This backyard living area with its ornate patio in Council Bluffs, Iowa, was built by Paver Designs, a father and son team who uses an inlay technique that they developed. All of the hardscape material is from Belgard. The fireplace and grill island is from their Brighton series and was delivered in seven prebuilt segments. The Omaha-based landscape company had to tear out two concrete pads and did all of the excavation using their loader and compact loader.

The inlay process starts with hand-drawn stencils. After setting the entire area with Dublin Cobble, the stencil patterns were traced out with a pencil. Then each paver that fell within a pattern was pulled up and either set aside to be used again or cut as necessary. Holland Stone pavers in red and yellow, which were left over from a custom commercial job and purchased by Paver Designs, were set into the patterns; cut to the corresponding shapes. To make them stand out, a topcoat of red and honey NuLook from Techniseal was applied. In this area, the lower backyard patio, a course of charcoal Holland Stone with charcoal sealer and a course of Dublin Cobble encircle the outside edge.

Mega-Arbel pavers were used for the walkways. The steps down to the patio are made of Weston Stone in Cotswold Mist. For the caps, Paver Designs used the manufacturer's pool coping product. Seventy-two Kichler six-inch LED ledge lights were installed under the caps of the seatwalls and the treads of the stairs.

Landscapers can find inspiration from surprising sources. An appreciation for mosaic tile and pebble work from European and Arabic countries influence the craftsmanship of Paver Designs LLC, a father and son team of hardscape specialists in Omaha, Neb.

"We look at pavers as a larger version of tile," says Justin Hampton who along with his dad Jim has developed their particular style by trial and error: figuring out the best way to accomplish things such as making little intricate cuts.

Justin relates that neither he nor his father consider themselves artists. They just "love creating one-of-a-kind projects."

After becoming inspired, the two had to convince clients that what they were proposing could even be done with pavers. So they discounted their services at first in order to get some experience and have some examples that they could show prospective clients.

"It just kind of took off from there," recalls Justin Hampton.

They prefer now to do higher-end, but small installs with a lot of flair, which takes them a little longer but it lets them get a little more extensive with their designs and inlays. The work featured here was a pattern that the team had never used before. Its style was inspired by Turkish pebble mosaics but was an original creation.

The residents of this home on acreage in Council Bluffs, Iowa, had just purchased it and wanted to upgrade the landscape, which included a concrete slab in front and another one at a steep angle in the back.

The original intent was to create a courtyard in the front but the owners decided they might as well see what the Hamptons could come up with for the back as well. So the design included a multi-level backyard patio and sidewalks that connect the courtyard to the patios.

After seeing the plans, the client decided to add a fireplace and grill island with a sidebar.

Justin Hampton admitted, "It kept growing and turned into a massive project."

But the two men handled it all themselves starting with the tear-out of the concrete pads and a walkway around the side of the house. Using a Bobcat loader and compact loader, they excavated the property.

All of the seatwalls are made of the same stone used in the steps. The installers left a gap between the seat walls and the edge of the pavers, then installed simple PVC pipe drains so as the water flows away from the home, it drains out into the yard. The drains are hidden by a river rock product referred to as Mexican beach pebbles. Since Paver Designs only works on hardscapes, the softscape was installed later by a separate company.

The boulders are granite fieldstones that were direct-shipped from a rock pit in Yankton, S.D. The terra cotta pots on the seatwalls were purchased at a local hardware store and then given a coat of the red paver stain to impart a high-end look.

While the landscape duo was excavating, they found some red clay brick left over from the construction of the house. With the homeowner's approval, they used them to run a course through the seatwalls. Where the seatwalls connect to the house, it looks like one continuous row.

All the hardscape materials, including the fireplace and grill island, are from Belgard. To create the patterned patios in front and back, a whole field of Dublin Cobble pavers was set. The stencils that had been sketched and scaled by hand were placed down on the pavers and the patterns traced out with a pencil.

Then each paver that fell within the tracings was pulled up and either set aside or shaped. Yellow and red Holland Stone pavers were then placed inside the patterns: the hardscape team making the cuts where needed to make them fit. Their go-to cutting tools are Clipper saws customized with bigger motors and 20-inch diamond blades. To make the inlays really pop, a product in corresponding colors from Techniseal called NuLook was applied.

Besides the patterned patios, Paver Designs installed the sidewalk that follows the length of the house to the upper patio in back. Another walk leads from the upper to lower patio. The material used in the walkways was Mega-Arbel. Steps built from Weston Stone in Cotswold Mist and capped with coping in the same shade connect the back walkway to the lower patio.

Seatwalls and columns of the same materials as the steps encircle the front and back living areas. An added touch in the walls and columns is a course of red clay bricks that were left over from the construction of the house and found by the Hamptons when they were excavating. This course was strategically set so that where the seatwalls meet the house, the bricks line up, giving the impression of one continuous row.

The owners considered a mason-created fireplace but opted to go with a modular unit from the hardscape manufacturer's Brighton series that came with two wood boxes, the grill island and sidebar. Some of the final touches included 72 Kichler 6-inch LED ledge lights under the caps of the seatwalls and the treads of the stairs, and terra cotta pots on the seatwalls. The pots were dressed up with the same stain that the pavers were treated with.

Granite fieldstone boulders from a rock pit in Yankton, S.D., were placed throughout the install. Black river rock was used as a decorative feature and to help with drainage. In a gap between the seat walls and the edge of the pavers, PVC drains were installed and covered with the rock so that any water flows out into the yard.

Final time spent on this distinctively attractive project was about 5 weeks total; close to ten days just cutting and fitting the inlay. The landscaping was left to another company since Paver Designs prefers to concentrate on hardscapes.

And that work gets notice. This particular project was an award winner at HNA in 2013. Jim and Justin Hampton don't advertise much; exhibiting at one home show in the early spring and then relying on word of mouth.

He sums up their determination for innovation with, "We want someone to know as soon as they walk into a backyard that Paver Designs did that."

And he attributes an interview he heard with football legend Emmitt Smith that inspired him to constantly strive to master his craft.

"That's what we are always aiming for. It keeps us from becoming stale or complacent."