Front Garden Design To Boost Kerb Appeal And Functionality
Does your front garden inspire joy or excitement? For many people, their front gardens are simply no more than a mere attachment to their home. Most front gardens, unlike the back garden, are misused, overgrown and poorly organised.
While your focus during landscaping may be on the back garden, because this is the largest outdoor space you own, the front garden deserves some attention too. Your front garden creates the first impression of your home and is the main entrance to your property, so you want it to reflect you well.
As leading landscapers, Green Acorn Landscape Design understands how impactful a well-designed outdoor space can be, and we believe that all gardens deserve the best – including front gardens. In this post, we are sharing some of the best front garden design tips to increase the kerb appeal and functionality of your home.
How To Design A Front Garden: Understanding Your Space
Before you can begin implementing front garden design tips, you first need to understand what you’re working with. The first stage of any landscape renovation, for the front or back garden, is a site consultation.
At Green Acorn Landscape Design, we take pride in offering an extensive consultation process ahead of all outdoor work. We take the time to understand our client’s needs and desires, as well as assess their landscape to get accurate dimensions. The more detailed our work is during the process, the better the results will be.
When renovating your own front garden, you first need to determine what kind of space you have to work with. This means not only measuring the front garden, but also determining what you want.
Ask yourself questions such as:
- Is your front garden purely decorative or does it need to be functional, such as with a parking space and front door access?
- What is your family like? For example, young children or elderly people who need specific access to the home
- Are you interested in natural elements or desire a more low-maintenance outdoor space?
By defining your needs early on, you can narrow down the best front garden design tips and create an outdoor space that aligns perfectly with your home.
Front Garden Design Ideas: Creating An Attractive Home Entrance
Now that you understand what kind of space you’re working with and what you want to do, it is time to get inspired. These are some of the best front garden design ideas that can be personalised to suit your specifications:
Front Garden Design Layout: Symmetry And Balance
To ensure maximum kerb appeal of your front garden design, consider implementing a balanced, symmetrical layout. This is especially valuable when using the front garden as your main entrance to your home, as it is appealing and easily accessible.
Using the front door as the central point, rely on a combination of pathways and soft landscaping features to create a balanced front garden design. Ensure that each side of the garden has equal plants, the same level paving and straight lines.
Focal points, such as structural plants or trees or garden sculptures, can be used to define the boundaries of your front garden and draw attention to key areas.
When designing a balanced layout, you need to consider how your front garden looks from all angles. This means ensuring the front garden design looks great from windows looking out from your home, as well as from the street, for maximum kerb appeal.
Pathways For Main Entrance: Shape, Materials And Borders
Paving is vital in front garden design as it provides the main access to your home and front door.
Based on the style of your home and the size of your garden, the main access path in your front garden design can either be curved or straight. Block paving or porcelain paving slabs can be used to direct a straight pathway from the gate directly to the front door for a minimalist, contemporary appearance.
Alternatively, for cottages or traditional homes, consider a winding path made using gravel or resin. You could also rely on natural stone to create stepping stones for a sense of whimsy and adventure every time you come home.
When choosing paving for front garden design, ensure the material and colour complement the architecture of your home. For example, complementing traditional brickwork with warm-toned tones, or aligning with contemporary garden design by using cool-toned paving in shades such as grey or black.
Pathways can be defined and kerb appeal enhanced with edging and borders. Professional paving installers, like our team, can offer the complete installation of new pathways and deliver complementary edging for timeless appeal.
Driveways And Parking: Drainage And Materials
For a lot of homeowners, the majority of their front garden design is dedicated to the driveway. It is extremely convenient and attractive to have a private driveway in front of your home.
If you are planning on moving or want to increase property value, investing in driveway installation is a smart move, and there are options to complement all needs.
Whether you own a traditional or modern home, permeable driveway options are typically the best solution. Materials such as resin-bound driveways or permeable block paving are designed to be SUDs compliant, avoiding flooding and drainage issues.
Most local authorities have drainage regulations, which usually come into play for large renovations such as a new driveway. Working with professional installers, like Green Acorn Landscape Design, gives you access to a range of driveway solutions as well as expert guidance on drainage, building regulations and planning permission.
We provide resin, tarmac, gravel and block paving driveways which can be personalised to suit your home and align with drainage requirements in the area.
Soft Landscaping And Planting Decor: Fragrance, Colour, And Maintenance
There are various ways you can incorporate planting into your front garden design, including:
A great way is to frame the main pathway and front door with potted plants or flower beds. These can direct the eyes to the main access path of the home and highlight your front door well.
Borders filled with bright perennials and seasonal blooms make your home appear inviting during the warmer seasons and offer a renewed vibrancy to your home. Alternatively, if you desire a contemporary front garden design, you can rely on structural plants, ornamental grasses or evergreen shrubs to provide colour all year round.
If you desire a low-maintenance front garden design, drought-resistant shrubs such as lavender and sedum are ideal as they provide greenery, flowers and a beautiful fragrance with little watering.
Planting fragrant flowers and herbs, such as jasmine, sage or rosemary, in pots around the front door can make your home more inviting. The scents will travel through the home with each exit or entry, creating a soothing, natural aroma that the whole family can enjoy.
Our planting experts can recommend, supply and care for a variety of flowers and plants to make your front garden design pop.
Privacy And Screening Solutions: Fencing, Hedging And Boundaries
As your front garden leads directly into your home, privacy is a major concern, and there are various ways you can screen your home from the street, passerbys or neighbours:
Hedges are the most common way to create a private front garden design. To maintain this screening throughout the year, rely on evergreen shrubs such as yew and boxwood, as these keep their leaves no matter the season. Used as additional screening against fences or small retaining walls, shrubs are an attractive way to keep your home private and define the boundaries of your front garden.
However, you need to ensure that hedges are regularly pruned and shaped to maintain kerb appeal.
Fencing can be installed to define the boundaries of your front garden design, keep it secure from the street and separate your home from neighbours. Additional screening can come from hedges or climbing plants, which can be trained to fill in the gaps between panels. With options such as traditional timber, which can be painted to complement your home, or composite, fencing is a suitable solution for all kinds of front garden designs.
Conclusion
Front garden design is the key to enhanced kerb appeal and functionality of your home. Your front garden is the main entrance to your property and the first impression people get of your home, so it needs to count.
By considering the layout, the hardscaping materials, and planting placement, you can design a front garden that looks amazing all year round.
Working with professional landscapers and driveway installers, like Green Acorn Landscape Design, gives you access to expert advice and quality materials. We will help you create a front garden design that aligns with your home and is the perfect welcome home every day.
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