Upgrading the appearance of your garage doors is a great first step in creating a more attractive home, but what’s next? Once you design new, custom garage doors and have them installed, garage landscaping/curbscaping will allow you to play off their look to increase your home’s curb appeal even more. Read on to find out how to effectively transform the area surrounding your garage.
What is Curbscaping?
Curbscaping, a type of landscaping, refers to the renovation of areas surrounding a home that faces a street or curb. It’s often used in reference to elevating a structure’s curb appeal and increasing the overall perceived value. This may include applying a new color to your front door, repositioning the front walkway for a better traffic flow, and improving front yard landscaping.
Garage curbscaping is a specific type of curbscaping that includes the restoration or remodeling of the area surrounding front-facing garages. By curbscaping your garage, you allow your garage and garage doors to further enhance the appearance of your home. This may involve the addition of decorative garage door hardware and an update to the existing landscaping around your garage.
4 Tips for Successful Garage Curbscaping
Be Consistent. Ensure the decorations and added structures surrounding your home and garage feature the same or a similar styling, helping to create a seamless, attractive look. Avoid adding features that aren’t consistent with your home’s exterior theme.- Don’t Over-Do It. Simplicity is key. The addition of too many curbscaping elements may detract from the allure of your home. Be sure to think strategically when planning and implementing your curbscaping design.
- Enhance Focal Points. Entry points, including your front door, are what guests and visitors focus on when they look at your home. Utilize the surrounding space to draw attention to the unique features and focal points of your home’s exterior.
- Keep It Flowing. Ensure all driveways, walkways, and sidewalks are clear and wide enough for functionality and easy access. Not only will it provide a clean and organized appearance, it’ll help direct guests toward the main attraction — your beautiful home.
Landscaping Ideas For Your Garage
Incorporate an Above-the-Door Garage Arbor
Adding an arbor above garage doors brings a cozy feeling to homes. An arbor will allow you to recess your garage doors for added dimension. Plus, it will help frame your garage doors and break up any large, bare exterior walls.
Try Greenery
Embrace nature by inserting greenery into your garage’s curbscaping design. If you’ve added an above-the-door arbor, you can plant ivy or other climbing vines by it. Once fully grown, the greenery will naturally frame and add dimension to your garage doors. In colder months, you can also easily add garland and holiday lights.
Not into ivy and vines? Consider adding small, potted trees or planters of tall ferns to the sides or between garage doors. The plant textures and green coloring will create a smooth, visual transition from the garage to your home and front yard.
Add a Pop of Color with Flowers
Planting or incorporating colorful flowers around your garage is an easy and ideal way to create contrast, helping your doors to stand out. Try unique floral arrangements using a variety of plants. If you don’t have much room, placing a tall, pedestal planter of grasses and flowers in between double garage door openings can help direct eyes up and toward your doors.
Change with the Seasons
If you enjoy changing up the look of your home, you may want to switch out your garage door’s landscape components and decor with each season. We recommend making a plan for your seasonal decor ahead of time to make each transition easy.
Add a Water Feature
Not only will a water feature turn the area surrounding your garage into a serene space, it will attract attention and add visual dimension to your home’s exterior. Whether you choose an antique fountain or a modern structure that incorporates running water, adding a water feature to your garage’s curbscape will allow you to create ambiance and introduce a striking design element.
Get Creative with Lighting
With added lighting, attention will automatically be drawn to your home at night. The addition of light will also help to increase your home’s security.
Choose between various styles and designs to match your home’s overall theme. Play up your carriage-style look with hanging lanterns and lamps, or add sconces with various metal tones and clean lines to accentuate your door’s contemporary appearance. If glass is incorporated into your door design, you might also consider lighting your garage exterior from within the garage.
Another option is to use lighting along your driveway, guiding eyes toward your home and front entrances. Lining your driveway with lights lends a warm, welcoming feeling and makes your home easy to spot. Whether you use driveway lanterns or subtle light stakes, the addition of lights is sure to brighten up your curbscaping design.
Make Your Driveway a Masterpiece
Take your home’s curb appeal to the next level by upgrading the path to it! There are a variety of driveway surfaces that have the ability to enhance the look of your curbscaping design. Brick or cobblestone driveways lend an old-world appearance, while a grid and grass paver driveway breaks all traditions and creates a memorable look.
Grass pavers come in a range of styles and are great for those who are passionate about maintaining an environmentally-friendly home. Grass pavers allow rainwater to penetrate the ground beneath them, reducing the amount of runoff water that collects and enters water systems, contaminating streams, lakes, and waterways. However, homeowners might be concerned with the upkeep of real grass. As a solution, low water and maintenance grass mixtures can be used. They only require natural rainfall to grow and just need to be mowed a few times a year.
