Thinking of having a driveway added to the front of your property? Before all else, you’ll want to ensure that the essentials for a good design are included. This applies to functionality and safety (e.g., accounting for pedestrian safety), which you’ll want to consider too. In this guide, we’ll focus on the essentials for ensuring a great aesthetic. Let’s begin!
1. Correct Size
The first essential to consider is the size of the driveway and the dimensions of various aspects of your driveway. It’s also important to be aware that certain rules and regulations apply to correctly sizing a driveway.
For instance, a driveway design needs a width of at least 10-12 feet so that the average car can drive in and park. However, if you have wider-than-average cars then you’ll need to opt for a wider driveway and driveway entrance.
2. Entry/Exit Point
As touched on, getting the entry/exit point sizing right is essential. You’ll also want to consider the rules/regulations, planning permission and any applicable site-specific constraints.
However, more so from an aesthetic point of view, you’ll want to ensure that the entry/exit point is beautified to your liking.
Popular driveway entrance ideas include greenery, driveway pillars, gates, edging and permeable pavers. Whatever general idea you have in mind, you’ll need to hire a designer to help you perfect the entry/exit point design as well as the driveway design in general.
One consideration worth mentioning is that you’ll want the entry/exit point to maximise the initial view of your property (i.e., minimal obstruction of your property - unless you’d rather opt for a gate at the front). It goes without saying that whatever look you go with should have matching properties with the remainder of your driveway where feasible.
3. Choosing the Right Type of Driveway
There are a whole host of driveways to choose from. So, it’s important to spend plenty of time considering which option best suits your preferences and finding one that works well with the look of the rest of your property. By type of driveway, we mean the material used in this case.
Common types of driveways include:
- Gravel
- Tarmac or asphalt
- Cobblestone
- Bricks
- Indian Stone
- Block Paving
- Bound resin
- Bonded resin
Be sure to weigh up the features, pros & cons, and costs of each driveway before making a decision. Pricing can vary significantly. For instance, resin driveway prices tend to range from £2,500 to £4,000, whereas for gravel driveways pricing generally falls between £1,700 to £4,500.
4. Opting for a Firm Design
Just as getting the material right is important, so is choosing a well-suited design. Prominent design options include a straight driveway, curved driveway, circular driveway, herringbone pattern driveway and decorative borders driveway.
If you have a fairly small front garden then you’ll probably want to stick with a straight driveway as far as the layout goes (in fact, it may be the only viable option). With that said, you could still consider a herringbone pattern drive regardless of the overall layout. However, for medium or large properties, options such as a curved or circular driveway become more tenable.
5. Considering All Necessary Elements of the Design You Have in Mind
Whatever material you choose and the design layout you opt for, it’s essential to consider all necessary design elements for the specific plan being considered. Again, this is why hiring a professional designer is necessary and critical to the success of your driveway installation.
Other Considerations
Other design ideas worth taking into account include lighting (if you’d like to have these added at the entry/exit point or in your driveway), ease of maintenance and sufficient drainage. All in all, a well-designed driveway should take all essentials into consideration to ensure that the drive is functional, safe and aesthetically pleasing.
Hiring Professionals
Whether it be for hiring a professional designer or a driveway installer/installation team, you’ll want to go about hiring in a smart way.
We’d recommend getting a quote from 3+ professionals in each case. Then, compare each professional’s price tag, previous experience and their online reviews/ratings if applicable. By considering these aspects, you can make a more informed decision.
