The front yard is your chance to make a good first impression on friends and guests who visit your home. With drought conditions and water concerns here in San Diego, you probably don’t want a sprawling grass lawn. Beautify your home and lower your water consumption with the addition of front yard hardscaping. Here are some ideas to inspire you.
Walkways
If the entrance to your home isn’t clearly defined, help visitors find their way by building a path from the street or driveway to the front door. This creates a welcoming appearance and improves curb appeal.
Steps
San Diego’s subdivisions are cut out of hillsides. As a result, your front yard may be fairly steep. Eliminate the need to awkwardly trek up and downhill by carving steps into the landscape. These may be as polished or rugged as you want, from smooth brick pavers to roughly hewn stones. Consider adding a handrail to give your guests extra stability when navigating the steps.
Driveways
Do you have a nice spot to pull up to your house? If you’re tired of parking on the street, put in a driveway. Or, if your existing concrete driveway is cracked and pitted, consider upgrading it to improve your home’s value and appearance.
Front Porch
Do you love spending time outside on pleasant San Diego evenings? Create the opportunity to strike up conversations with neighbors and passersby by building an expansive front porch. Then, you can set up furniture or install a porch swing to create a comfortable seating area. A covered porch with built-in ceiling fans and lighting completes the transformation.
Pavers
You can pour walkways, steps, driveways, and porches using cement, but pavers have much more character and visual appeal. Choose from various materials to create just the right look, including slate, granite, travertine, flagstone, marble, or limestone. And yes, you can even manufacturer pavers out of concrete to mimic the natural look of stone but with added strength and a lower cost.
Water Features
It’s hard to beat the inviting sight and sound of a water feature in your front yard. From a small bubbling fountain to a pondless waterfall to a playful stream, the size and scope of your water feature is up to you. If you decide to add this to your front yard, you’ll benefit from enhanced air quality around your house, more wildlife on your property, and reduced traffic noise from busy roads. This could be the unique front yard feature you’ve been looking for.
Retaining Walls
To hold back the soil, control erosion, and break up the slope in your front yard, consider installing a retaining wall. This may flank your steps near the peak of your property, creating a grand entrance to the front porch. It could also be located near the road, allowing for a flat driveway in front of it for guests to park their cars. You could build your retaining wall from boulders, paving bricks, steel plates, concrete, lumber, cinderblocks, or many other materials.
