Design Tips

Basic 101 on matching the Excaliber sleeper range to you design aesthetic

There are a few major design elements to keep in mind when deciding on choosing the right sleeper look to enhance your homes sense of style. Think of how you will consider Space, Light, Colour, Form, Texture and Pattern in your installations.

Another important thing to consider is the FUNCTION of your sleeper wall.

Is it to retain soil/garden beds? Exclaiber sleepers are reinforced and constructed to Australian standards (AS4678).

Spacial divider, diving boundaries between properties, creating different spaces within your yard.

Creating feature walls to add colour, texture and desired design elements to your space.

Creating garden edges and garden beds for ornamentals and edibles.

Often you will need a product to address all three of these functions which makes Excaliber sleepers one of the most versatile concrete products on the market today.

Choosing a face to enhance your design aesthetic.

Excaliber sleepers come in the following face patters:

Timber, Sandstone, Stacker stone, Random stacker stone, Flagstone, Plain concrete.

When designing your outdoor spaces to compliment your homes design aesthetic, consideration of both texture and colour is important as both of these elements will enhance the look and feel of your space.

Excaliber sleepers are tinted throughout the whole piece, not painted on top like inferior products. This means they will withstand the wear and tare of every day life, scratches, dents and chips won’t be noticeable and your wall will look just as good in 10 years as it does when first installed. To create a more authentic, natural or organic surface, colour splashes can also be applied by hand during the manufacturing process to each individual sleeper, making everyone unique, mirroring natural wood or stone.

Excaliber sleepers come in the following base colours, Shadow, bone, Latte, Oak and Snow. Splash combinations can be made by the layering of Cargo or Shadow splashes sparingly over the desired base colour of the sleeper surface during production. This adds further dimension and depth in the appearance of the sleeper face which is desirable when mimicking natural surfaces.

Sometimes it can be daunting to choose a look with so many options available. Deciding which face and colour or colour combination can be made easier when you clarify the design style you are after. To decide on a style you may want to reflect the themes you have used already throughout your home that reflects the personality of you and your family. In most Australian homes there is often a combination and marrying of different styles, which is very reflective of our culture which combines many international influences moulded by the many different environmental factors existing throughout the Australian landscape.

General design classifications and corresponding Excaliber products.

There are many design classifications and genres, and most can be combined together to create new looks suited to your personality. Here are just a few example of popular design genres and how the range of Excaliber sleepers can fit into many different design configurations.
To create more eclectic vibes, try combining two or more styles and use your sleeper choice as a complimentary feature. Come in store to discuss your design ideas with our fully licensed Structural Landscape and design team, we are always happy to help.

Completely of the moment

Contemporary design takes inspiration from trends that are totally of the moment that will not date!! This can often be a confusing style to comprehend for any novice although the key here is a concentration on architectural details and bold scale. This is an opportunity to create architectural spaces in your out doors. This is a design type that can incorporate any of the excaliber face designs, especially if you are creating a feature wall as your bold architectural reference, the key here is to consider your colouring. Often lighter colours will transcend time and will date less. Contemporary often call for clean lines, geometric shapes etc.

A single tone stacker stone provides a crisp, contained and simple texture, although a sandstone look offers a timeless organic feature while providing a nod to bold scale (especially when installed on mass) while maintaining that clean line appeal. When using more textural faces, it is important to pare down the surroundings in order to provide that clean, sleek appeal. Think light, bright, bold and strong with a nod to minimalist and modern ideals.

Best Excaliber face choices for this design: Stacker stone, Sandstone, Plain face; In light, bright colours

Minimalist style uses a less is more approach. This does not mean that there is minimal interest, it means that selections are chosen based on ideas of Simplicity and Refinement with both comfort and functionality in mind while still creating drama! Elements can be organic or abstract and are desired to serve dual purposes.

When creating a minimalist approach in your out door space you can reflect this with the face design of your sleeper choice. Patterns and designs are usually limited in minimalism, so if you choose to use a plain face sleeper, you would perhaps mirror the colouring to reflect the over all pallet of your homes exterior instead of creating a contrast. By continuing the overall colour scheme, your space becomes extended rather than divided. Depending on your space, this may allow you to add a subtle colour splash to attain a more organic feel to the sleeper surface rather than having a flat base colour. Other wise you can use this opportunity to add a little drama by choosing a texture, toned down by paring back your colour selection.

Excaliber selections for a minimalism design could include a single colour timber face. This creates a drama without too much texture and combines both an organic and abstract feel to the installation.

