Only one year into owning our home, we’ve already made some big changes, inside and out. This September we focused on the outdoor space, making some minor updates on our own, finding a new play space for the kids and working with a local hardscape professional to add a patio and updated front walkway. Today’s post shares part 1 of these hardscapes updates, with the front yard update including a new patio walkway and stairs that were resurfaced.
Before seeing any updates, it’s best to start at the beginning. Oh and before you ask, all resources on the company we worked with and paver stones we used are at the bottom of this post!
This was our home in July after getting the keys. While the house was covered in white vinyl, there were red brick stairs on the front, which always bothered me. There were also large, overgrown trees on the right side which blocked the light in that bay window and two large bushes in the front had deep root systems that were keeping water up near the house.
We had the pleasure of working with Groundmasters Inc, a local hardscape company, which helped to transform the front curb appeal of our house and the usage space of our backyard. Before going any further, as much as I would love it to be so, this is NOT a sponsored post by any means. I’m just always happy to share if I have a positive experience with a local company for the benefits of other locals.
We worked with the team at Groundmasters to have new underground drainage pipes added to all 6 downspouts that end in a pop up further down in the yard, away from the new patio and walkway. This will help to keep the water away from the home during little and big rainstorms. We also chose to have this front walkway further away from the home to allow a larger flower bed.
And here’s the after! Edge stone along the left side of the walkway now helps keep the mulch (and possibly down the road, river stone) from coming out of place. Ground Master installed these Holly Steeds at a few key points along the route and the girls and I added the mums for fall.
We plan to have the driveway redone in a year or two but love the new curved opening that flows from the pavement to the pavers.
For the front steps, they ended up having to rebuild the bottom steps, going from 3 to 4. We were able to keep the larger base on top to add the new cast stone wall pattern and paver stones on top.
The red brick stairs have now been covered in these pewter grey paver stones and charcoal bullnose to update the look that matches the home’s color palette.
A circle pattern was added to the front for more visual appeal and a Kousa Dogwood tree was planted further away from the home to add greenery without covering the front window.
Just to reiterate the point, here were the stairs last Halloween with the red brick and overgrown bushes.
And here’s what they look liked at the beginning of October with their new resurfaced look.
Rose bushes that used to be in the back of the house are now on the side and since the large tree and ugly, half fence was removed from the front, our whole backyard and side yard has opened up! I hope the roses will continue to thrive as they did this past year, as they bloomed about 4 times this spring and summer with big yellow blooms!
This summer we also noticed carpenter bees eating away at our mailbox, which scared the girls every time they went to grab the mail. Derek was able to remove the old post mailbox and replace it with this newer style that is fresh, clean, and matches our house!
We are SO happy on the front yard updates that were made, both for visual appeal with a modern look, and for function, to help our drainage issues inside. We look forward to continuing to grow more green grass in all the bare spots and plant new bushes and greenery next spring!
UPDATE: Check out what we did in the backyard!
RESOURCES:
Walkway
- EP Henry Bristol Stone with ColorTech Pewter Blend, random installation. Cube 1 and 2
- EP Henry Old Towne Cobble 6×9 Pavers with charcoal border.
- EP Henry Edge stone in concrete base
Front Steps
- EP Henry Bristol Stone with ColorTech Pewter Blend, random installation.
- EP Henry Cast Stone Wall in Adirondack
- EP Henry Bullnose in charcoal
Other
- Playset – Backyard Discover Skyfort II Cedar Swing Set/Play Set
- Mailbox – Gibraltar Franklin Medium Galvanized Steel Post-Mount Mailbox in Black
- Mailbox Post – Postal Pro 4 x 4 White Polymer Mailbox Post, Model # PP200PWH
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