Breaking the Rules

We all have our personal rules about what materials are suitable together. Just wanted to share a photo and comment recently seen on facebook. This is from Susan Cohen who operates the blog "Miss Rumphius' Rules" (a great kids book by the way!) She posted this photo of beautiful workmanship with the following comment: 

"Great design is often about editing. It is IMO the hardest skill to master...deciding what not to put in no matter how wonderful or beautiful it might be. Here's an example of a well intended grouping of stone and brick that could use some editing...3 types of stone and 2 types of brick in a very, very small area."  - Susan Cohen Gardens, LLC

We all have our personal rules about what materials are suitable together. As our designer, Sharon often suggests mixing a man-made material (brick) with a natural material (bluestone) or two natural materials (bluestone and stacked stone) but never two man-made materials (brick and concrete pavers) Of course one always has to be considerate when mixing colors, too. In this photo, for example, the red brick path and pink brick edge clearly clash.

What do you think? Do you like the combinations shown here, or do you understand why Susan has suggested the designer should have edited the material selection more carefully?