Your driveway is the part of your home that leads to the house, guiding visitors and guests from the street to your front door. As it’s a place that many of us will step foot on several times a day, it’s important to make sure you get the right design that you’ll love every time you step foot on the driveway.
In this article, we’ve collated lots of different designs and information to help you to get the best out of your driveway.
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Whether you’re looking to spruce up your current driveway, or you’re looking to renovate and bring a whole new look and feel to your driveway, you’ll be able to fall in love with your home again every time you come home.
See below for some headings that we’re going to cover in this article!
Driveway Designs
If you’re looking to change the driveway leading up to your home, there are many different designs out there that you can choose from. It’s not easy to know what’s out there, and choosing the right choice for you is important to make sure you’re getting the right driveway to your home.
We’ve included some popular designs that people choose for their driveways below!
Concrete Driveway
A concrete driveway is a simple, yet effective style of driveway. The solid concrete will provide a continuous style for your home, giving you a uniform but good look to your driveway.
Concrete driveways offer the peace of mind in knowing that it’s going to last. There is little that you’ll need to do to keep it in good condition, apart from the occasional pressure wash to keep it looking like new. This is a reason that many people choose to go for a concrete driveway.
Paving Driveway
Paving stones are small pieces of concrete that are moulded into a particular shape, with varying shapes of paving stones being used to make up the driveway. These paving stones are designed to become a pattern when laid properly, giving a unique, modern and effective look and feel.
Paving is a popular choice for many because it looks professional, and often doesn’t cost too much to have installed. There are many different choices of colours to choose from to allow you to get the best out of your paving, making them a great choice for all types of homes.
When it comes to maintaining the driveway, there is a little more effort required than that of a concrete driveway, but it’s usually a couple of hours every six months or so, therefore a very small amount of effort required from the homeowner. Weeds can sometimes grow between the paving stones, and ants can nest in there. These are things to be on the lookout for and if you do spot them, simple weed or ant killer will help to do the job.
A great way to keep on top of this is by spreading sand across the driveway and brushing it in between the gaps with a hard brush. This will help to reinforce the paving stones to minimise the risk of anything growing up between the gaps.
Tarmac Driveway
Tarmac driveways are a popular choice for homeowners who want a nice looking driveway, with minimal maintenance requirements. A tarmac driveway is very similar to the roads we drive on each day, and therefore is reliable as a driveway to park your car on.
Tarmac is designed to be self-sufficient, being able to absorb water as well as being very resistant to weather. We see potholes on the roads from lots of cars passing over the roads at speed, so if you imagine just one car driving slowly over tarmac, it’s going to last.
Tarmac has very little maintenance when it comes to a driveway. Because tarmac is a substance designed to live through all weather conditions, you can be confident that it’s going to last.
Brickwork Driveway
Brickwork driveways are similar to paving stones, except they’re comprised of bricks rather than paving stones. Because of this, they’re very similar in terms of maintenance when it comes to looking after your driveway, meaning there is little maintenance required to keep on top of the driveway.
Similarly to paving, there are many different styles of brickwork and many colours that are designed to suit all households. The difference that brickwork offers compared to paving stones is that brickwork is commonly uniform, using the same size of brick, whereas paving stones are often a mix of different sizes to create a more unique pattern.
With very similar maintenance requirements and a similar style, the choice is yours!
Gravel Driveway
A gravel driveway is essentially a layer of gravel in place of any concrete or paving stones. Gravel is a fantastic choice of driveway for many, due to the versatility and the minimal maintenance requirements.
Gravel comes in a wide range of colours to allow you to choose the right colour for your property. Because there are many different types of gravel out there, you could even mix two types of gravel to provide a unique looking gravel driveway.
Gravel requires very little maintenance once it has been laid. The only real concern for a gravel driveway is the risk of any weeds growing up through the gravel, which are very easy to deal with. As long as you’re on top of them, a gravel driveway shows minimal signs of ageing and wear.
Cobblestone Driveway
A cobblestone driveway is an older looking driveway, whilst still looking great. It uses a similar style to brickwork, but the stones aren’t smooth and each provides their own little bump. Cobblestone was originally designed for horses to pull carriages on before modern roads were invented, which is what makes a cobblestone driveway so great if you’re looking to bring an older look and feel to your home.
With a cobblestone driveway, you can expect similar maintenance to that of paving stones or brickwork the stones have a small gap between them, meaning that weeds or ants can sometimes grow in these gaps. Fortunately, this is very easy to resolve.
