38 Inspiring Walkways and Garden Paths Ideas for Extra Curb Appeal

Summertime is in full swing and outdoor living is the order of the day; it’s a good time to take stock and have a really good look at the landscaping in front of your house and what it says about your home. Does it shout, “Wow-wee wowzer! Amazingly gorgeous, this house has style!”; or is it more like a quietly mumbled, “Oh dear, what happened?”

If it’s the later, then now is the time to get inspired and get working on creating curb appeal with a gorgeous walkway or garden path! Clever front garden landscaping, using plants, pathways and lighting can really make a huge difference in how you (and others) perceive your home. Having invested so much already when you bought your house, it makes sense to go the extra mile and ensure that every time you come home you are greeted with a welcoming scene.

Some front garden walkway projects can be easily done by DIYers, but for a complete overhaul you are likely to require the services of a professional landscaper who understands which plants and building methods work best in your area.

But before you choose a landscape designer, take time to assess the style of your home, (traditional or contemporary, rustic or urban) and find inspirational images to help define what you like and give you ideas. Will yoiu use stone, tile or pavers for your path? Maybe a flagstone, brick or concrete walkway? Below are 38 front path and walkway photo ideas to get you started!

You can get more landscaping ideas here and check out our brick driveways section.

1. Manor House

The entrance to this Tudor home is the epitome of the classical English garden style, with beautifully symmetrical landscaping and clipped planting. The mix of terracotta and gray wood planters reflect the tones and materials of the half-timbered walls.

2. Haynie House

Another classic symmetrical design; here the white walls are complemented by the light stone pathway and the scalloped edges of the path naturally lead your eye to the impressive doorway, creating extra drama.

3. Canterbury

The traditional brick pavers used on this drive are a great match for the brick walls, and the round stone stairs combined with the stone planters either side are the perfect complement to the arched windows and stonework.

4. St Louis Victorian

A neat brick path lined with box plants lead up to this newly built traditional-style home. The curving sweep of the path and rounded tufts of box reflects the arched porch ceiling and the round bay window above.

5. Woodland Park

The paver garden path leading to this classical home might seem simple, but in fact the color of the stone pavers are a perfect match to the gray front door and window shutters. The splash of pink flowers in the planters either side of the doorway lightens up what would otherwise be a monotone entrance.

6. Lincoln

Another simple paved path leads up to this neatly defined Georgian Colonial style home; the unfussy straight lines of the path bordered by a lush lawn are all that’s needed to lead the eye up to the brightly colored red door.

7. Provence

Take inspiration from a beautiful French Provençal maison de maître and pair a simple gravel entryway with seemingly random trees, flowers and climbing plants over the doorway for effortess chic.

8. West Paces

Superb planting and hard landscaping, with grass growing between the path pavers and fluid banks of ferns, have created a lush and softened entrance walkway to this rather formal classical home.

9. Chadsworth

Whilst here, even though the grass is also growing around the path pavers, the more structured, neat and symmetrical planting creates a more ordered, calm entrance.

 

10. Caribbean Garden

And here the pavers pick out a sinewy route along the lawn that echoes the wonderfully dramatic, architectural, tropical plants; and the bright, light stone of the pavers highlights the beautiful home it leads to.

11. Charleston

As you can see here, you don’t need a large front garden to make a dramatic entrance; the tall plants and smartly painted balustrades frame the stairs up to this home to great effect.

12. Sea Cliff

And here the symmetry of the formal columns framing the doorway of this classical home are elegantly set off by the mosaic tiled walkway, the oriental lion statues and the two trees to the forefront of the street.

13. Belmont Hill

Often, as wonderfully demonstrated here, an abundance of beautiful plants and flowers either side of a gravel walkway are all that’s needed to create an impressive entrance.

14. Fairview

If your house has a very symmetrical frontage, then balancing the planting in front of the house will highlight this even more and give a very serene and settled feel to your home.

15. Leslieville

Even a small front yard entrance can be dramatic! Here mid-gray pavers edged with red-toned pebbles compliment the door and siding of the home, with dramatic green grasses and plants framing the scene.

16. Moyne Drive

Easy maintenance front walkways do not have to be boring: the combination of a neat brick driveway with large pebble cobbles and smartly clipped box planting keeps this home looking fresh and smart.

