Plan Now For a Gorgeous Front Entry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create Design PIZZAZ…Ask Yourself These Questions:

 

Is your front entry a dud?

• Are the plantings out of control and hiding the windows and doors?  Start anew!  With many new cultivars available, add color and plant in masses for an updated look with less maintenance.
• Is the landing too confining to greet guests?  Increase the size with a spacious and inviting outdoor foyer.  Make it large enough to add a bench for a sitting area.

Does your front walkway lack spunk? 

• Create a larger, inviting landing at the driveway or city walkway. 
• Install a column or architectural element matching the house for a focal point or to anchor or frame the entryway.
• Widen the walkway by adding a course of brick along the sides or replace it with brick or pavers that compliment the colors of your house.
  

  Adding a larger outdoor foyer with a brick inset and a sitting area provides adequate room for greeting visitors. A round brick planter adds a focal interest to the entrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does your house have an interesting feature like an archway or window detail?

• Add a classy element and repeat the shape in a brick inset or in the outline of a planting bed.

Has your front stoop passed its prime, giving a poor impression of what might be behind?

• Cap it by mortaring on brick or Bluestone if it’s structurally sound.  Replace it if it’s crumbling or settled, preventing water from entering the basement and injuries from people tripping and falling.
  

  A curved stoop is reconstructed and capped with Bluestone in a shape that mimics the shape of the front door and windows. A large landing at the driveway welcomes visitors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does nighttime steal away your hospitality?

• Bring your home and landscaping to life with a low voltage lighting system.  Up lighting a tree can create a visual sculpture or accent your façade.  Path lights create safety and security.

Could your front door be a focal point?

• The front door sets the tone for the whole house.  Replace it with a door with more architectural character.
• Painting the door a vibrant color makes it pop and catches the eye.
  

  The sidewalk is widened by adding a course of brick to the sides. The materials of the stoop and sidewalk compliment the colors of the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Beautiful Stone Garden Walls

A beautiful stone wall can add a truly majestic element to your landscape.  The use of attractive, natural stone in a wall, whether mortared or dry laid, creates an architectural component with a timeless appeal.  Use a stone wall to enhance the architecture of your home, define space or create a theme for your landscape.

A mortared granite wall and column beautifies a driveway entrance and matches the masonry on the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stone Garden Wall Objectives 

• Frame an entryway, sidewalk or driveway, drawing your eye toward these areas or use as a focal point.
• Create a sense of space by placing the wall along a sitting area, courtyard or outdoor foyer.  
• Give a sense of privacy by installing a wall around patios and conversational areas.
• Construct seat walls, providing extra areas to sit and relax, or areas to place planters, garden art, lights, and refreshments.
• Create raised planters.
• Hold back soil, terracing yards to create usable space and planting areas.

Wall Materials and Additions

• There is an infinite selection of natural stone available, split, fractured, cut, tumbled and cobble, that give a variety of architectural effects.
• Add a column to the end of the wall to help anchor it.
• For a finished, elegant look, top the wall with a Bluestone or a Bedford limestone cap, or put a marque or address stone in the wall or column.
• Put landscape lighting on top of the wall column, or have an up light shining onto the wall.

This fractured Basalt wall creates a raised planting bed, giving the sitting area a sense of privacy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This mortared Lannon cobble wall and column with a Bluestone cap helps frame and focalize the entrance.

This dry laid Lannon stone wall with a Bedford limestone cap helps give the patio area a sense of privacy.