Beige, Buff and Cream Stone Paving: The Quintessential Choice for Elegant Outdoor Spaces

Combining sophistication and versatility, this category showcases a stunning selection of buff, beige, and cream-coloured natural stone paving slabs, designed to elevate the aesthetic of any outdoor space. Whether you're designing a serene garden, a contemporary patio, or a classic driveway, our Buff stone paving offers a timeless appeal that blends seamlessly with a variety of architectural styles.

Why Choose Light-Coloured Natural Stone Paving?

If you’re at the start of your journey into choosing paving materials, we’ve created a Buyer’s Guide To Paving to get you started.

Light stone paving is celebrated for the soft, neutral tones that add warmth and brightness to outdoor spaces. The subtle variations across beige, cream, and buff hues make it an ideal choice for creating tranquil environments that feel both inviting and elegant. Here are some reasons why light stone paving stands out:

Aesthetic versatility: The neutral palette of buff, beige and cream tones complement a wide range of design styles, from modern minimalist to traditional rustic. These shades reflect natural light beautifully, enhancing the visual appeal of your outdoor area.

Timeless elegance: Buff stone paving exudes a classic charm that never goes out of style. Whether you're paving a garden path or a patio, these stones add a touch of luxury and refinement.

Featured Products in the Buff Stone Paving Range

Beige Sawn Sandstone: Our best-selling cream-coloured material. This sandstone features consistent beige tones with a smooth, sawn finish, perfect for contemporary designs. It provides a sleek, sophisticated look ideal for gardens that bask in sunshine. When paired with darker materials, as it is in this incredible garden from Amanda Lorenzani, it really comes to life.

Buff Sawn Sandstone: With a blend of light buff and warm beige tones, Buff sandstone offers a rustic charm with a modern twist. Its sawn and sandblasted surface texture brings character, making it a popular choice for garden settings throughout the UK. Here’s a stunning garden overlooking The Cotswolds, from Stroud’s Garden Solutions, utilising all the beauty this material offers.

Mint Indian Sandstone: Known for its beautiful mix of cream and beige, with subtle fossil-type markings, this hand-cut sandstone brings a unique, natural beauty to any outdoor space. Its versatility makes it suitable for a variety of landscaping projects, including this terraced garden from Positive Garden Ltd.

Jura Beige Limestone: For those seeking a sophisticated and stylish blend of cream and buff colours, this ultra-smooth limestone offers the perfect balance. Its understated elegance suits both modern and traditional designs. Occasionally, ammonites are visible in the stone’s surface, offering a slice of geological history in your own garden. Here’s an incredible London garden, complete with living wall, from designer John Davies, showcasing this magnificent material.

Incorporating Buff and Beige Materials into Your Garden Design

The soft tones of buff, cream, and beige stone paving materials can brighten spaces, making them feel more open and inviting while adding a touch of elegance. Here’s how you can effectively include buff and beige materials in your garden design:

Create a Defined Pathway: Buff and beige stones are excellent choices for garden paths. The light paving helps to define paths clearly, guiding visitors through your garden while blending harmoniously with surrounding greenery, as in this narrow London garden by Harrington Porter. For a cohesive look, consider using the same stone type for edging, or opt for a complementary material such as gravel or wood chips to frame the pathway. A random or irregular laying pattern can enhance the natural feel of the path.

Design a Bright, Inviting Patio: A patio paved with buff or beige stone creates a serene and welcoming space for relaxation and entertaining. These tones reflect sunlight beautifully, giving the area a warm glow throughout the day. Pairing the stone with light-coloured furniture and soft textiles can further enhance the brightness, while darker accents or planters can add contrast and depth. A harmonious vibrant design was the result in this garden with tumbled Antique Cream sandstone paving.

Enhance Water Features: Buff and beige stones can be used around water features, such as ponds or fountains, to create a tranquil setting. The neutral tones of the stones complement the natural hues of water and vegetation, making the water feature a focal point in your garden. The stones’ reflective qualities can also accentuate the movement and shimmer of water. This breathtaking modern townhouse garden, from decorated designer Tom Massey, demonstrates how prestigious, indigenous Britannia Buff Yorkstone can transform a project.

Frame Garden Beds: Using buff or beige stone as edging for garden beds provides a clean, defined border that contrasts beautifully with vibrant plants and flowers. The light tones of the stone help to highlight the colours and textures of your plants, making the entire bed stand out. For a more rustic or traditional garden, consider paving with a tumbled or riven finish, which adds texture and character.

