Here are several ways to do this.

Choose from Different Colours

Exposed aggregate provides control over the colour palette. Pigments are added to the cement to colour it in shades like cream, black or brown. Additionally, you choose the hue of the added pebbles that visibly show on the surface.

If you want a subtle design, you can blend charcoal and black stones in grey concrete. The driveway can be made lively by adding strong contrasts, such as white, cream and blue tiny crushed stones on an almost-black cement background.

Your contractors can provide some examples of possible colour combinations. The benefit of the colour customisation is that you can blend the driveway with your house, the garage and the garden.

Create Borders and Sections

You can also add visual interest to the exposed aggregate by adding borders and sectioning the driveway in other ways. One possibility is to lay a border of smooth grey concrete and leave exposed aggregate in the middle. A border design provides an opportunity for a colour change. You could repeat one of the pebble hues on the edge. 

The contractors can divide a driveway into sections in other ways. For example, they can alternate wide bands of exposed aggregate with smooth concrete. If the landscape and your house's architecture are curvaceous, you can make the bands similarly curved. If the landscape features clean, straight edges, you can echo these lines in the driveway design. Remember that while these compositions are attractive, they add to the cost of a driveway, which will be more fiddly for the contractors to create.

Play with Textures

Another way you can customise an aggregate driveway is by controlling the texture. Stones and pebbles come in a variety of sizes and shapes. You can choose larger or smaller stones, which will have different effects. Their shape and smoothness vary as well. River pebbles are curved without sharp edges, and crushed stones are the opposite, having sharp corners.

The texture of the driveway is also altered by the number of aggregates added to the cement. If it's full of stones, less of the cement will show, and this changes the texture. The contractors can additionally reveal the pebbles more or less, depending on how much cement they wash away. A textured driveway has better traction, which will make it safer for you to walk on and drive over.

For more information, contact a company like PMC Concrete.