14 Great Driveway Designs Which Are Both Practical And Great Looking

Your home’s driveway is the first thing that people will see when they walk past or turn up to your house. Unfortunately, a lot of people put no effort into designing and decorating their driveways. Not taking steps to improve your driveway’s appearance can ruin the way that your house looks.

So, if you care about your house but haven’t ever invested time or money into your driveway, then now’s the time to take action.

This post will tell you about 14 great designs that are practical, good-looking, and easy to implement.

Gated Entry

If you like privacy, then putting up a fence around your property’s perimeter and installing a gate will prevent people from being able to get in without your permission. You will need to install letter boxes so that you can still get your mail. Make sure that the letterbox you buy is secure, robust, and theft-proof. It also needs to be large enough for parcels to fit inside. You can buy an electronic gate system, which you can control using a remote or an app on your phone. Such entry systems are expensive, however.

Cobblestones

Cobblestone driveways are very popular, although they are more suited to older houses than newer ones. An ultramodern house can look strange with a cobblestone driveway. Make sure that you hire a professional contractor to fit yours so that it’s not too bumpy. An overly bumpy cobblestone driveway could be hard for you to walk on and could damage your car. Cobblestone driveways can also be very expensive, but they are still a fantastic option, especially for older homes.

Desert Oasis

A very common theme for people’s driveways is a desert oasis. This theme involves using sand, exotic trees like banana trees, and red tiles. The desert oasis theme looks great no matter what country you are in. Palm and banana trees are very hardy, and can grow in temperate conditions, just like they can in hot ones. You can buy cold-hardy palm trees, too. If the weather’s too cold for a banana tree, then a palm tree should suffice, and will still have the same effect. You should use compact sound for your property’s driveway if this is the theme that you want to introduce.

Cottage Garden

Another common and popular theme is the cottage garden. It is a simple theme, usually utilizing cobblestones. However, this theme is more about your front yard’s appearance than the driveway itself. With this theme, people decorate using an assortment of flowers, shrubs, and trees. You could also consider building a wooden gate that opens up onto your driveway, which will give it even more rustic charm. The good thing about the cottage look is that it’s meant to look imperfect and lived in. This means that it doesn’t need to look pristine, so you could even do a lot of the work yourself.

Minimalism

Minimalism is a style that’s gained a lot of popularity over the course of the last few years. More and more people are starting to build minimalist, modern houses. If your house conforms to a minimalist aesthetic, then your driveway should too. A simple concrete driveway with clean lines should suffice. You don’t need to do a lot to your driveway to achieve this look. However, plants are a very big part of minimalism, so be sure to plant bushes, trees, and flowers sparingly, to enhance your driveway’s minimalist appearance.

Gothic

The gothic look isn’t as popular now as it used to be, but it can still look great. In order to achieve this look, you are going to need to have an old house. Otherwise, it simply won’t work. To achieve the gothic look, you will need to erect wrought-iron fences, use a cobblestone driveway, and even have a gate. You may also want to paint your shade a shade of blue or gray. Again, the gothic aesthetic isn’t that popular now, but if pulled off correctly, it can look great. Lots of plants can enhance the look significantly, giving your house an air of mystery.

Ultramodern

Ultramodern is very similar to minimalist style, except it is not as sparing in its use of accessories and plants. If you have a house that’s very modern, then an ultramodern driveway is important too. You can use a simple concrete driveway, with as many accessories as you want (like car chargers, benches, or fountains). All of the furniture that you put in your front yard should have clean lines, though. Ideally, it should be fixed to the ground. Furniture fixed to the ground looks very cool, and ultramodern. White marble or alabaster is great for building furniture.

Stamped Concrete

In terms of driveway materials, stamped concrete is worth considering, regardless of what style you’re trying to achieve. Stamped concrete can work with a range of styles and is great for your car’s tires (because it doesn’t damage them as stones can). Stamped concrete is also very easy to walk on, so if anybody in your house has accessibility issues, then it is a fantastic option. However, laying stamped concrete can be expensive. It also needs to be done by an expert, it’s not something that you can do yourself. Stamped concrete is a good investment to make for your house.

Using Stones

Some people like to use loose stones when they are designing their driveways. While throughout this post negative reference has been made to loose stones, they can still look very good. While they are not easy to walk on and can damage your car, they still look great when put down properly. The good thing about stones is that you don’t need an expert’s help to do it. You can put stones down directly on top of whatever driveway you already have, though they’re best applied to sand or mud, rather than a concrete driveway.

Brick Paving

Brick paving is another popular style, that like stamped concrete can be expensive. Brick paving looks a lot better with modern houses than older ones. However, if you do want to use brick paving on an older house’s driveway, you still can, you just need to make sure that the color of the stones is not bright red like most brick driveways are. Bright red bricks are a relatively modern thing. A red-bricked driveway will make your house look anachronistic.  You won’t be able to apply brick paving yourself, it is something that you will have to employ a contractor to do for you.

Matching Colors

As referenced in the previous section, the color of your driveway is very important. Ideally, your driveway’s color should match your house. If it does not, then it will look strange, and could ruin your home’s look. If you have no idea what color driveway would look best, then consider hiring a professional and asking them to give you advice. A professional home designer will be able to recommend a good color for your driveway. They may even also be able to help you with the rest of your driveway’s design, helping you to improve it.

Simplicity

Keep your driveway simple, whatever you do. Your home’s driveway serves a functional purpose. If you try to do too much to it, then it might not work very well as a driveway anymore. Putting various decorative features on your driveways like benches and fountains might look good, but when you are trying to park your car, it won’t be easy. The only time that you should actually consider putting down benches and fountains on your driveway directly is if you have a very large house and an equally large driveway. Otherwise, it is not a good idea, and you should instead decorate around your driveway.

Borders

In terms of decorating around your driveway, you should always make sure that there is a border separating your driveway from your lawn. Not having a border can not only lead to people half-parking on your lawn, but it can also make your driveway’s design look sloppy. A border going around your driveway will make it look much more professionally designed. You can do your own border. A lot of people plant flowers in theirs, as an effective way to draw a dividing line between their driveway and their lawns. You can build a path that goes through your border, from your driveway to the front door of your house.

Quality Tradespeople

No matter what design you decide to implement, you are probably going to need a contractor’s help. Make sure that you take time to research the contractors that you are hiring so that you can ensure you get the best and most qualified. Working with an inexperienced contractor can be a nightmare, mainly because they usually aren’t able to complete the jobs they have been paid to do. Always read a contractor’s reviews before hiring them and make sure that they are a member of a trade organization.

Your home’s driveway isn’t something that you should ignore. It is the first thing people see, and therefore, needs to be carefully thought through and designed. An ugly driveway can make your house look terrible, no matter how pretty it might be.