Enhance Your Pool Area: Buff and beige stone paving is an excellent choice for poolside areas. These light-coloured stones not only add a touch of luxury and sophistication but also stay cooler underfoot in direct sunlight, providing a comfortable surface for walking barefoot. Their neutral tones complement the blue hues of the pool water and the green surroundings, as can be seen in this serene and inviting space in Jersey.

Integrate with Natural Elements: Buff and beige stones work particularly well when integrated with natural elements such as wood, gravel, and greenery. For example, you can use beige stone slabs as stepping stones surrounded by gravel or grass, or as a simple complement to verdant surroundings, as in this terraced lawn with Camel Dust sandstone. The neutral colours provide a perfect backdrop that lets the natural beauty of their surroundings shine.

Create a Mediterranean-Style Garden: Beige, buff, and cream-coloured stones are synonymous with Mediterranean-style gardens, which emphasise warm, earthy tones and simple, elegant designs. Use these stones for patios, pathways, and even as cladding for walls, to create a garden oasis that transports you to warmer climes. Consider complementing the stone with terracotta pots, drought-resistant plants, and wrought iron furniture to complete the look.

Steps and Copings: For a cohesive look that can take your garden project to new heights, consider using our complementary range of light-coloured stone steps and copings. Whether navigating a change in level, installing entrance steps, or capping raised beds, you’ll find these materials provide a warm welcome that sets the tone for the rest of your property. Skilled Home Counties landscapers, J&S Scapes, made this inviting garden with Buff sawn sandstone paving, steps and copings.

Beige, Buff, and Cream Stone Paving in Award-Winning Gardens at RHS Shows

London Stone is proud to have supplied light-coloured natural stone paving for several award-winning gardens featured at prestigious RHS Shows, demonstrating the versatility and elegance of our products in world-class garden design-and-build.

1. Egyptian Beige Limestone Paving at RHS Tatton Park 2024

Cheshire-based Nadine Mansfield Garden Design, showcased the beauty of our Egyptian Beige Limestone Paving Slabs and Stone Pavers at RHS Tatton Park 2024. Awarded a coveted Silver-Gilt medal, her garden design with beige limestone highlighted how soft, warm tones can create a serene and sophisticated outdoor space. The garden was praised for its harmonious blend of natural elements and the subtle elegance of the limestone paving, which provided a perfect foundation for the design's organic and fluid layout.

2. The Phytosanctuary Garden at RHS Tatton Park 2019

At the 2019 RHS Tatton Park, Kristian Reay's "The Phytosanctuary Garden" featured another stunning example of light-coloured natural stone in the form of Harvest Sandstone Paving. The gold-medal winning garden, for which Kristian scooped the highly prestigious RHS Young Designer Award, focused on the theme of biodiversity and highlighted the importance of plant life that could be infected by the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium. The neutral tones of the Harvest sandstone paving created a tranquil sanctuary. The wall feature – complete with bespoke engraved patterning by our team of in-house masons – complemented lush planting and provided a calming, cohesive backdrop that allowed the garden's message to shine through.

3. The Wedgwood Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019

Jo Thompson, one of the UK's leading garden designers, selected Jura Beige limestone for "The Wedgwood Garden" at the 2019 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This award-winning garden was a celebration of classical elegance and timeless beauty, qualities that were perfectly embodied by the paving. The stone's subtle, creamy tones and ultra-smooth surface texture added a sense of refinement and continuity throughout the formal garden, linking the various elements together seamlessly. Take a close look at Jura Beige in our product video.

These projects demonstrate how such materials can be employed to create serene, sophisticated outdoor spaces that are visually stunning. Whether you’re inspired by the gardens at RHS Tatton Park or the grandeur of RHS Chelsea, our buff, beige, and cream stone paving offers the same level of sophistication and timeless appeal for your own outdoor projects. Read more about take-home natural stone ideas from RHS shows.

Installation Tips and Considerations

Choosing the right stone is just the beginning. Proper installation is key to ensuring that your paving slabs not only looks great but also perform well over time. Here are some tips to help you get the best results:

Use an experienced, reputable landscaper. It may sound simple, but engaging the services of trade professionals, whether it be a garden designer, landscaper, or landscape architect, will benefit the outcome of your project. Learn more about why we recommend using a professional landscaper.

