You might spend considerable effort, time and money for the interiors of your home, but if the house has a neglected front yard with narrow walkways, your home will not look great. Since the exterior of the house like the garden, fencing, walkway, porch and the front door is the first thing people see from the street, you want it to look really fabulous.
The house exteriors should live up to the beauty of the interiors of the house and also complement the architectural style of the house.
Walkways are paths that lead up to the front door and there are many ways in which you can design the walkway to enhance the curb appeal of your home.
There are three things that you need to consider while designing a walkway for your home. They are - the shape of the walkway, the width of the walkway and the material that you choose to pave the walkway with. These three design components together can give your walkway a beautiful appearance.
Ideas for Front Yard Walkways
Meandering Walkway
One of the best ideas is a meandering zig-zag pattern concrete walkway. Straight and narrow pathways are predictable and a meandering walkway works very well, particularly if you have a large front yard.
You can also have a curved walkway with brick or stone edgings along the border of the pathway to give it a bit of oomph. Stone and brick edgings provide visual interest to a walkway. To soften the landscape and incorporate a natural look to your yard, you could plant small shrubs or ornamental plants along the two sides of the walkway.
Straight and Narrow Walkway
If you have a small yard, a straight and narrow path will be great. There is no reason to not spruce it up to add more visual accent. A walkway that leads up to two or three broad steps, looks very appealing.
You can also choose brick pavers or cobblestones to give the walkway a more attractive look. A straight and narrow walkway can be softened with ground cover and manicured lawns.
Stepping Stone Walkway
A walkway fashioned out of the broad stepping stone match well with a country or cottage style home. This works for a grassy lawn as, it protects the grass from being trampled, and grass emerging from the uneven stones give a rustic and whimsical look.
Colored Walkway
If you do not like concrete, stone or brick walkways, then you can opt for colored walkways instead.
You can choose to stain a concrete walkway for a colorful look. Just remember to coordinate the color of the concrete walkway with that of the exterior sidings and window casings of the house to give it a more cohesive look.
Alternatively, you can also choose to install colored ceramic tiles along with walkway pavers or broad stones to add just a hint of color to your landscape.
A walkway should be of the right width so at least two people can walk side by side together. By different materials like cobblestones, bricks, river stones and concrete, you can give your walkway a new look. Though many people prefer a single material for constructing their walkway, there is no hard and fast rule to it.
You can mix two to three different materials, like stone with crushed gravel, provided it looks great and goes with the architectural style of your home. A walkway that does not lead up to the front yard, but to a small bench or pergola can be fashioned of bricks and pebbles.
A properly constructed and designed walkway can greatly enhance the look of your home as well as increase the resale value of your house.
