Stamped Concrete Patterns and Colors, Shown on Real Jobs
Not catalog swatches. Every photo here is a patio, pool deck, walkway or floor we poured in Central New York, labeled with the pattern, base color and release color so you can ask for exactly what you see.
How a stamped color scheme works
Every stamped job gets two colors. The base color goes into or onto the fresh concrete and sets the overall tone. The release color (also called the accent or antique) is dusted on before stamping; it keeps the mats from sticking and settles into the texture and joints, which is what makes a pattern read as stone instead of a flat tinted slab. We write them as base / release, so "Gull Gray / Storm Gray" is a light gray slab with a darker gray in the texture.
The pattern is the rubber mat pressed into the surface. Most jobs also get a border in a second pattern, usually Heavy Stone texture, often a shade darker. Everything below is our own work around Syracuse and Central New York, labeled with the exact pattern and colors so you can point at a photo and say "that one."
Majestic Ashlar
Rectangles and squares of mixed sizes with a cleft, hand-cut stone texture. It reads as a dry-laid ashlar patio from across the yard and still looks right up close. Formal enough for a front entry, relaxed enough for a pool deck, and it takes a contrasting Heavy Stone border better than anything else we install. We often set it at a 45-degree angle to the house, and the step faces can be finished to match.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Gull Gray / Storm Gray
- Lannon Stone / Storm Gray
- Harvest Wheat / Walnut
- Soapstone / Cape Cod Gray
- Gull Gray / Smoke
- Gull Gray / Deep Charcoal
- Buff / Smoke
- Harvest Wheat / Smoke
- Smoke / Slate Gray
- Gull Gray / Cape Cod
Italian Slate Texture
A seamless slate texture with no pattern lines, so the color does the work and the control joints disappear. Almost every Italian Slate job we pour gets a Heavy Stone texture border in a darker color, which frames the slab and gives the eye an edge to read. Clean and modern on a porch or pad, quietly traditional on a big patio.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Gull Gray / Deep Charcoal
- Lannon Stone / Smoke
- Pewter / Storm Gray
- Gull Gray / Storm Gray
- Lannon Stone / Storm Gray
- Sonoran Tan / Walnut
- Soapstone / Cape Cod
Heavy Stone Texture
A deep, rugged stone skin with no repeating pattern. It's the border we put around most Majestic Ashlar and Italian Slate jobs, the texture on most of our cantilevered pool coping, and a handsome whole-patio finish on its own when you want stone without the grid. Because there are no pattern lines it hides control joints and works on any shape, which makes it our go-to for overlays on existing concrete.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Lannon Stone / Storm Gray
- Gull Gray / Storm Gray
- Gull Gray / Deep Charcoal
- Weathered Terra Cotta / Deep Charcoal
- Smoke / Walnut
- Harvest Wheat / Colina Tan
- Lannon Stone / Walnut
- Gray / Storm Gray
Orchard Stone
Large, irregular flagstone shapes with wide grout lines. It's the most natural-looking of the patterned stamps, especially in a two-tone color where the release settles into the joints, and it suits curved patios and meandering walkways better than the rectangular patterns do.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Gull Gray / Storm Gray
- Harvest Wheat / Storm Gray
- Soapstone / Slate Gray
- Lannon Stone / Smoke
- Sonoran Tan / Walnut
- Soapstone / Cape Cod Gray
Wood Plank
Board widths and grain pressed into the slab. Popular for porches and for patios replacing a rotted wood deck, and it goes indoors too. We stamp three versions: a straight 6-inch plank, Gilpin's Falls Bridge Plank (wider, weathered boards, often laid on a 45-degree angle) and a distressed plank. Pool decks in wood plank get a Heavy Stone texture border around the water.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Lannon Stone / Deep Charcoal
- Lannon Stone / Colina Tan
- Walnut / Storm Gray
- Gull Gray / Storm Gray (Gilpin's Falls)
- Gull Gray / Charcoal (Gilpin's Falls)
Fieldstone
Large irregular stones with a weathered face, the look of a fieldstone walk laid by hand. It makes a strong front entrance and carries a bold color like Hampshire Red well. In grays it reads quieter, more like a slate patio.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Harvest Wheat / Walnut
- Hampshire Red / Charcoal
- Sunset Beige / Cape Cod Gray
- Gull Gray / Storm Gray
- Gray / Cape Cod Gray
Mayan & Verona Cobblestone
Two cobble patterns. Mayan Cobblestone is a tumbled, rounded cobble in a running layout that looks like an old European street, usually in a warm terra cotta or buff. Verona Cobblestone is a tighter, squarer cobble laid in rows. Both work as whole walkways and steps, and both make a handsome border or apron on a plainer patio.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Weathered Terra Cotta / Deep Charcoal (Mayan)
- Santa Fe Buff / Walnut (Mayan)
- Millstone Grey / Cape Cod (Verona)
- Gull Gray / Cape Cod Gray (Verona)
- Harvest Wheat / Colina Tan (Verona)
Bluestone, Herringbone & Seamless
A few patterns we install less often but keep on the truck. 18x36 Bluestone is large rectangular slabs for a clean, modern patio. Pennsylvania Avenue Herringbone is a classic brick herringbone, right at home in Hampshire Red on an older house. Seamless textures have stone grain and no lines at all, so the surface reads as one piece and the color carries the design; we often pair them with a Charcoal border or decorative bands.
