The driveway is a vital part of the American landscape, yet it’s often treated as just another utilitarian feature and isn’t given much design consideration. In fact, there are many ways in which to make a driveway in West Bloomfield Township and Troy, MI, just as unique and personal as the other parts of your landscape. Your driveway should be safe and durable, but also a welcoming feature that adds to your home’s visual appeal. As you consider improving your driveway, keep in mind a few of these great tips that you’re likely to hear from landscaping companies when looking into beautifying a driveway.
A Curved Design
If your driveway is long, there may be an excellent opportunity for a curved driveway to add beauty and intrigue. The real beauty could come through depending on the landscaping around the driveway.
Upgrading to Pavers
Many driveways in America use either asphalt or poured concrete. Beyond being fairly cheap to install, there are no advantages to these materials over pavers, and certainly not when it comes to beauty, durability, or longevity. Where poured concrete and asphalt will inevitably crack and degrade, a paver can be replaced individually—making a paver driveway a potentially more cost-effective choice in the long run.
Pavers automatically enhance the look of a driveway and provide an opportunity for creative expression. There is a wide range of design styles available that complement the colors and textures of your home and hardscape features in the front yard. A word of caution when choosing pavers: Be sure to select pavers that are rated for driveway use, as some pavers are designed for pedestrian use only.
You may also want to consider using permeable paver technology in the redesign of your driveway. Permeable pavers feature a special substrate and larger joint spaces between the pavers to enable water to slip between the cracks during a rainstorm or when snow is melting. This prevents the collection of standing water, which can erode or damage a driveway and create slipping hazards for pedestrians and vehicles. It also returns the water to the groundwater system instead of sending it into the storm drains or onto your landscape.
Driveway Heating System
The collection of snow and ice on your driveway in the winter can pose considerable problems. Installing a driveway heating system underneath the pavers would gradually heat the surface and melt snow and ice. This will eliminate the need for shoveling or plowing. It will also prevent ice formation on the surface, making for a safer driveway.
Proper Driveway Lighting
The driveway is a place where safety is absolutely paramount. The driveway needs to have good illumination at night, and this is another opportunity to increase the visual appeal of your driveway. You could use a combination of low-lying pathway lights to focus their energy close to the ground, as well as a layered effect that places more subtle lighting throughout the landscape to add dimension.
It’s often suggested that the best lights for illuminating driveways are light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which are brighter and more energy efficient than other types of bulbs. If your driveway features a retaining wall, this is an opportunity to integrate lighting into a masonry structure to highlight the textures of the wall while providing a gorgeous complement to your driveway pavers.
