- If you like the solid look of black asphalt, you can vary the monochrome surface a bit by adding a brick border. Make the border a few brick-lengths thick to make the colors stand out a bit more, or use cobblestone or concrete aggregate for a border. Any of these will set your asphalt driveway apart from the ordinary blacktop drive.
- Asphalt is made of sand, rocks and bitumen, which is a petroleum product. Asphalt can be made in gray, brown, brick, light terra cotta, sand, rose red and even white. When considering driveway colors, choose one that works well with your house color and landscaping. Try a rose-red surface with a light brown cobblestone border if those colors look right with your home.
- Create a stamped asphalt driveway of look-alike brick patterns. Asphalt driveways can be coated with a cement-like surface. When the coating is still wet, rubber stamps that resemble bricks, flagstones or cobblestones are pressed into it. Asphalt stamps work like concrete stamps and are made from the products they emulate. One advantage of asphalt stamps over real brick is that weeds will not penetrate the surface.
- Go green with foamed asphalt, which looks like regular asphalt but takes much less energy to make. Regular asphalt is heated to very high temperatures, releasing greenhouse gases in the process. Foamed asphalt uses recycled aggregate without the high temperature processing, reducing emissions and using less energy. Foaming occurs when water is added during the mixing process, which is where the product gets its name.
- Create designs in your driveway with asphalt stamps. Place a circle design in the center of your driveway, with a solid color center and a cobblestone border. Or, use a contrasting color to produce your house number in the portion of your driveway closest to the street. Use different colors and textures between the driveway apron and the part that opens onto the street. See Resources for more information about color choices and designs for asphalt driveways.