Color combinations shown or installed:
- Gull Gray / Smoke (18x36 Bluestone)
- Hampshire Red / Storm Gray (Herringbone)
- Lannon Stone / Storm Gray (Seamless)
- Harvest Wheat / Colina Tan (Seamless)
The colors we use most
Gray bases: Gull Gray (our most popular, a light warm gray), Pewter, Smoke, Soapstone, Gray and Millstone Grey. Tan and wheat bases: Lannon Stone, Harvest Wheat, Buff, Sonoran Tan, Santa Fe Buff and Sunset Beige. Browns and reds: Walnut, Sienna, Weathered Terra Cotta and Hampshire Red.
Release colors: Storm Gray is on more of our work than any other; Deep Charcoal and Charcoal are the darker, higher-contrast options; Smoke and Cape Cod Gray are softer; Walnut and Colina Tan warm up a tan base; Slate Gray and Black round out the set.
Two rules of thumb. Pick colors that go with the house, not the patio furniture. And judge samples sealed, not dry: the sealer we apply at the end brings the color up several shades, which is why the finished photos above look richer than the slab does the day it's stamped. We bring color charts and sample photos to every estimate.
Details that make a job look custom
Borders, bands, step faces, coping and the occasional compass rose. These are the small decisions that separate a stamped slab from a designed one.
See whole projects
Each of these pages follows one job from start to finish, with the pattern and colors listed.
A Pool Deck in Two Patterns
A large pool deck that mixes a weathered wood-plank field with a Heavy Stone texture around the water.
View project →
Giant Patio With a Recessed Slider Entrance
A big backyard patio that steps down from a recessed slider and connects by walkway to the deck stairs.
View project →
Hidden Under a Deck for 25 Years
The homeowners tore off an old deck and found the original stamped slab underneath. We saved it, refreshed it and made it bigger.
View project →Pick yours on site
Patterns and colors are easiest to choose standing in the yard with the mats and charts in hand. Estimates are free, take about half an hour, and come with good-better-best pricing. Schedule a visit online or call (315) 676-0005. For layout ideas, see our patio design guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can I mix two patterns on one project?
Yes, and most of our jobs do: a field pattern with a Heavy Stone texture border is the standard combination. Pool decks sometimes use one pattern on the deck and another around the water, and steps can be finished in the field pattern or a plain cut-stone face.
Will the color look like the photos?
Close, with two caveats. Concrete color varies a little from pour to pour, and every photo here was taken under different light. The combination names are exact, so if you like one, ask for it by name and we'll show you a sealed sample on the estimate.
Which pattern is the least slippery?
The slip resistance comes from the sealer more than the pattern. We add an anti-skid grit to the sealer on every stamped surface, so any of these is safe on a pool deck or steps.
Which pattern hides control joints best?
Seamless textures, Italian Slate and Heavy Stone, because there are no pattern lines for a joint to cut across. On Majestic Ashlar and the cobble patterns we lay out the joints to land on a grout line wherever we can.
Can you match a pattern you installed years ago?
Usually yes if we know the pattern and colors; we keep records of our own jobs. Matching the color of concrete that has faded is harder, so an addition typically gets a border between old and new, or the old section gets recolored and resealed at the same time.