Front yard makeover with arbour and paving

[Kn140964]

With the goal to modernise the facade, create a low-maintenance garden, and build an outdoor entertaining area, this front yard makeover dramatically increased street appeal and amenity. It features a new path, stacked-stone pillars and arbour to complement the rendered and painted house exterior. 

• The project
• Tools and materials
• How to plan a garden makeover
• More inspiration for your front yard makeover

The project

Our house was the ugly little duckling in a lovely location. Low set brick house with orange tiled roof and minimal garden, with grass that had turned to weeds. My job was to give our home street appeal, from rendering the front of the house, straightening the brick column so I could stone render, to making an area to sit and enjoy the garden, to building something that I could grow a vine over to provide shade.

I know a lot of people don’t like synthetic grass, but as I am getting older I needed a low maintenance option, and to be honest I hate mowing the lawn. To break up the side fence I painted it Monument, and made a raised garden bed along the fence, and rendered it white. The contrast against the fence and the green of the plants worked well.

At the front of the yard is where I made the garden bed using the Corten steel edging, bending it to give a natural curved look. In the garden bed I used the three round Corten steel planters for a feature.

Our driveway was narrow and a pain when you get out of the car, so I wanted a path to lead to the house. Obviously concrete was way too expensive so I laid the pavers - this was a game changer for getting in and out of the car, and for hubby who has a disability scooter to get in and out. 

Before

Preparation for pathway roadbase followed by paver sand

Pathway

Corten steel edging and round planters

Levelling and laying pavers roadbase

Construction of planter boxes

Laying out stone made it so much easier

Completed planter boxes

Getting the post in

Beam set at correct height for beams

Rafters cut and installed

Finished pergola supports across

Tiled over existing tiles used the grinder to level any uneven ones and used a paint designed to give rough finish to assist with laying tile on tile

Column was straightened by a builder construction of stone cladding

Column finished so loving it

View from the street

View from pergola area

Finished view

Tools and materials

Materials used in the project:

• Besser blocks
• Dunlop render
• Stone cladding
• Stone adhesive
• Mortar
• Road base
• Synthetic turf
• Sand
• Pavers
• Cement
• H3 treated Pine
• Post stirrups
• Screws
• Bolts.

Tools used in the project:

• Compactor 
• Wheelbarrow
• Shovels
• Rake
• Nail gun 
• Gloves
• Hammer
• Drill 
• Circular saw.

How to plan a garden makeover

A garden makeover is a very rewarding project. Whether a simple refresh or a major rebuild, improving your garden means that you’ll be able to enjoy the results for years to come. Get comprehensive advice for your project from the guide How to plan a garden makeover by experienced member Adam.

More inspiration for your front yard makeover

Bunnings Workshop member ihlifestyle completed a front yard landscaping project using charcoal pavers, artificial turf, planting, new irrigation system and bespoke timber letterbox.

Community member Julzy1405 completed a comprehensive transformation in their front yard overhaul with deck and landscaping.

Get more inspiration from our Top 10 most popular front yard projects, 10 ways to improve your home's street appeal and 10 paths and paving ideas.

[Dave-1]

Good Afternoon @Kn140964 

Thats a really nice landscaping of your front yard! I do like how you have extended the width of the driveway, how deep did you go with the gravel under the pavers?

Was just going through and seeing the difference from before (tidy but dated a bit) until what you have bow, Definently its a stop and pause to admire as you walk past Really nice work.

Dave

[Kn140964]

Hi Dave thank you. The roadbase was about 50mm depth then I used paver sand on top. Really stable which is great as the mobility scooter is pretty heavy.

[tjwg]

Looks great! Where did you get the stone cladding from? Cant see it on Bunnings website. Cheers

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @tjwg. It's sensational to have you join us, and great to see this project has inspired you.

Let me tag @Kn140964 so they are alerted to your question.

Although I'm not aware of where the cladding stones have come from, I thought I'd point out that we do carry the Decor8 range of panel stone, which could be used for this purpose.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell