Driveway Design
Driveway First Impressions
Did you know that the design of your driveway has become an essential part of landscaping design? Remember, the driveway is one of the first things friends, family, and guests see when they come to your home. The driveway can make a great first impression right off the bat. Traditional asphalt driveways are becoming passé and mundane, with more eye-appealing driveway materials competing for the top spot. Modish driveway materials include concrete pavers, colored concrete, stamped concrete, and loose stone.
Driveway Considerations
Size and Extra Parking
Ideally, your driveway should be large enough to accommodate an extra vehicle (or two or three) so that guests and friends can park easily. You also want to design a driveway that allows room for cars to maneuver - i.e. to turn around, pull out, back in, and drive forward again. If you invest in an attractive circular driveway, be sure it is wide enough so that a car in motion can easily drive around or pass a car already parked. A good rule of thumb is to design a circular driveway with an outside circle diameter of seventy feet wide.
Style
You can further increase the curb appeal of your home and your driveway by lining the driveway with trees, shrubs, or flowers (perennials or annuals). If your driveway leads up to a garage, consider painting or decorating your garage according to a color scheme or theme that matches or stylistic contrasts your existing exterior home decorating scheme.
Add a Walkway
Another way to show off your great taste in style is by adding a beautifully designed walkway that leads from your driveway to the front door. Make sure the walkway (which can be straight or circular and made of decorative stones or stamped concrete) is wide enough to accommodate at least two people walking side by side (four feet is the minimum industry standard for comfort), and then decorate and accessorize the walkway to your heart's delight.
Driveway Lighting
By adding outdoor lighting to your driveway and walkway, you not only ensure that your landscaping and property is properly lit, but you increase the safety of your guests and the value of your home, while simultaneously making a memorable fashion statement. Enjoy the process of creating a landscaping vision to behold by selecting from a wide range of contemporary outdoor lights, including outdoor lanterns, torches and candles, ambience lighting, spotlights, or low-voltage solar lights.
The New Asphalt
In an attempt to compete with more aesthetically pleasing modern driveway materials, the asphalt industry has created a new line of asphalt, featuring asphalt with implanted designs. Made by pressing heated cables arranged in special design formats into driveway asphalt, the result is a trendy, new generation of asphalt driveway which can further be colored to create a stylish brick or cobblestone look.
Driveways (and home garages) are an innovative and often overlooked means of accessorizing your home, increasing your home value, decorating your home exterior, and just having fun with the decorative process.