Go beyond the welcome mat in your efforts to encourage your family members and friends to come on in to your Norwalk, MA, home. Your front yard, and specifically the walkway within it, has a significant effect on the experience of your guests, not to mention the curb appeal and its effect on home value. As you reconsider your home’s front yard landscaping, call in professionals to assist with the creative and the practical. They have the knowledge and experience to point out options for your walkway that you may be unaware of and to make it as welcoming as possible.
Reflect the Home’s Aesthetic
Just as a castle would begin with a moat and a drawbridge, your home’s aesthetic could begin with a noticeable walkway leading to it. By mirroring the architectural style of the home, the walkway could accentuate the building that lies at its end. For instance, modern homes call for 90-degree angles and straight lines in their walkways while a romantic cottage could require meandering swoops as though visitors were walking through a garden.
Broaden the Walkway
To draw attention to the entryway, the walking path can broaden as it gets closer to the home. Keep in mind the walkway should always be wide enough to conveniently facilitate entry by at least two people walking side by side, and the creative winding approach should never result in guests feeling as though they’re in a maze as they approach the home. Rather than keeping the walkway the same width throughout the approach to the home, make clear when the goal is near with a widened structure that embraces the house’s entrance.
Related: How to Style a Walkway with Edging Plants in Newton, MA
Direct Guests with the Laying Pattern
Whether you choose walkway pavers that appeal to the brick, flagstone, or cobblestone aesthetic, make sure that the laying pattern used is one that leads the eye to the home itself. Guests should feel directed by the design as the walkway provides the physical means of entry as well as a figurative “waving in” of welcome. Pavers could be oriented in a direction that points to the doorway of the home or in a diagonal pattern that emphasizes movement. Through their placement, the pavers could subtly propel visitors the way you want them to go.
Provide Colorful Direction Forward
The notion of color indicating direction is as old as the yellow brick road. You may not like a bright yellow road as your walkway, but you can use another preferred, standout color as a welcoming feature. A contrasting paver edging would enable the walkway to demand attention, calling people forth, or you could even have a progressing pattern within the walkway that dares those who look down to keep on moving toward the entrance. All of these choices will focus the eye and direct movement effectively.
Allow Plantings to Wave in Your Guests
Anything nearby will have a role in the effectiveness of your welcoming walkway. Rather than bordering the walk with traditional shrubs or trees, consider using ornamental grasses. These loose, casual, and attractive plantings can provide the same benefit of height as you’d get with shrubs but you’d gain a more powerful sense of movement on a breezy day.
Related: Landscape Maintenance: Perennials and Annuals You Can Grow in the Shade in Needham, MA