Dressing up the front entrance
The entrance to your home is a statement about who you are. It speaks loudly about your style, your priorities and your sense of self. With all that in mind, it’s no wonder we want to make the statement one that creates the best image.
It can be confusing when there are so many appealing choices out there– where do we start? A quick scan of the Internet will inundate you with ideas, all of them beautiful and desirable, but do they suit your sense of style and taste? Or will you be tempted to follow a trend that you will later regret as having no bearing on your lifestyle.
There are some general guidelines that may help you sort out your priorities.
Start by thinking about your family background. Did you grow up with certain traditions that are meaningful to you? Is your ethnicity important to you? Maybe you would like to express that part of you who are.
Think about your own habits and general style of living. Even though you admire tidy, organized gardens, is this really you, or is your style more free-form and less restrictive?
Think about the architecture of your house and go for something that will complement and enhance the overall feel of your home. If your house is cottage style, perhaps you could line the front walkway with a border of flowers. If it’s the last word in modern, planters set on a bed of ornamental stone maybe a choice. A Victorian home might call for roses and bird-baths. A house with a Spanish feel with stucco and wrought iron may want a more tropical approach to the front door. You can add your own style and preferences within those or other parameters.
Look for balance and scale. Balance generally means echoing features in twos, but it depends of the style of the entrance. A house with an L-shaped walkway may find asymmetry more appropriate with a flower bed on one side of the walkway or front steps and a single urn of plants instead of a pair, or three planters in a row or to one side of the entrance. Scale has to do with the proportions. Fifty-foot cedars may not be the best choice for the foundation planting of a one-storey bungalow, just as a three-foot standard looks silly in front of a two-storey giant.
Front doors add to the overall impression. Choose the style to suit the architecture and the ambience you want to create. Arched glass transoms add formality and a feeling of stability and history. Square features fit in more with the ultra modern.
Consider creating a new front step to replace the builder’s, come-with-the-package, cement model. There are wonderful curved door steps to be built from interlocking stone that can transform an entranceway very quickly and at a reasonable cost. Add a couple of pillars holding up a portico on an older style house. Use paving stones to pave the approach in a pleasing pattern where there is a front garage entrance and no walkway. Use paving stones to build a whole new driveway.
After the major renovations, you will want to add the personal touches: the carriage-style light fixtures, the brass knocker, the giant flower pots or urns, these touches always in tune with your original concept and style.
It really is worth investing in the front entrance to your home. It can drive there sale value way up and it will tell your story to the world with all the elegance and panache you want to express.
(By Merry Ellen McLean. Alberta Gardener 14S)