If you are installing our materials yourself, here’s a professional paving installation video series that will increase your knowledge.

Jointing and Grouting: The width of the joints between stones can significantly impact the final look of your paving. When using materials with a hand-cut edge, 10mm joints filled with a sweep-in mortar is recommended, which gives a more traditional, rustic appearance. For a sleek, modern finish, when using materials with a machine-sawn edge, opt for narrower, 5mm joints, filled with grout that is installed with a pointing gun or a grout float.

Sealing: While not always necessary, pre-sealing pale-coloured natural stone paving helps protect it from stains and weathering. This is particularly useful when laying smooth, sawn materials, and for paving laid in dark, damp, shady areas, or driveways. Here’s all you need to know about sealing and pre-sealing, and whether it’s right for your project.

Pattern and Layout: Consider the layout and pattern that will best suit your space. A random pattern can create a more natural, informal look, while a regular, grid-like or stretcher bond patterns offers a contemporary feel.

Light-Coloured Natural Stone FAQs

How does buff stone paving perform in different weather conditions?

Buff stone paving is durable, and well-suited to a variety of climates. However, lighter materials will show more wear than darker ones (think of a cream-coloured carpet in your home, compared to a darker colour). It is advisable to pre-seal lighter coloured natural stone (especially sawn (smooth) stones, as they are more porous), which will assist you with ongoing maintenance.

If your garden contains areas prone to shade or overhanging vegetation (especially trees that drop fruit and/or leaves), it might be advisable to opt for one of our porcelain tiles, as they are more stain resistant.

Is light-coloured stone paving slippery when wet?

The slip-resistance of stone paving depends on the finish of the stone. Often, riven, or textured finishes provide better slip resistance compared to smooth, sawn surfaces but not always. All of London Stone’s materials adhere to British Standards, meaning that they’re suitable to be laid outdoors in the British climate.

Our materials’ slip-resistance is calculated and given a PTV (Pendulum Test Value) number: higher numbers indicating a higher slip-resistance. On each product listing on our website, wet and dry slip-resistance is listed in the Specifications and Dimensions section. As an example of how materials differ in slip rating, Camel Dust sandstone measures 72 Dry / 51 Wet, while Jura Beige Limestone measures 55 Dry / 17 Wet, meaning that the riven sandstone has a far greater slip resistance than the sawn, sandblasted, and brushed limestone. However, it is not always the case. For example, Contemporary Grey sawn sandstone measures 83 Dry/73 Wet, meaning that its slip-resistance is higher than for Camel Dust’s riven surface.

Can buff stone paving be used for driveways?

Yes, but we only recommend a few light natural stone colours for driveways. Laying light-coloured paving on a driveway isn’t usually advisable, due to how easily blemishes such as tyre marks will show. When using any natural stone paving material for a driveway installation, ensure that the materials are of sufficient thickness (usually 22mm or more) to bear the weight of vehicles, and lay with a solid sub-base (thicker than that for a patio installation). Browse our full range of driveway paving.

How do I maintain the appearance of buff stone paving?

Regular sweeping and occasional washing with water and mild detergent will help maintain the appearance of your buff stone paving. Periodic jet washing will be required to keep your light-coloured paving looking tip top.

What makes buff stone paving a unique choice compared to other colours?

Buff stone paving is unique due to its ability to brighten up outdoor spaces while remaining neutral enough to complement a wide range of design styles. The soft, warm tones are both versatile and timeless, making buff stone an excellent choice for various outdoor paving applications.

Can I view light-coloured stone in person?

Yes. London Stone has showrooms located nationwide, where you can view our materials for yourself. Our showrooms are relaxed, inspirational spaces, with friendly, expert staff on-hand. You’ll never experience a ‘hard sell’ at a London Stone showroom, and we offer complimentary refreshments and free customer Wi-Fi. Find your nearest showroom.

Can I have samples of your products?

We offer a free online sample service across our product range, as well as having accessible samples to take home in our showrooms.

How quickly can my goods be delivered to site?

We hold good stock levels across our product range, and can often offer next-day delivery, if you order before 1pm. London Stone offers FREE nationwide delivery on orders £750 + VAT and over.

How do I contact London Stone?

There are a number of ways to contact us, including over WhatsApp, by email, over the phone, or in person across our showrooms and trade counters. We’re here to help, Mon – Sat, 08:30 - 17:00.