17. Cortona

Here the paving slabs that make up the garden pathway to the house have been cleverly offset to each other, reflecting the random pattern made by the bricks of the property’s walls and adding interest to a very simple front garden.

18. Rancho Nuevo

The row of barrel cacti lining the edge of the steps up to this home was a genius idea! Along with the pebbles they break up the harsh straight lines and add to the perfectly vibrant splashes of green against the yellow, orange and ochre tones.

19. Deep Eddy

Contemporary modern architecture often demands clean, straight lines that can sometimes seem unwelcoming; here the neatly organized entry stairs are softened midway with a gravel section and further softened with the lush sloping lawn.

20. Asymmetric balance

The concrete paving slabs here have been offset from the doorway to create a deliberate asymmetry; spacing between pavers reflect detailing on the window frames and using lighter concrete diagonally from the dark gray steps draws your eye to the white door: very clever!

21. Bonifield

The potentially harsh welcome created by the imposing and heavy concrete steps that lead up to this contemporary home are completely toned down by the glorious, soft, frizzy and frothy forms in the planting.

22. Seaver Speck

Here the outside landscaping has been kept rather simple with all the interest focused on the rather striking gates; these in turn open to reveal simply bordered gravel paths to the house allowing the stunning tree in the background to pull all the dramatic focus it needs.

23. Seaview Beach House

Stone built plant beds work very well with the twisting, curving branches of the frangipani tree, whilst the wood deck walway reflects back on the terrace wall and lower fencing.

24. Hollywood Hills

An unusual mix of weathered, rustic furniture and plant pots, random planting, pebble edging and sharp black ceramic tiled pathway: wouldn’t necessarily seem to work on paper, but in reality it’s perfect for this courtyard entrance and walkway.

25. Marinwood

A neat brick walway edged with ferns and grasses compliment the linear building materials of this house; and by offsetting the path the planting in the foreground helps settle this home into its environment.

26. Karrinyup Courtyard

The strong lines of this wooden gate and fence are matched by the wooden walkway, and then softened with the pretty fronds of the albizia tree, whilst the blue flowers pick up the striking blue doorposts.

27. Masefield

Front entry landscaping can go from great to sublime with the right kind of outdoor walkway lighting. Here a paired back wooden walkway flanked by simple concrete planters filled with agave is brought to life at night with the exquisite base level lighting.

28. Water Walkway

Here a concrete paver walkway has been creatively combined with a water feature and pond to give the delightfully dramatic effect of walking over the water – delightful!

29. Aria

The clean geometric lines of this home are beautifully reflected in the straight paved path and matching driveway, drawing your eye right to the impressive doorway – very effective!

30. Hupomone Ranch

Another straight paved garden pathway – this one has been carefully sited to highlight the symmetry of the property; the linear pattern of the path adds texture and the width of the path has also been carefully calibrated to work with the frame of the large window: superbly thought through simplicity.

31. Modern Villa

This contemporary home has a concrete slab pathway that has been set in strips surrounded by gray gravel to effectively mirror the gray steel framework of the building.

32. Jones Residence

Concrete slabs are extremely versatile for pathways: they work just as well when reinforcing a minimalist design as previously seen, or when connecting a modern building to a garden full lush planting and grass as above.

33. St John’s Wood

Shaped concrete pavers create a meandering pathway through gorgeously dense planting; and lots of plants of different sizes and shapes packed together adds to the very intimate, secluded feel of this city dwelling.

34. Menlo Oaks

Another great example of a concrete slab pathway that has been set so that the greenery can grow between the pavers, to give a natural and welcoming feel to this home.

35. Pond House

A gravel path gives way to free formed stone pavers that echo the rocks in the fern-filled front garden, making it seem as if the buildings were constructed around the natural environment.

36. Starr Wood

This home also looks very settled in it environment thanks to the cleverly arranged levels of landscaping combined with the careful selection of stone walls, the meandering paved path and the flowing lines of the grass and the tree trunks.

37. Whitefish Spa

These free form stone pavers are the perfect match to the stone retaining wall and big rocks to the side, whilst the strong linear blocks that define each level going up the path elegantly reflect the door frames of the building.

38. Beach Cabin

Edging this free formed stone path with gravel makes it seem much lighter than it is – almost as if it is floating. Ferns, grasses and pretty flowering bushes add further delicate touches.