Front walkways are an amazing opportunity to refresh a yard. I have a project going right now that really reflects just how much of an opportunity a small project like this can make. It takes the right design, of course. It’s a great lesson on selecting the right materials and blending them with insight about your house and expressing who you are.
One of the jobs I’m doing right now is creating a new front walkway. I was also assisting with selecting plants for a bed that abuts the walk, but I’m going to focus on the walkway portion for this blog.
Protocol Revised
The design process I went through was a little different than others because the owner decided to figure out everything onsite with face-to-face meetings instead of finalizing things in a master plan before construction. So far, it’s been a very enjoyable process.
Anything that uses a solid material like concrete or asphalt to make a surface such as a patio, parking lots, sidewalk or walkway is usually referred to as hardscape. In residential design, most hardscaping uses materials and shapes to resemble traditional styles. My clients typically like to use materials and layouts that are more contemporary that emphasizes the traditional aspects of the house but doesn’t try to imitate it. Perhaps one of the most important tenets of contemporary and sustainable design is for the project to have an authentic expression that is multilayered and true. That’s a big order, but really a valuable part of residential design in the modern age.
The design process I went through was a little different than others because the owner decided to figure out everything onsite with face-to-face meetings instead of finalizing things in a master plan before construction. So far, it’s been a very enjoyable process.
Anything that uses a solid material like concrete or asphalt to make a surface such as a patio, parking lots, sidewalk or walkway is usually referred to as hardscape. In residential design, most hardscaping uses materials and shapes to resemble traditional styles. My clients typically like to use materials and layouts that are more contemporary that emphasizes the traditional aspects of the house but doesn’t try to imitate it. Perhaps one of the most important tenets of contemporary and sustainable design is for the project to have an authentic expression that is multilayered and true. That’s a big order, but really a valuable part of residential design in the modern age.
Elements of a Walkway
Walkways have three major parts. First, it has to perform correctly. For a walkway to perform correctly, it will need to connect two or more areas together with the best route with the least effort. Second, it has to be made in a way that allows that connectivity to be durable and long lasting. This is where the pavers come into play. Pavers are not all created equally either. There’re only one or two companies that make pavers that I feel fit into a more modern sensibility for residential projects. The third component of a walkway is the shape and size (or form) it takes in connecting the disjoined places…and how it relates to the surrounding spaces.
Walkways have three major parts. First, it has to perform correctly. For a walkway to perform correctly, it will need to connect two or more areas together with the best route with the least effort. Second, it has to be made in a way that allows that connectivity to be durable and long lasting. This is where the pavers come into play. Pavers are not all created equally either. There’re only one or two companies that make pavers that I feel fit into a more modern sensibility for residential projects. The third component of a walkway is the shape and size (or form) it takes in connecting the disjoined places…and how it relates to the surrounding spaces.
The Site
The site of this project is the front yard of a large house built in 1908 putting it squarely within the Victorian period (if not right at the end of it). The gambrel roof and the off-center doorway are two classic characteristics.
The site of this project is the front yard of a large house built in 1908 putting it squarely within the Victorian period (if not right at the end of it). The gambrel roof and the off-center doorway are two classic characteristics.
The proportion of the façade is another telltale sign. A driveway runs along one side of the house accompanied by fence creating a boundary with the neighboring property. The lawn opens up the front of the house and turns along the opposite side yard with on fence. The asymmetrical form of the house and yard are two very helpful features for a more contemporary approach.
The Process
During the first consultation, we talked about plants for the bed beside the walkway. It gets pretty wet during the summer and has a equal amount of sun to shade ratio. I recommended irises and a few grasses to begin filling in the bed and to use the walkway as a border as much as a walkway.
The owners had previously painted the house a really interesting blue (almost purple), and are refinished the porch with wooden stairs and railings. After the initial consultation, I sent a style sheet to the client that took these features into consideration. The paver had a wood-like finish though made of concrete. I also recommended a border paver that was more rounded and irregular.
During the first consultation, we talked about plants for the bed beside the walkway. It gets pretty wet during the summer and has a equal amount of sun to shade ratio. I recommended irises and a few grasses to begin filling in the bed and to use the walkway as a border as much as a walkway.
The owners had previously painted the house a really interesting blue (almost purple), and are refinished the porch with wooden stairs and railings. After the initial consultation, I sent a style sheet to the client that took these features into consideration. The paver had a wood-like finish though made of concrete. I also recommended a border paver that was more rounded and irregular.
I thought I had hit the mark, but when I talked to the owner she didn’t want more wood because the new porch had so much already. This turned out to be a really awesome comment, because it set us on a path for a very interesting design.
The second style sheet I sent suggested we transition the color of the walkway from one color to a totally different color. One end would be dark and the other lighter. I used an image from a project in NYC to illustrate the idea. With another onsite conversation, it looked like I stuck gold with this concept.
The Right Paver
The right paver turned out to be a beautiful rectangular concrete paver in two different sizes and hues. The variety would help me blend the new walkway with the house in a way that didn’t overpower the planted bed or house itself. I took several field measurements to determine the overall square footage of the walkway so we could order all the materials.
The right paver turned out to be a beautiful rectangular concrete paver in two different sizes and hues. The variety would help me blend the new walkway with the house in a way that didn’t overpower the planted bed or house itself. I took several field measurements to determine the overall square footage of the walkway so we could order all the materials.
Once the pavers were delivered, we had to do a little demo of the existing walkway that turned out to be a lot more demo than we thought. This gave us the chance to start to sketch the layout for the path. The owner and I first drew out a few rough options in white spray paint.
After considering where people would likely step onto the path from the driveway and the porch and how they would likely travel across it, we finalized the shape of the walkway in orange spray paint.
Quick eco-fact about this project: I love using locally sourced, 100% recycled materials when I can. Most of the time, hardscaping uses what is called quarry product (better known as QP in the biz). An alternative to this is recycled concrete aggregate (or RCA). It's 100% sustainable and works amazing. It forms the base that the stone dust and, ultimately, the pavers sit. Below is the RCA before it is compacted.
From this point, I went back to the office and drew the layout to figure out the patterning to transition the colors from dark to light.
The paver sizing really helps to harmonize the overall shape and size with the surroundings. The actual path shape is the most effective and practical pathway from the drive to the porch.
The project isn’t finished, but should be within the next day or so. Below is an image of the work in progress. The color change is starting to show and it really is interesting to see. The drawing makes it look so much more dramatic than in real life. I love the way it looks so far.
When we finish, I might do a short blog to show the final product. I’m always posting images of all our projects progress on our official Instagram page. Sometimes, I make a Story too. Check back to see how things ended up.
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