5 Creative Ways To Dress Up Your Driveway’s Style
You’ve got it all just the way you want it; the perfect landscaping with an expanse of manicured lawn and precisely placed boulders, a spacious back deck with room for a seating area and dining. Everything about the exterior of your home is welcoming and inviting. Everything, that is, except your driveway. Your driveway is like Cinderella; it does all the hard work and everyone else gets dressed up for the ball. Your driveway deserves just as much attention as the rest of your house, doesn’t it? Here are some ideas to get your driveway properly attired:
1. Stamped Concrete
This is a popular choice. If you are working with new construction or need a new driveway, investigate stamped concrete. Itís only slightly more expensive than asphalt but looks like a million bucks. In fact, the possibilities are almost limitless. You can stamp out any design, pattern or color that you can think of for the look of high-end stone but with the price and durability of plain old concrete.
2. Fancy Edging
What if you have a driveway that is in good working condition? It doesnít make sense to tear it out and waste all that money. Plus, that is a lot of square footage to cover with an expensive material. Another easy way to dress things up is to edge the driveway with a border in the high-end material of your choice, bricks, stones, stamped concrete. It looks great and no one will ever guess that you did it to save money.
3. Cobblestone
Everyone has at least seen most of the material choices, bricks pavers, stamped concrete, and natural stone. The newest (really, the oldest) kid on the block is cobblestone. In fact, cobblestone has been around for centuries. But, relax; you are not really buying centuries old cobblestone. The stones are actually cast-concrete, complete with rough edges to look old, weathered and amazing. They are laid just like any other paver, but have a classic look.
4. Stained Concrete
Applying stain to existing concrete is a great solution for hiding flaws and dressing up the look of our driveway without the investment of re-paving with a luxury material. Concrete is extremely porous and takes the application of acid-based stains well. In fact, unlike paint, it does not sit on the surface. The stain soaks in as a permanent addition. It wonít flake off. Creative installers can give the illusion of stone or pavers with the use of various stains and by cutting shallow grooves in the concrete.
5. Apron Facelift
If all of the above is too large of a financial investment, donít worry. There are ways to sneak your driveway into the ball before the clock strikes midnight. The answer is an apron. No, not that kind of apron. You can have just the front portion of your driveway, where it meets the street, paved with either brick or cobblestone. You still have a gorgeous entrance and a driveway befitting the rest of your home, just at a much reduced cost.
With just these few suggestions for dressing up your driveway, you can have a fairy tale entrance pretty enough to attend the ball with the rest of the house.
**Use Your Resources for the Driveway**
Houzz has some great ideas for upgrading your driveway’s style