Cobblestone is a unique look for a driveway and definitely looks good on the right driveway. A cobblestone driveway will suit an older house to continue the older theme from the home to the driveway, as well as modern houses that are designed to look like older homes. Do be mindful that if you’re into cycling, a cobblestone driveway can make it a bumpy ride!
Driveway Themes
There are many different driveways out there, and a lot of them follow certain themes which is what gives them their characteristic look and feel. We’ll cover the different types of themes out there, focusing on the most common ones to give you some inspiration for your driveway. These themes are a rough guide and can be tailored to match your personal preferences. It’s your driveway after all!
See some driveway themes below:
Modern Driveway
A lot of us have driven past a house and immediately noticed the driveway and how it looks nice and modern. Achieving this look is relatively easy for you, and as it becomes more common it becomes more accessible for many.
The modern driveway look involves having a modern-looking driveway surface, such as paving stones or brickwork and surrounding this with modern plants. Modern plants are usually quite colourless, but add character and some flair to the driveway to make it stand out. Modern driveways are also very characteristic for their use of floor lighting.
Modern driveways are most recognised by the floor lighting, as it adds a touch of class and luxury to the driveway. As the floor surrounding the driveway is illuminated, it certainly catches the eye of someone looking at the driveway and looks great for a property.
To achieve this look, you’ll need to look at where you can put some planters for some modern-looking plants to live. You’ll also need to understand where you can put some lighting in, which will help modernise your driveway. If you’re looking to get it done professionally, explain this to them and they’ll be able to start drafting up some designs.
Colourful Driveway
A colourful driveway doesn’t mean painting the driveway, but rather surrounding the driveway with lots of plants. If you live in a country cottage and have a driveway that’s surrounded with plants, then this is the perfect style of the driveway for you.
For the surface of the driveway, you’ll want something simple like gravel or perhaps tarmac or concrete, but anything will do and look good. With this driveway, you’ll want to include lots of colourful plants and some big shrubs to almost overgrow onto the driveway, giving an embedded look to the driveway.
This type of driveway looks fantastic once it’s done, but can take a couple of years for the plants to grow to size. This type of driveway is best suited to secluded driveways, ones that have surrounding walls or bushes.
Rustic Driveway
This theme of driveway allows you to bring an older look to your driveway but still one that looks very appealing. By using paving stones and having a stone wall nearby, this helps to give the impression of an old-meets-modern driveway.
A rustic driveway is fantastic for a smaller cottage or a house that’s styled to look like it’s made out of larger stones. A lot of modern houses are designed to look like this, and therefore already have the stone wall look and feel to them so this continues that theme on to the driveway.
The paving stones are an important part, as the colour needs to match that of the house. It doesn’t have to be the same colour, but it does need to go with the colour of the house to provide a seamless and connected looking driveway to the house. The paving stones can then become part of the path around the side of the house, making a seamless transition from driveway to garden!
Mosaic Driveway
A mosaic theme is certainly an interesting one to look at, and if installed correctly, can look fantastic. The idea of a mosaic driveway is that paving stones are used to create the driveway, but a pattern isn’t always followed. With many sizes of stones used, the result looks very unique but if installed properly, looks fantastic.
Sometimes, a pattern can be made within the driveway to symbolise a shape or a picture. This can provide a unique look to your driveway and can resemble something you’d like, without the need for paint or anything that will make your driveway look worse in any way.
Along with the driveway, you can extend the theme to the decorative features and use large stones to continue the theme from the driveway to the surroundings. This gives a more 3D look to your driveway and continues the theme on nicely.
There are many different ways to achieve the mosaic theme, so it’s important to talk to a professional and understand the options that you have. Getting the right driveway for you and your home is important, which is why talking to a professional to understand an expert’s thoughts will help you.
Mixed Driveway
Your driveway is important to your home, as it incorporates a lot of the outdoor space leading to your house. A good driveway instantly improves the look of your home from the outside, which is why many people are eager to get the best driveway for their home.
With this said, we’ve discussed many different types of driveways and what makes them, but we haven’t shared how easy it is to combine different driveway styles to suit you!
Below are a couple of examples where you can mix two styles of driveway to get the perfect style for you.
