10 Driveway Dress-up Ideas

Make your strip of tar into something stunning

By Patrick Milehan

Your driveway is one of the first features visitors notice about your home. By making it eye-catching and instilling it with character, you can present a warm, inviting feeling to welcome your visitors.

These 10 ideas can give your driveway a refreshing makeover that complements your home and personality:

1. Add Foliage. Planting trees and bushes along your driveway creates an interesting border that's sure to attract attention. By mixing plant types, you can add a beautiful array of colour and fragrance to your yard.

2. Install a Trellis. A trellis provides a wonderful focal point for your home and can create the illusion of a larger home. You can plant fast-growing vines around the structure to create a beautiful green wall with ample character.

3. Create a Brick Driveway. If you're up for a completely new look, change the paving material. Although brick entails more work-and money-than other choices, it creates an elegant entryway to your home and can be purchased in many colours and sizes to match most any colour scheme. Lay the bricks in a variety of designs, including circles, waves or checkerboard to personalize your driveway.

4. Plant a Privacy Bed. If you share your driveway with a neighbour, plant shrubs and flowers between the entryways to create a small but colourful privacy wall.

5. Install Lighting. Landscape lighting creates an impressive effect that can alter the look and feel of your home. You can insert lights to resemble a runway design that borders the sides of your driveway, or stagger two or more lamp styles for a more creative approach.

6. Build a Rock Garden. Who says your lawn has to meet your driveway? Remove a two-foot-wide strip of grass along both sides of your driveway and fill the areas with colourful rocks. Mix big rocks with small rocks for variety.

7. Construct a Retaining Wall. If you have the room, a retaining wall along your driveway can add character and old-world charm to your home. Use railroad ties, telephone poles, bricks or stones to construct a wall that suits your desires.

8. Design a Grass Driveway. If you have a small front yard with limited colour, make your driveway your lawn.

9. Add Gravel. Changing the look of your driveway can be as simple as adding gravel. There are a variety of colours to select from, including blue-grey for a comfortable, family-style feeling, a red that generates natural appeal, or white for a more formal look.

10. Redesign the Shape. The ultimate driveway makeover involves completely changing the contour of your driveway. Add a curve or two to create the look of an inviting country road. A circular driveway makes it easy for visitors to come and go and provides a great centrepiece location inside the circle for an eye-catching water fountain or statue.

No matter what design you implement, a well-crafted driveway generates wonderful curb appeal and increases the value of your home.