When thinking about your home’s exterior design, many people think of the paint color, window style, or the front door. Then they may think of landscaping, adding fresh greenery and lush flowers.
Hardscaping is often overlooked or left to be a last-minute decision. But this detail should have a well-thought-out design that helps to welcome you home. It’s time to upgrade from cracked concrete and broken tiles.
Before hiring a paver installation company, check out this guide on driveways and walkways.
Always Go Bigger
No one wants to get pushed aside into the yard or walk home in a single file line.
Give yourself and your guests enough room to walk into the home without feeling crowded by choosing a wide enough walking space. Choose a width that would allow at least two people to walk side by side.
You also don’t want a narrow driveway that threatens to scrape your car up as you park. Widen your driveway to give yourself enough room to get in and out of the car.
Create a Landing Space
With your walkway, create a landing outside of the front door. A spacious stoop provides room for packages or for you to clean off shoes before entering.
The landing space could be on the same level as your home, like an extended porch. Or it could be on the level of the yard, allowing you to blend your hardscaping and landscaping.
A landing space also provides an opportunity to get creative with decorating. You can add a small chair or bench that creates a rest area right outside your front door.
Get Creative with Materials
Options for walkway and driveway pavers are near endless, so you could get creative with the materials you use. Most commonly, you’ll see clay brick, concrete, and natural stone.
All these options are durable and ideal for outdoor use. Clay brick is more traditional and provides a nice contrast with lawns.
Concrete pavers give homeowners the opportunity to play around with color, texture, and finishes. Concrete is also an ideal option for pool deck pavers.
Natural stone like flagstone is also a popular choice because each stone is unique. However, it can require more maintenance than other materials. Paving contractors can give you a better idea of what material best fits your needs.
Don’t Forget About Drainage
It would be a shame to lay down a beautiful new walkway or driveway only to have it crack because of water damage after a few years. Those cracked pavers are often because drainage wasn’t taken into consideration.
Allowing water to sit on pavers can cause warping that leads to movement or cracks over time. When laying your walkway or driveway, create a swale on both sides to give stormwater a place to collect.
Allow the water to run into the yard to re-enter groundwater or incorporate it into landscaping to help the water irrigate plants.
Drainage is also essential for pavers around a pool.
Accent with Lighting
You must consider your driveways and walkways at night as well. Accent these hardscape areas with lighting. Lights lining your driveway can help you pull in at night.
Line your walkways to illuminate where you are going and help guests find their way to the door. Exterior lighting also goes a long way in making your home feel like it was designed professionally.
Choose a Unique Pattern and Shape for Your Driveway
If the standard rectangle isn’t your style, don’t worry. You have a plethora of unique paver shapes to choose from. You can have a square of various sizes or curved pavers.
Or may you like the clean look of uniform rectangles but don’t want a standard design. You can choose to lay the pavers in a pattern like herringbone or parquet to give your hardscaping a unique flare.
You can also play with the shape of your walkway and driveway, adding curves and rounded landings.
Line With Plants
Mix hardscaping and landscaping by lining your driveway and walkway with plants. Fresh greenery will help the walkway not look as harsh against a lawn and add some life to your design.
Be sure to keep in mind where you live when choosing plants and consider plants native to Florida, so you don’t accidentally introduce an invasive species.
You may want to have a border of colorful flowers leading up to your front door. Or add some shade with trees and shrubs.
Consider Covering Your Walkway
This isn’t only because of shelter from the rain—though that is a huge benefit. Covering your walkway could add a unique touch to your home’s curb appeal. And you can cover it in a way that still feels open.
Consider trellises leading to your front door covered in climbing roses and twisting vines. This would add a cozy vibe as you make your way home.
Of course, there are hardscaping options like canopies and roof extensions that can create more coverage from the elements.
Don’t Forget Color and Texture
You shouldn’t be afraid to be a little bit creative with your home’s exterior. Feel free to play around with color and texture when designing your walkway and driveway.
Neutrals like gray and white as well as the traditional red brick are common when it comes to pavers. But there are a couple of nontraditional options like blues and greens available as well.
Texture helps to create interest, and you can do that by choosing unique patterns and shapes for your pavers. But another way that’s growing in popularity is to grow grass in between the pavers.
A paver patio installation expert can help match paver colors to your home’s exterior or create a stunning design.
Finding Paver Driveways and Walkways Installation Companies
Driveways and walkways are a key part of your home’s curb appeal. There are many options with materials and shapes to make your hardscaping unique to your home.
A well-thought-out design will welcome you, your family, and your guest’s home in the most stylish way. All you need to do is hire a paver driveway installation company to transform your home’s exterior.
Searching for “paver installers near me”? Look no further. Paved2Perfection is a paving company that strives to provide quality wholesale patio pavers for driveway, walkways, patios, and pools throughout Florida. Contact our experts today to help you get started with your hardscaping remodel.
