How to Rock a Walkway (Literally)!
June 26, 2018
Whether you do it yourself, or hire someone who creates hardscapes for a living, these ideas for unusual and eye-catching paths and walkways will give you plenty of inspiration. The experts recommend choosing stones that harmonize with your home exterior textures and colors, but that advice shouldn’t limit your choices, just expand your imagination!
How to Create a Stone Path
If you’re looking for a super simple weekend project that can add a little bit of character to your landscape, check out this step-by-step tutorial from HGTV for making a stone path that uses cement pavers. The coral hues of this inviting walkway were surrounded by pebbles in a complementary color and edged with black metal. HGTV’s experts recommend angling the stones downward from your house to encourage water away from the foundation.
Paths through your backyard, at the side of your house or through your garden are not only functional but add charm and personality to your home – making it all your own. Never underestimate the versatility of concrete pavers, or its ability to take a stain. For an easy-to-follow tutorial on staining concrete, check out this weekend project video.
The Carpet Effect
One of the great things about a stone or cement pathway is that grass, flowers and groundcover can grow in between, framing the hard surface with lush landscaping. Images from Pinterest will make you want one – like grass carpeting with stepping stones in between! Just make sure to keep things trimmed super low to prevent tripping! But that’s not the only way to finish off a walkway.
The Saddlerock Home Depot at 6000 Gun Club Road, about five minutes from Southshore in Aurora, carries a variety crushed stone and marble, lava rock, polished pebbles and large river rocks for decorative filler when making your path.
A Do-It-Yourself Weekend
Sunset Magazine has an easy-to-follow flagstone path tutorial and these ideas from Better Homes and Gardens may require some muscle to maneuver, but once in place, they’re naturally beautiful. Surround them with Irish moss planted in between, adorns the pathway with green and leads to flowering ground cover.
The DIY Network claims that a classic brick pathway can be laid in half a day with only medium difficulty. With a shovel to remove plant material and debris, a hammer, stakes and string to mark off your walkway, and a level to make sure your bricks lay flat, the only piece of equipment you might have to rent is a plate compactor. Grab one by the hour or the day at Arapahoe Rental on County Line Road in Littleton, about 20 minutes from Southshore.
Fun for the Kids
A fun I-Made-That task for kids are these concrete stepping stones using giant leaves like rhubarb for texturizing. Curbly found this project on a Swedish website, but you don’t need a translation to get the idea. Just be sure to remove the leaves when the concrete is partially dry to get the best and veiniest results!
Bob Vila has more ideas for crafty concrete steps that kids can create, embedding and memorializing beloved treasures in stone!
Signature Living at Southshore
The home buyers who have made the master-planned community of Southshore their own, create singularly personal surroundings to reflect their preferences. Why not explore life at the lake and tour the stunning model homes from Toll Brothers, Century Communities and Richmond American Homes. These beautiful new designs — both ranch and two-story models — are priced from the upper $300s to the $700s.