Walkway Material and Ideas

(Kentucky)

Regarding Walkway Material and Ideas

We have built a new house and are starting from scratch with landscaping, walkways, drives, etc. The house is built on what was once part of my grandparents farm and I want our house to look like it has been a part of it for a long time, not a new house plopped in the middle of a field.

My dilemma at this point is what material to use for our front walkway. Our drive is rather long and winds up to the house around a pond in a flattened "s" shape. I am thinking about putting a "parking area" in the second bend of the driveway which would connect with the front porch via the walk. The walk would be long enough to have some curve to it. The front steps that it will lead to are 6 foot wide brick steps.

I have thought about using some type of gravel/rock material for both the parking area and the walk. I like the idea of the old-fashioned "crunching" sound heard when driving or walking on this type of area. I am not opposed to some type of pavers for the walkway, however. Just not sure what to use.

We live in Kentucky so we do get freezing and thawing during the winter. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Terri

Answer

Your walkway material idea as to using a type of loose stone would work. You could use and inexpensive crushed stone or something more decorative...a small pea gravel or similar. If you have a stone yard nearby, you could see what they offer.

If you do go this route, I would suggest lining the walkway/driveway with a steel edging. This will prevent the stone from flowing into the lawn or planted areas.

After saying all of that, crushed stone is rather naturalistic looking walkway material, and I am not sure if that is true to what have been used on a farm. (It's fine for the parking area). They probably would have used more of a local stone for walkway materials.

You mentioned the porch will be brick, but did not say what material the house will be...siding? If you could match the brick to the porch brick, I am sure that would look great. A natural stone or brick would look better and more authentic than pavers. Pavers are a man-made material from concrete, and although some of them are quite nice, if you are looking for a true older look, they won't provide that feel as well as the natural materials will.Brick is made from clay.

Here's a picture of a brick walkway and porch I designed. (Scroll down on the page to see it.) Patio Designs

If there is any stone on your home, bluestone might work. But I think my first choice would be brick, if it is affordable. You can have it dry laid which looks great and is less expensive than brick set concrete. Also, it will resist and freeze-thaw conditions, and if anything were to occur, they can be easily re-adjusted.

I hope this has been helpful.
Susan