Simple Driveway Entrance Ideas To Make A Great First Impression

You can’t beat the first impression, and what better way to strike a chord with visitors and passers-by than by creating a show-stopping driveway entrance? 

Driveway entrance design plays an important role in setting the tone for the rest of your home. It’s the focal point of your property from the street and is usually the first part of your home to welcome guests. A well-designed driveway entrance will not only boost your curb appeal but can also provide you with added security and privacy. 

Whatever the scale of your driveway, you have a great opportunity to create a first impression that reflects not only your personal tastes and preferences, but the aesthetic and design of your home, garden and, of course, driveway. 

Here are nine simple ideas for designing a driveway entrance to make a great first impression.

1. Gates

For extra security and privacy, consider adding a gate to your driveway entrance. Whatever the size of your driveway, gates will work to keep your house out of view, maintaining maximum privacy for you and your family. Installing an automatic gate that requires a remote or pin code to open will add more security to your home, and is also much more convenient when driving in and out of your driveway—jumping in and out of the car to manually open your driveway gate is something no-one wants to worry about when they’re already running late. 

A driveway entrance gate can be so much more than just functional and can add huge curb appeal to your property. Stop passersby in their tracks by choosing a gate that makes a statement and plays into the surrounding driveway landscaping and aesthetic of your home. Or better still, use it as a quick and effective way to make a statement about your personal design preferences and the aesthetic of your home. This show-stopping driveway entrance perfectly balances a mixture of textures, colors and heights to create a striking first impression. The simple, solid timber gate adds instant class and glamour to the wide driveway and plays in beautifully with the surrounding lush, tropical greenery.  

2. Driveway Pillars

Whether you’re after a quaint country feel or a grand entrance, vertical pillars are a timeless way to add appeal to your driveway entrance. The best part is that you don’t need a large or sweeping driveway to install pillars—with a myriad of material options available, you can select a design that fits your driveway entrance and your home aesthetic perfectly. 

You’ll find that front pillars give your driveway landscaping an instant facelift, adding impact to your entrance while clearly signposting your property’s entrance to any visitors. For example, natural stone pillars can add a sense of classic elegance and natural charm to your driveway entrance when they flank an iron or wooden gate.

This country-style pillar exudes stately charm and elegance while acting as a visual marker for the driveway entrance. Driveway pillars can include a variety of styles and functional features with many designs incorporating letterboxes, street numbers or perhaps an attractive light feature. 

Contact the Patio Company to learn about the custom stone masonry services our experts provide.

3. Edging

Edging is a simple driveway entrance idea with endless possibilities. As the name suggests, driveway edging creates a border along both sides of a driveway and, depending on the first impression you want to create, can be created from a wide variety of materials, including stone, plants or concrete. Including edging in your driveway entrance design is a simple way to create a neat, polished first impression while also working to keep any soil, gravel or garden beds in place and protected from cars. 

Edging can usually be installed on almost all driveway surfaces, including gravel, pavers, bricks, concrete or asphalt, and can even be extended into your front garden to border any garden beds and create a cohesive landscape aesthetic. 

In this circular driveway, bluestone pavers have been used as the edging to contain the gravel driveway while protecting the surrounding turf and garden bed, which acts as a feature in itself. A gate is flanked by custom-designed pillars, creating a stately and polished first impression. 

Create your dream driveway entrance edging with the Patio Company. Explore our range of Landscaping Design Services.

4. Greenery

Plants, shrubs and hedges are a lovely way to highlight your driveway entrance without the use of gates, fences or pillars. 

A show-stopping addition to any driveway entrance, the simple addition of greenery and plants will increase your home’s curb appeal while also increasing privacy. It’s important to keep in mind your home’s irrigation system and access to sunlight when selecting plants for your driveway entrance, as well as making sure your plant choices are a continuation of the rest of your home’s landscaping aesthetic. This makes sure your driveway entrance is an accurate extension of the rest of your home. 

Evergreens, flowering herbs, perennial flowers, annuals, shrubs and ornamental grass are all great options for driveway entrance greenery. Flowering herbs have the added benefit of greeting any guests with a beautiful scent. 

This inviting curved driveway includes a beautiful focal point in the centre showcasing lush bushes of various shades of green and sizes, complimented by a dense pocket of perennial flowers.

Explore The Patio Company’s Garden Design & Maintenance services.

5. Embrace Color

Visitors and passersby won’t be able to help but smile if you incorporate a burst of color in your driveway entrance landscaping. A simple idea sure to create a lasting first impression, choose flowers that require little maintenance and which will grow to proportions to match your driveway fence or gate, should you have one. 

In this striking driveway entrance, stunning pink and yellow flowers pop beautifully against a sleek white gate, creating a vibrant and tropical aesthetic. The wild and overgrown flower bushes are offset by the clean and sleek paving and hemmed in by rustic stone edging to make sure no cars accidentally drive off-path and squash any unfortunate flowers. Mix and match flowers to make sure they reflect your personal taste and favourite colors and use them to accent any larger plants or outdoor furniture. 

Add some color to your driveway entrance design with The Patio Company’s Garden Design & Maintenance services.

6. Permeable Pavers

A practical and environmentally-friendly option, permeable pavers ensure your driveway is for more than just parking cars. Made from porous stone, they work to catch water, allowing it to seep into the stone and drain into the ground, ultimately relieving pressure from other drainage systems in place. There are several different permeable paver materials including stone, crushed stone and gravel, and brick. 

Traditional pavers create a gorgeous, nostalgic aesthetic, but for something a bit different, feel free to mix different shapes and colors of permeable pavers. This gorgeous driveway cleverly mixes pavers and gravel to create a stately driveway in keeping with the rest of the house, with pavers acting as a clear driveway border.

Learn everything you need to know about permeable pavers here on The Patio Company’s blog. 

7. Let There Be Light 

Help guests and family members find your house easily by creating a lighting feature at your driveway entrance. A smart yet simple idea, this creates a warm and welcoming first impression, and helps to emphasize the surrounding features of your driveway entrance, such as stonework or plants.  This grand driveway entrance cleverly uses light to illuminate the property name and number, while accenting the beautiful stonework and wrought iron gates. The mirrored lights from the house itself create a warming and welcoming first impression, despite the grand scale of the fence and gates. 

Add some spark to your driveway entrance design with the Patio Company’s outdoor lighting services.

8. Fencing

Adding a fence to your driveway entrance and the front of your property is an excellent way to enhance security and privacy while really boosting your home’s curb appeal. As with driveway gates, the options for fences are nearly endless, allowing you to pick a style that reflects your personal taste and creates your ideal first impression. 

It’s important to make sure that the materials and design you choose for your fence work with any existing landscaping and building materials used in your home. The modern timber fence palings on this property cleverly use the straight lines of the palings and the contemporary design of the surrounding landscape to create clean edges and a clear path towards the home. 

9. Creative Letterbox

Add an element of delight to your driveway entrance with a decorative letterbox. Guests and your postman alike will appreciate the street appeal of a unique letterbox, which should act as an extension of your home’s design. This abstract letterbox is both striking and highly functional. Incorporated into the driveway entrance pillar, the asymmetrical design and modern materials create a contemporary aesthetic before even stepping foot into the home. The sharp corners are softened with the addition of a small shrub and some rustic stones to create a simple, perfectly balanced driveway entrance feature. 

Let us help you design and install your driveway – contact The Patio Company or explore our extensive range of driveway services.