Upgrading your entryway experience can bring a fresh appeal to your home. One way to achieve a luxurious, updated look is to use masonry. In this post, we’ll concentrate on creating the most wonderful journey to the front door of your Babylon, Long Island, NY, home in a fresh, modern way. Here are our tips.
Related: HOW MASONRY CAN BE USED TO ACCENTUATE A PERGOLA ON LONG ISLAND, NY
Consider a Curved Entryway
A curved entryway to the front steps and door is typically more interesting than a straight walkway. It’s a softer approach, especially if your landscape design already conforms to a naturalistic plan that is rich in unstructured vegetation. Curves encourage a visitor to slow down and savor the landscape instead of rushing, business-like, along a straightaway.
If your home is very formal and you want to tone down the formality a bit, a curved walkway could be the answer as it is a more free-flowing approach without rigid constraints.
Achieve the Right Balance
Whether your home is formal or casual, you want to create a sense of balance at the entry. For example, a walkway that is flanked on one side by the heft of a home and foundation plantings, but opens directly onto a lawn on the other side, can feel like it’s neither part of the home nor part of the landscape. One solution is to extend the foundation plantings on both sides of the walkway, by placing the walkway more or less in the center or slightly closer to the home.
Another solution is to place a low wall along the outer edge of the walkway. This could create a sense of enclosure, where it feels as though you have already entered the home’s space once you have stepped onto the walkway. A low stone wall can create a visual embrace that welcomes visitors, and if any visitors are mobility-impaired, it could offer a place to rest along a long walkway.
You have many choices when it comes to walkway materials. For example, brick can be used in virtually any application, bringing a historic feel to an ultra-modern home and echoing the warm welcome of a traditional farmhouse.
You can also balance the entry itself with masonry: a beautiful stone bench gives people a spot to gather; a pillar topped with statuary lets you showcase your creativity; or a water feature could offer a somewhat symmetrical balance to a tree on the other side of the walkway.
Opt for Simplicity If You Prefer the Modern Style
One modern design theme is to focus on simplicity. Keep your entire entranceway experience simple, whether you prefer a straight or curved path to the front door. Monochromatic pavers and lack of contrasting borders would bring your attention to the materials and to the landscape. It’s a look that doesn’t distract you and presents a more tranquil approach to the home.
Use modern, large-format pavers on a curved walkway for a visually calming effect due to fewer joint lines. If your home has a relatively busy facade such as brick, a simple walkway can be very soothing to the eye.
If you want a low wall to define your walkway, choose plank-style wall units, to maintain the simplicity of the space.
Related: BUILDING A MODERN RETREAT WITH MASONRY IN BABYLON, NY
