As you welcome in the New Year and a few party guests, why not think about the first impression your home and environment makes on visitors? It could be time for one of your New Year resolutions to consider revamping the kerb appeal of your property and the first step to doing this is to consider having a new driveway. Here are a few design tips to consider before you make the final decision.

  1. Consider the design and style of the home

Your driveway has to compliment and blend in with the current style and age of the property, having an old style colonial property with a stark geometric hard surface driveway is not going to blend in. Modern sleek designs work well with newer builds and crisp clean concrete drives add to the overall look. Older builds suit a curved driveway with coloured concrete or toning aggregate surface. So before you start to make your choice, take a few photographs of the outside of the home or office to discuss the different choices available with your chosen concrete driveway contractor. Have a walk around the neighbourhood to see what other styles have been chosen by those who are living in a home of a similar age and design.

  1. Put pen to paper

It is always best to draw up a few designs and if you are not confident in being able to do this, your driveway company will be happy to help. You need to consider what shape of drive is going to best suit the overall design as well as the needs of the household. Have you got space for a curved driveway? Would a circular drive be more practical and attractive or are you going for the straight shape? While you are planning the shape of the drive you will need to factor in whether you need access to utilities below the ground, what drainage or slope are you working with? Are you looking for a turning circle? Plus are there any planning restrictions placed on the property that could limit the design and materials used in the design?

  1. Think about material and colour

Today there are a number of textures, tones and shapes available in the market for customers to choose from. You want the driveway to be practical, hard wearing and easy to maintain as well as be aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The colours should blend and tone with the shades and hues that you have on the outside of your property. You can choose from a number of polished raised aggregates that will add texture and colour to the driveway or stamped and patterned concrete in a style of your choice. If you have a highly decorative home for example, you may not want a “busy” pattern on the drive but you could pick up on the colour of the exterior walls. If you already have an outside patio area in textured concrete you may want to match this with the new driveway.

Remember your driveway specialist is there to help and guide you to choose the new driveway you deserve in 2018.