If you've recently purchased your first home in a traditional subdivision, you're probably excited about beginning a rewarding adventure with suburban living. However, like many homeowners, you probably want your place of residence to express your unique character, rather than simply being a mirror image of the surrounding homes.
The typical suburban front yard consists of a lawn, flowerbeds, a few shrubs, and in homes with mature landscaping and large enough yards, a shade tree or two. If you find this look boring, you're in luck -- there are many options available to homeowners desiring creative alternatives to the classic front lawn.
One of the most effective ways to provide your home exterior with an attractive, personalized ambiance is to add quality hardscaping to the picture. Following are just three of the many great hardscaping options that work well in front yards:
Fountains
A well-placed front yard fountain not only provides you with something lovely to look at when you leave your home in the morning or arrive home after a hard day's work, but it also greets you with the soothing sound of running water. Outdoor fountains come in all shapes and sizes. You can choose to use one as the focal point in your front yard by placing it in a central location and designing your landscaping around it, or you can opt for a more subtle location such as a shaded corner.
Large Mosaic Planters
The addition of stunning mosaic planters will be sure to make your home stand out from the others in your suburban neighborhood. These work best in pairs or groups to use as accent pieces unless you opt for an extremely large planter to provide a main focal point.
Unique Driveways
There's no need for modern driveways to be boring slabs of asphalt or concrete. You can use concrete pavers to create a customized driveway in the shape, color, and design of your choice. For instance, you can choose an Old-World cobblestone effect for understated elegance, or an Art Deco themed design for a fun, vintage look. As a bonus, concrete paver driveways provide superior traction compared traditional concrete counterparts and are easier to install, repair, and maintain.
You can also use pavers for walkways and small patio areas in your front yard. Please feel free to ask your local landscape designer for more ways that you can use hardscaping to give your suburban home a personalized appearance.