Walkways in a landscape design are functional but they can also be an outdoor feature that enhances your Needham, MA area property. To pull this off, walkways need to be easy to navigate and composed of natural stone or pavers that add visual interest to the landscape design. An added element that can make such a walkway even better is a complementary retaining wall.
Walkway Design Ideas
From choosing the walkway paver laying patterns to the proper walkway width, there are a number of decisions you must make as you work with a landscape company to create the perfect path.
Walkway width: While the standard width of a walkway is often 3 feet, you can make a bigger statement in your landscape with a 4-foot width. This area can offer comfortable walking space for several people who are carrying something like a casserole dish in their hands. It gives them enough room to move side-by-side and chat on their way to your front entry or back door.
Walkway paver sizes and textures: You might not think about it but a walkway can be a focal feature of the landscape design when you select a paver that adds visual interest. This can be a rough-textured surface on an earthen-colored paver that draws on the tan tones of your exterior house paint.
For a large home, you could opt for a smaller paver to repeat a busy pattern that can be balanced by the size of the house. A smaller home might look best with an oversized, smooth paver that makes the walkway look larger than it is. The great news is that landscape experts can recommend several combinations and patterns that accomplish your vision for a new walkway.
Walkway paver styles: Walkway pavers can come in an authentic brick look, a flagstone style, a tumbled cobblestone, and many more selections that can customize the look and feel of the walkway. While you certainly want a durable paver, you also want to look down at the walkway and smile with delight at what you see.
Walkway details: There are many walkway details that can make this surface stand out. You can choose contrasting banding and edging to lend more definition. Varying the textures of the pavers can be amazing when they are laid in segments that create large squares or rectangles within the surface design.
Walkways and Retaining Walls
When the terrain of the walkway has a slope from the parking area to the front entry or the backyard goes up in elevation, the perfect solution can be to add a retaining wall in a complementary wall stone. A retaining wall can be tiered to allow for custom landscape plants and shrubs that impress your guests with their attractive, sweet-smelling blooms.
The retaining wall can also make it possible to incorporate stone steps in the walkway design to make ascending and descending comfortable and secure. Another detail of retaining walls that fit into the walkway design can be the added definition they bring to an outdoor space.
Related: DRESS UP YOUR FRONT ENTRANCE WITH A NEW PAVER WALKWAY IN THE DOVER AND WESTON, MA, AREAS