Make Your Driveway the Envy of the Neighborhood
There is no need for your driveway to be a dull asphalt or concrete strip leading to your garage door. The current trend is to incorporate innovations in paving and lighting to make your driveway blend in better with your garage, landscape, and the design of your home. Spark driveway envy in your neighbors with a few outdoor improvements.
Focus on Your Garage Door
To create a unified look for your driveway, pick a focal point and design your landscaping, lighting, and hardscaping around it. The garage door is a natural focal point because the driveway itself leads to it. Pick a traditional, carriage house or contemporary style to blend in with the architecture of your home. Many designers advise clients to match their garage door to the window trim on their homes.
Improve the Hardscaping
New types of paving and concrete overlay are affordable, durable, and more attractive than plain black asphalt. These materials come in different colors and textures so they will blend in better with the look of your home and landscaping. Natural stone or concrete made to look like stone are popular with homeowners. Even inexpensive gravel adds color, texture, and traction.
Landscape the Border
A line of plants along the driveway adds color and leaves less lawn for you to mow. Annuals such as petunias and marigolds are easy to care for and provide a splash of seasonal color. But if you have a green thumb you can plan a perennial border that will bloom year after year, with different plants blooming at different times. Choose heat and drought-resistant plants because the driveway hardscaping will be hotter than the grass.
Add the Latest Lighting
Outdoor lighting used to mean a harsh bulb near the back door. Now, with innovations in LED and solar lighting, you can add illumination wherever you choose, and as soft or as bright as you like. Old-fashioned lanterns point guests to your home and small solar lights go in the ground to line the driveway without wasting electricity.
