Curb appeal is much more than a beautiful flower bed or a freshly mowed lawn. A stellar first impression takes into account all the details around the perimeter of your home, which includes utilitarian components such as the driveway. Whether you’re building a new home, renovating an older property or just want to freshen up your landscape, consider putting some time and budget toward the driveway.
Of course, you’ll want to start with the functionality. “I see all the time with new builds where they don’t allow for enough room to maneuver in the driveway,” explains Dean Wilson, a landscape architect with Dallas-based Harold Leidner Landscape Architects. “If you don’t leave enough room to back out of your garage and you have to make a three-point turn, it’s not functional. Always make sure that you understand the actual size of what your driveway needs to be before you start to think about the design. Do you need room for two cars or more? It’s very important to think about the space.”
After you’ve fine-tuned the layout, you can turn your attention to the aesthetics of your driveway and motor court (a dedicated area for vehicle parking and hardscape transitional space). With the help of Wilson and Jared Leidner, also a landscape architect with Harold Leidner, we offer a few ideas below. And while the residences pictured here don’t need any help in the curb appeal department, their driveways can inspire ideas for homes of any style and size.
Think beyond concrete.
One of the most popular ways to enhance a driveway is to consider an alternative surface. From gravel to limestone and all the stones in between, here are some surface materials to consider, along with their pros and cons.
Porcelain: Porcelain pavers are resistant to moss, mold and weather (they won’t freeze or crack like concrete), and they come in a variety of colors and designs that look very similar to the natural stones they emulate. “Porcelain is awesome because it’s easy to clean and looks great,” says Leidner. “Some natural stones are hard to clean because they are so porous.” (That means oil, water and chemicals can seep into the less-dense natural stone and stain them.) Porcelain will also be more expensive than concrete pavers.
Brick: “Bricks are one of the oldest street building materials we have other than natural stone,” says Wilson. “They are unbelievably durable.” Brick also allows you to create eye-catching patterns on a driveway. “Say you have a house that is antique brick,” says Wilson. “In that case the driveway might be brick and you may go into a pattern, perhaps herringbone. Maybe you have a brick border with an infill of diamond patterned Lueders. That would look great with Tudor-style house, for instance. There are all sorts of patterns and different sizes of brick.”
Bricks also have a long lifespan and can outlast concrete. However, laying brick — especially in an ornate pattern — is costlier than using concrete pavers.
Gravel: “There’s something really romantic about arriving on a pebblestone driveway,” says Leidner. “You pull up and you feel the bumps and you’ve arrived.” The sound of a car on gravel evokes a sense that you’re somewhere grand and far from typical urban streets. However, gravel can be a potential problem, especially if you have young children. “Kids can pick up the gravel and throw or play with it, or it sticks to the bottom of their shoes and can be messy,” Wilson explains. “We have to think through that if we’re considering a gravel driveway for a project.”
But if it’s worth it to you to deal with a few pebble messes, Wilson notes that the result is timeless. “If you look back at the classic chateaus in France and the amazing estates in Versailles, the pedestrian ways — what we would call a motor court now — are all gravel.”
Cobblestone: Like brick, cobblestone can be reclaimed, which is an environmentally-friendly option that may come with a bit of history. “We have a few vendors who source a lot of their stone through Europe and overseas,” Wilson explains. “Maybe some small town in Italy has pulled up all of their old cobblestones on the street and the materials can be reclaimed. I think it’s always cool when we’re able to do that and reuse it. There’s something different about the look of an antique stone.”
Cobblestones also handle weather well and are extremely durable. They have a lower rate of heat absorption than concrete, which means they are cooler in the summer — which is incredibly attractive for a Dallas summer. Keep in mind that cobblestones present uneven surfaces and are a higher initial investment than concrete driveways.
Limestone: “Our natural material in the D-FW area is limestone, so it is used a ton,” Wilson says. “It’s a very classic look.” He notes that limestone is versatile aesthetically as well. “If you have an ultra-modern house with large overhangs and big windows, then you might choose a large, limestone pattern,” he says, adding that limestone can also be used as a border, in a band or even as slabs (as shown above) for a more traditional look. The stone is diverse, durable and low maintenance.
Other materials: Leidner and Wilson have also utilized granite, Pennsylvania bluestone, travertine, Oklahoma slab and Ozark stone for driveways. They all form gorgeous patterns, offer hints of color and have the potential for a one-of-a-kind entrance. And while there are countless ways to upgrade a driveway, Leidner and Wilson recommend calling on a pro with plenty of experience to ensure that the space plan and design turn out just the way you want.
Add a fountain or sculpture.
A driveway doesn’t need to be empty. “Utilize fountains and sculptures,” Wilson recommends. “You can create an interesting space out of something that is typically pretty boring.” For the project above, the entrance had room for a beautiful water feature that creates stunning drive-up appeal. Tumbled limestone pavers, along with a Pennsylvania bluestone border, provide texture and beauty.
Wilson also enjoys using pottery and sculptures as driveway additions, as they can bring varying heights and dimensions. “Driveways are flat,” he points out. “The more verticality you can add to it, the better. Say you have a motor court that’s a rectangle. In the corners you may want to add lanterns or pottery. This is where you can tie in something that’s vertical to add interest.”
Stain the existing concrete.
“If you have a concrete drive you don’t want to rip it out, there are some other finishing options you can do,” says Wilson. For example, stain the concrete a different color for an updated look. This Harold Leidner client wanted to turn their stained drive into a sport court. “The color goes all the way through the concrete,” Wilson shares. “Then we painted the lines of the basketball court. We have done the same method for pickleball and tennis. Typically those courts also have a special topping made for the court itself.”
Add a stone border.
If you’re content with your concrete drive but want to add a hint of color or texture, you can always add a border. It’s also a great way to get a high-end look with a tighter budget.
Here, the Harold Leidner team created a gorgeous tumbled limestone edging to a stained concrete drive. “There’s a wide variety of natural stone that we like to use to create a beautiful border,” says Wilson. “Natural stone is resilient material. It’s durable. And we custom cut everything so that we can do patterns and designs and mix different types of stones so that it’s not just a one-material driveway.”
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