Driveway Ideas: - Enhance Your Home's Kerb Appeal

Creating a front driveway for your home often - understandably - puts practicality at the top of the list of requirements, but that doesn't mean that driveways can't be beautiful as well. As an increasing number of vehicles line our streets, off-street parking is becoming more sought-after. On average in the UK, adding a driveway to your property can increase the value of your home by between 5 - 10%, so is well worth considering. London Stone supply a number of materials that are suitable to be used as driveway paving, including porcelain, natural stone, and clay paving.... This page will give you plenty of take-home ideas for creating your own driveway project. From sleek, modern porcelain drives, to more traditional natural stone driveways, we'll also showcase how clay pavers can be a fantastic material to use, rather than concrete block paving.

In metropolitan areas, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) regulations may have to be adhered to. This informative blog from our sister company, Chelmer Valley, will help you to better understand SuDS regulations, whether they apply to you, and what you need to do to be compliant. We would also advise seeking expert professional advice before undertaking any kind of driveway project.

Kandla Grey Kerb Appeal In Surrey

Imagery supplied by Landscape Artisan

Kandla Grey Porcelain & Black Granite Setts, Charcoal Porcelain, Landscape Artisan, www.landscapeartisan.co.uk

An easy maintenance front garden and driveway, featuring our Kandla Grey Porcelain paving in a modern, uniform 900x600mm format. The chosen porcelain not only represents the excellent value demonstrated by our Project Range, it also emulates the ever-popular Kandla Grey Sandstone, from India. This factory-made replication however, has machine sawn edges to give it a contemporary finish, as well as a more consistent grey colouring than its natural stone counterpart.

Kandla Grey Porcelain & Black Granite Setts, Charcoal Porcelain, Landscape Artisan, www.landscapeartisan.co.uk

This project is a great example of how to designing a driveway space that is both practical and aesthetically pleasing. By using stylish large front porch planters, and by adding beautiful soft landscaping, focal points have been added to ensure that the property's vehicles don't dominate the area.

Kandla Grey Porcelain & Black Granite Setts, Charcoal Porcelain, Landscape Artisan, www.landscapeartisan.co.uk

Luscious green planting with splashes of purple alliums and verbena highlight and contrasts beautifully with the sleek porcelain paving. Olive trees and decorative grasses are used around the perimeter of the front garden to give the scheme a softer feel, and to help to bring nature into space.

Tumbled Sandstone Gives London Driveway Cohesion

Imagery supplied by Alchemy Green

Tumbled Black Sandstone, Alchemy Green, www.alchemygreen.co.uk

This design uses the compact space extremely effectively, as a timber bin store has been cleverly incorporated into the front part of the garden, while a soft landscaping palette of hardy perennials, including verbena, erigeron, lavender and hydrangea encourage crucial pollinators into the garden, proving that driveway paving can be both practical and beautiful.

Tumbled Black Sandstone, Alchemy Green, www.alchemygreen.co.uk

The perfect choice of material to complement this beautiful 1920's period property, the paving has been used to create an inviting pathway from where the car is parked, to the front door. By using the same paving material across both areas of the garden and drive, a cohesive result has been achieved. Using greys and darker colours of paving materials is a good idea when it comes to paving driveways, as they are more sympathetic to tyre markings and general wear-and-tear.

This typical London front garden and driveway was given a makeover using our Tumbled Black Sandstone paving slabs. Supplied as a 'project pack' (an equal mix of the four different-sized flags), the flags are laid in a 'random' layout, which suits the stone's natural, traditional style. Tumbling stone softens the edges and corners, resulting in a soft, slightly weathered look when the material is just laid.

Goldleaf Create Bronzed Front Drive

Imagery supplied by Goldleaf Horticultural Services

Kota Brown Limestone, Goldleaf Horticulture Services, www.londonstone.co.uk/landscaper/goldleaf-horticultural-services-ltd

Creating off-street parking for two vehicles was the objective for Goldleaf Horticultural Services outside of this double-fronted London property. The team utilised our Kota Brown Limestone paving, which is an excellent value, hard-wearing slab. This natural stone possesses a gently riven (hand cut) top surface, while its sawn edges give it a slightly more modern finish. Gentle brown, bronze, and grey tones are prevalent throughout the material, lifting the space, and adding visual interest.

Kota Brown Limestone, Goldleaf Horticulture Services, www.londonstone.co.uk/landscaper/goldleaf-horticultural-services-ltd

Soft landscaping highlights include trailing honeysuckle, which will produce a beautiful, sweet scent, as well as encouraging bees and insects into the space. A parred-back, verdant planting palette — including lavender — softens the scheme with planting beds bordering the space, and two potted olive trees framing the front doorsteps, to create a welcoming appearance.

Kota Brown Limestone, Goldleaf Horticulture Services, www.londonstone.co.uk/landscaper/goldleaf-horticultural-services-ltd

The paving has been laid in a coursed pattern, adding to the modernity of the design, by using clean lines across the scheme. This is further highlighted by the sandstone setts — laid in a stack bond (i.e. grid) laying pattern — which have been used to separate the two parking areas and lead visitors to the front door.

Masterful Materials Mix In Greater Manchester

Imagery supplied by Robert Hughes Studio

Bexhill Red Clay Pavers Heath Sandstone Paving, Edgings and Steps, Robert Hughes Studio, www.roberthughesgardendesign.co.uk

This stunning front garden and driveway in Bramhall, Stockport, was created by Rob Hughes Garden Design. It features a mix of our paving materials, making use of our Bexhill Clay Pavers and Heath Sandstone paving, steps, and edging.

Bexhill Red Clay Pavers Heath Sandstone Paving, Edgings and Steps, Robert Hughes Studio, www.roberthughesgardendesign.co.uk

This space uses hard landscaping materials to wonderful effect. The clays paving provides functionality for the drive, while the smooth, sawn Heath Sandstone provides a softer feel leading to the house. By using the same sandstone material across the paving, front doorsteps, and as pathway edging, gives a harmonious, coherent finish.

Bexhill Red Clay Pavers Heath Sandstone Paving, Edgings and Steps, Robert Hughes Studio, www.roberthughesgardendesign.co.uk

Following an extensive interior refurbishment to the property, a new porch and entranceway was created to suit the new style of the building's exterior. Rob created a super smart, welcoming design that combines formal shapes within the paving leading to the house, which is mirrored in the planting design.

Using Bexhill Clay Pavers from our Alpha Range is a sound material choice, as clay pavers are an extremely robust material that lend themselves to being laid in driveways. Manufactured in The Netherlands and Belgium, London Stone's clay pavers are an extremely low maintenance material that, unlike concrete block paving, do not fade over time.