Cool paving stones for a garden path

March 9, 2025 4:09 PM

My wife came across a picture of cat-shaped tessellating paving tiles on social media and would love something similar for our backyard. From some quick research, it seems those tiles are a recycling initiative by a Korean firm. So, it's exceedingly unlikely we could get them in Canada. Looking for leads on anything similar. (See this blog post with a photo)

I think the two aspects that appeal to her are (1) cats! (2) cool geometry. So, I'm open to anything that would work for a garden path that's either cat-themed (without being cutesy) or has neat geometric shapes.

posted by ersatzhuman to Home & Garden (10 answers total)

Best answer: For what it's worth, you would be surprised at what custom stuff is available these days, given that CNC water jets are a thing. When I was designing my kitchen, I found a place that would cut whatever shapes I wanted out of marble. Granted, this was NYC, and I don't think I got a quote so it might have been outrageous. Also marble is a poor choice for pavers, but if they can do marble, they can do all sorts of things.

If you are handy, you might consider making your own. Pouring concrete is not rocket science, and you could get the mold CNC cut (or just make it out of scraps of wood glued to a piece of plywood). Don't forget mold release, and don't forget to vibrate the concrete to remove bubbles. Remember to leave space for a slight gap between tiles.
posted by novalis_dt at 4:40 PM on March 9 [4 favorites]

This is a mold for Escher style interlocking geckos.

It's just a mold, you have to pour the concrete yourself.
posted by Marky at 6:35 PM on March 9 [4 favorites]

What's your budget? Here's some turtle tessellation tiles, and TonysTiles makes a lot more patterns, like fish, sunflower, and more. But they are costly.
posted by kschang at 6:52 PM on March 9

My dad has the gecko mold above and casts them himself. It is quite the hobby, but he has made hundreds and has a beautiful path of them.
posted by sulaine at 7:08 PM on March 9 [2 favorites]

another option is to have it done as a concrete stencil. it's popular on driveways, and some providers do custom shapes, see if there's one that services your region
posted by dragon garlanding at 9:13 PM on March 9 [2 favorites]

It might be worth contacting the company, they may be willing to ship. I found some Italian tiles I liked, asked the company if they had a US distributor, and they were willing to sell and ship directly to me, and this was a small project and not very high end tile or anything.

I do like the concrete stamp idea, too
posted by sepviva at 3:57 AM on March 10

Mod note: One deleted, incomplete comment.
posted by travelingthyme (staff) at 4:06 AM on March 10

About this:

This is a mold for Escher style interlocking geckos.

The linked website belongs to my wife's uncle, who passed away several years ago. I have no idea how it's still up. However, if folks are interested, I can inquire with the family to see whether anybody knows anything about how to make the molds, if there are any computer files still around, etc. MeMail me if interested.
posted by number9dream at 6:16 AM on March 11 [3 favorites]

Metafilter: the website belongs to my wife's uncle and I have no idea how it's still up.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 8:05 PM on March 11

Response by poster: Thanks all!

Marking making our own as "best answer" because I had a "why on earth didn't we think of that?" moment when I read it, considering my wife has poured concrete before AND is an artist...

(So neat that website was your wife's uncle's, number9dream, and I hope someone takes you up on your offer to inquire!)
posted by ersatzhuman at 5:50 AM on March 13