Designer Driveways and Front Garden Solutions

Resin driveway example - a popular designer driveway for front garden upgrades

The front garden and your driveway is the first thing people see when they approach your house. You want it to look great, but it needs to serve a purpose as well. Before you start, there are many important factors to consider when re-designing the space beyond the front door.

Things to consider when creating kerb appeal:

How Many Cars Will Be Regularly Used on Your Driveway?

It may seem a little obvious, but it affects a number of things. A heavy ‘traffic’ driveway will need good, strong, durable materials to withstand constant movement. A clever design may also be required to make the most out of the space you have so all cars can leave without having to move any of the others.

Is Your Front Garden on a Slope?

This generally rules out loose gravel, unless you want to be constantly sweeping it off the road. Resin-bound gravel looks great. Its price point is a lot higher, but the maintenance is next to none and will instantly start paying for itself.

What’s the Style of Your Home?

Traditional, country-style houses just wouldn’t suit clean, straight lines and grey setts. Think about the style of your house and match it with your needs. Blend the colours and materials with the ones you already have in your home and go from there. Marshalls drive setts and loose gravel or resin bound gravel, create the perfect contrast in materials whilst harmonising with the house and the surrounding area.

Do You Struggle With Water Collecting on the Driveway?

Now that localised flooding is quite a problem due to a lack of green spaces, inadequate driveway drainage can lead to a number of home damaging problems. Driveway paving material choices are often based solely on aesthetic appeal, but combined with aco drains, the runoff water has somewhere to drain to. Permeable products such as resin allow water to pass through the product themselves through openings or voids and return into the soil beneath. Permeable surfaces considerably reduce run-off making the likelihood of flooding much lower.

Good planting will soften hard edges, as well as providing drainage. Go for evergreen shrubs if you want year-round interest with little maintenance.
Bring everything to life at night with integrated lighting.

Flush, drive-over lights will withstand the weight of a car, while low bollard designs add a sculptural element. Opt for products with movement sensors if you only want them to come on as you approach.

Are you thinking of upgrading your tired looking driveway? Resin-bound driveways are a great way to give the front of your property an instant facelift. If you’re thinking of upgrading your driveway, give us a call on 0116 210 0760.

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