Creating a Beautiful First Impression For Your Home

While you may spend most of your outdoor home time in your backyard, your front entrance is the first space you see upon entering. Its your first shot at impressing your guests and uplifting your mood as you enter into your sacred space: your home. Just as you would invest time into your indoor foyer, there are plenty of reasons to revamp your outdoor "foyer!" Here is some help in getting you started.

Think short and long term.

Creating that perfect entrance starts with planning for year round results. You want to make sure you have enough lush for the spring bloom, but you also want to make sure your evergreens are beautiful with those same spring (and summer and fall) plants as well as when they stand alone during our cold Orange County winters. Therefore, when you're thinking about your plantings, consider the complementing colors and heights for all four of our seasons.

What are your most used paths?

Its common for homeowners to start planning their front outdoor entryways with a walkway from the street, but if your most used walkway is from the driveway to your home - be logical, start there. You might even want to go a step further and consider the path visitors take if they walk on your driveway first to get to your front door (skipping the direct path from street to front door). Think logic first, make sure that the time you're investing is on areas that people will really get to enjoy.

Exteriors should complement your house.

All of the materials and outdoor design (even in your backyard!) should match the design and architecture of your house. For example, if you have a Victorian house, consider elegant and formal style plantings and pavers with detailed iron fencing. No matter how beautiful the individual retainer walls or walkways are, working against the style of the house will result in a disjointed design, so embrace your home's style! 

Exterior design is just as important as interior design.

Placing the right furniture, based on comfort and needs (like a couch and tv) doesn't complete your living room so why should having a walkway installed complete your exteriors? Similar to curtain and wall art on the inside, spend time on planters, your front door color, lanterns, and other outdoor furnishings. Read a related post from us: Don't Forget the Planters.