Brick Front Sidewalk Entry

From a practical standpoint, front yard sidewalks and entries leading from the street are generally created to provide invitation and easy access to the front door from the street. In this design, the sidewalk is practical. The brick entry is purely an accent and an opportunity to create a focal point. It will also take up quite a bit of lawn and design space while adding a touch of class to the landscape.

Made from the same material as the home, this non-gated entryway creates an extension of the home into the landscaping. For a home such as this, this small accent creates an elegance of a formal entryway and touch of an estate atmosphere.

This entryway is actually designed into the home plan. However, for most new home construction projects that I've worked on, there are usually several pallets of bricks or rocks left over from the job. So why not put them to use, save some money, and create a beautiful accent for your garden design. While this is a simple idea, it's not your basic do it yourself project. You may want to see if your homebuilder will do it for you.

In the case of trying to match elements like bricks (especially bricks) to an existing home, you might run into a challenge. Brick types and styles change and are discontinued daily. It may be better to separate the landscaping from the home and use an entirely different element rather than an almost match or contrast.

This is a great way to create unity between the home and landscaping. Any element such as a mailbox housing or planter box made of the same material of the home will create this same atmosphere. And just like this display, where the bricks on the front entry sidewalk are the same as the home, each accent creates an opportunity for planting beds, accent shrubs, lighting, etc.