A Sandstone look sleeper can also be used to create that organic feel, its surface has less lines and textures than a Stacker stone or Flagstone face and to create a more minimalist appeal, colouring could be paired back to single colours.

Although a plain face sleeper can be considered the most minimalist face design, consider warmer colouring like Oak or Latte, or lighter colouring like bone or snow to avoid a more industrial vibe.

Often less texture will make a space feel larger which is often reflected in a minimalist space, so unless you are going for a special feature wall as a point of interest, less texture here is better.

Best Excaliber face choices for this design: Plain face, timber face, sandstone, continue your overall colour theme, warm up plain faces.

A balanced and confidentially edited aesthetic that is minimalist inspired to a degree. The emphasis on a serene, clean simplicity often encompasses All white spaces with grey undertones to create a universal appeal. Colour hints are usually brought in sparingly with highlights on organic shapes and tonal/textural plays. To achieve this with your sleeper wall, think of using a lightly coloured timber face, light base Sandstone face with light splashes or even a more organic random stacker stone with pared down colouring.

Choose a Channel cover to compliment the sleeper face to hide metal channels or have your channels powder coated to mirror your sleeper colour selection to maintain a continuous and clean visual flow.

Best Excaliber face choices for this design: Timber face, Sandstone face, Random Stacker stone face, pared down colour selections with splashes to mimic natural surfaces.

Traditional design aesthetic layers classical design elements from multiple eras to create a rich, layered, warm and inviting appeal. This is a broad interpretation and allows a greater pallet to draw from.

Excaliber sleeper faces that mimic beautiful bold natural stone and wood are often the most complimentary to this style. Enhanced by multiple colour splashes and bold colouring, a nod to traditional timbers and stones are best achieved with Flagstone, Sandstone and Timber look sleeper faces. This is a great way to give a nod to traditional ornate building surfaces in a contemporary way.

Try using Excaliber channel covers to emulate the look of traditional piers with out the bulkiness and added cost. You can choose a cover that continues the face design or chose a face that adds complimentary texture or colour.

Best Excaliber face choices for this design: Timber face, Flagstone face, Sandstone, Pier covers, Bold colours with splashes to mimic natural surfaces.

To compliment A Coastal theme it is best to keep the colouring of your sleepers light, bright and airy. Reflecting beachy colours and vibrant neutrals and creams create that relaxed and elegant appeal that is synonymous with this design aesthetic.

Any Excaliber sleeper textured face can be used here to reflect the natural surfaces found in beach front landscapes, just keep the colouring as light and natural as possible. This is also an opportunity if you live on or near the beach to take a wander around the natural landscape and take note of the colours and natural textures of wood and stone you find in your area, this can be mirrored through the manufacturing process of Excaliber sleepers.

Try using Excaliber channel covers to hide the metal channels used in installing sleeper walls. Metal channels often add appeal in certain design aesthetics, although in the case of costal and beach themes, creating a total natural look can be easily achieved by hiding the hard metal elements with a corresponding channel cover. Alternatively, have the channels powder coated to suit the tones of your sleeper colour choice.

Best Excaliber face choices for this design: Timber face, Random stacker stone face, Flagstone face, Sandstone Face, Light and natural colours, uses a splash to mimic natural surfaces.

This design aesthetic is very rustic, drawing inspiration from the outdoors.

There is an emphasis on natural/weathered finishes, raw woods, stone, leather and metal.

All textured faces of the excaliber range can suit this aesthetic, think bold and natural colourings.

A great way to evoke that natural dark timber look is the use of the Excaliber timber face sleeper with a Latte or Oak base with a shadow splash mimicking that burnt or black wood heavy timber appeal synonymous with traditional and contemporary Farmhouse looks.

Best Excaliber face choices for this design: Timber face, Flagstone, Random Stacker stone, Sandstone, Bold colours with the use of splashes to mimic natural surfaces.

This style combines contemporary, Industrial and modern design influences to reflect city living. The best way to create an outdoor contemporary look is to embrace the industrial appeal of plain face or timber face Excaliber sleepers. To warm the wall up, use a shadow or even an oak colour rather than a plain concrete colouring which helps to give that more modern urban appeal, lightening up the hard industrial surface, elevating it from industrial to a modern urban feel.

Lighten up Industrial textures with neutral and warm tones to create that modern feel. Think of keeping the metal channels as a feature, these can be left in their galvanised state or powder coat them to compliment your sleeper colour choice.

Best Excaliber face choices for this design: Plain face, Timber face.