Wednesday 12 February 2014

Understanding various aspects of walkway design

A beautifully designed landscape always adds an extra dash of elegance to your home and you may even elevate the overall beauty quotient by adding a walkway to it. Though some people consider walking on the grass to be a great option, at times, there are places in the garden where a walkway or a path adds both to the beauty and functionality of the space. One of the main advantages of installing a walkway in your garden is that you can walk through the landscape without disturbing the plants or flower beds. In fact walkways serve to be an integral part of your landscape design and can add another level of charm and appeal to the entire setting, when installed perfectly. Now, in order to ensure that a walkway is installed flawlessly, you need to do a lot of planning, observing and measuring before you actually start installing the walkway.

How to get started with the plan of installing a walkway in front of your house or in the landscape?
  • First of all, you need to take stock of the area where you plan to install the walkway and its surrounding settings to ensure that your walkway blends effortlessly. This becomes especially important if you already have an existing landscape and need your walkway to complement the elements that are a part of it.
  • Stand at one of the ends where the walkway would be placed and try to visualize where the people will walk, what would be the most convincing route between these two ends, what might come in their way while walking, when they might need to go around etc. While visualizing the path, also determine how many curves you will put in it. While adding a number of curves adds to the charm of the path, too many curves might prove to be annoying.
  • The next step while conceptualizing your walkway project is to draw a rough sketch of the existing plan on a paper. Consider using symbols like circles and squares to make the drawing accurate and use graph paper for perfection. Determine what materials you would like to use for building the walkway. One of the best ways to choose the material is to calculate the cost per square foot with different types of materials and take your pick from the one that suits your budget and taste. The most commonly used materials to build walkways include brick, paver blocks and concrete. You may even consider using durable and timeless porphyry granite to give your walkway a classic and one-of-its-kind look.
What you need to keep in mind while building a walkway?

The most important thing you need to keep in mind while planning the walkway design is that it must be in sync with the rest of the garden. You can either opt for a formal path with angles or an informal one with curves and meanders. Make sure the material you choose for the walkway matches the exterior of your home, and the width of the path suits the size as well as the layout of the garden. Design the walkway in such a way that the visitors are attracted to it. You can consider building a focal point along your walkway where they will pause for a moment. Also, consider installing appropriate lighting system so that you can use the garden comfortably at night and the appeal of the garden, too, is increased. You should make sure to you use the right plants to make a border to the path.

To get your dream walkway installed the right way, it’s best to hire a professional landscape company that has experts on board to handle the task efficiently.

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