Brickwork and Gravel – Brickwork is a fantastic way of providing your driveway with a border, and perhaps a few lines to break up the gravel section, leaving the gravel to fill the middle of the driveway. This helps to give a modern look and feel to your driveway, without having a high cost of a full brickwork driveway.
Brickwork and Tarmac – Similarly to brickwork and gravel, brickwork and tarmac provides your driveway with a modern look and feel, as well as being more affordable. Tarmac is easy to pour for the professionals, but a full tarmac driveway doesn’t have any distinctive features. By using a brickwork surrounding, this means that the tarmac is encased in bricks, providing your driveway with some character.
Paving Stones into a Path – If you have a side path around your home, you could look to get the paving stones for your driveway to follow to the path and even around into a patio. This provides a long continuous flowing style, which looks very appealing for many homeowners.
Paving Stones and Gravel – Paving stones are very similar to brickwork however they look slightly different and therefore more appealing to some than the brickwork style driveway. You can use paving stones to surround your driveway and then use gravel to fill the gaps in the middle.
Half and Half – Many people use gravel to ‘extend’ their driveway. Most homes have room for one car and a front garden; however, many homes have two cars nowadays. By adding a new section of the driveway with gravel, this adds room for a second car and a new section of driveway without continuing the original driveway. If the right colours are used, this can look very appealing to many.
Driveway Components
Your driveway can contain many types of components, allowing you to give some personality to your driveway. Perhaps these are things you can include in your current driveway, or things to consider if you’re getting a new driveway. Either way, the below may give you some inspiration on new things to include in your driveway!
Plants (Flowerbeds)
If you have a front garden, you may well have some room to include a flowerbed or two, especially along the side of your driveway. This is a fantastic way to add some colour to your driveway without a high cost to you, which is great!
To add some flowerbeds, think about where corners or gaps are that you could add some colour. These should be along the side of your driveway to still provide the full driveway space for your vehicle, whilst adding some colour.
Plants (Potted)
Potted plants are another great way to add some colour to your driveway without the need for taking up any space from your front garden. Potted plants are easily accessible, simply purchase some pots and get planting!
Potted plants are great as they add the same colour and look and feel as flowerbeds, but they give you the flexibility to be able to easily move them around your driveway if needed. If you’re finding that you’d prefer one to be in a different location, it’s easy to move them and make it happen.
Lighting
Lighting is a fantastic way of transforming a driveway into a modern-looking one. With lighting that leads along the driveway, it adds a modern touch to the driveway without the expensive cost of a new driveway. Lighting can be installed in two ways, either through a professional or through DIY light lighting.
Hiring a professional will include a rigorous installation and connection to your home’s power, allowing you to turn the lights on and off at the flick of a switch. As nice as this is, it means your driveway will need to be dug up and most likely replaced, so unless you’re replacing the driveway, the DIY method may be better.
To DIY some lighting for your driveway, there is a very easy way to do this. Solar lights! Solar lights have a battery in them and only activate once it gets dark enough, allowing your driveway to still benefit from the professional look of lighting installation without the costs of installing one. There are many types of solar lights, from ones that stick into the ground to ones you can hang on a fence. Either way, these are sure to give your driveway a bit of a renovation.
Colour
If your driveway is near a wall or a fence that’s yours, you might wish to consider painting this. A little bit of colour can change the look and feel of your driveway, and although the actual driveway itself hasn’t been changed, adding some colour around the driveway puts it in a new environment and can help to make the front of your house look appealing.
Decorative Features
Decorating is what a lot of people enjoy doing the most. Buying something you enjoy or like the looks of is a nice feeling, and having a reason to do so is even better.
Many different types of decorative features live outdoors, from gnomes and statues to water features. You won’t want to purchase anything like this to go on your driveway, but you may wish to purchase these things for the front of your house to give your driveway a little bit of character.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve talked all about driveways and the different designs that you can get for your driveway. We’ve covered the different types of driveway materials out there, helping you to understand what different types of driveway you can get for your home.
Outside of this, we’ve also discussed some themes of driveways and what makes these what they are. It’s important that if you’re going to renovate your driveway that you do the right theme for your home, which is where the themes will help you. This will at least help you to focus your design one way or another!
Afterwards, we talked about the final features for your driveway to help you add the finishing touches. These can be added at any point, so if you’re not looking to revamp and change your driveway just yet, you can still change the look and feel of your driveway.
We hope you’ve found this article useful, and we wish you the best of luck in renovating your driveway!
