Exterior Doors and Landscaping

February 19, 2016
Ease the transition from your front steps to the street with a style-setting entryway. Browse pictures of exteriors with beautiful front door, landscaping, and curb appeal ideas to find inspiration for your home.
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Create Cottage Appeal

Enlarged planting beds along a walkway bring color to a home's entrance. Here, a bluestone path lined with daylilies, zinnias, and coreopsis creates a warm invitation to the front door.

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Dress Up Your Door

Creating curb appeal can be as simple as freshening your front door with paint, updating accessories, and adding greenery. Follow these quick and easy tips to improve your home's beauty in a pretty and practical way.

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Accent with Stone

A stone-framed entry provides pleasing contrast to this home's brick exterior. The symmetrical placement of gas lanterns and shaped boxwoods adds character and romantic charm. Intersperse flagstone pavers with grass for a fresh, inviting path to your entry.

Tip: Manufactured stone veneer might be a good alternative for your home because it is lightweight and less expensive than natural stone.

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Soften a Slope

Transform a grassy slope into a beautiful sight with easy-care plantings and hardscape materials. A low brick wall linking two sets of stairs softens the sloped front yard, while hillside plantings provide optimum views from the street.

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Go Bold with Color

Don't be afraid to add color to entry doors. With easy-to-please green as your backdrop, bright hues will look beautiful and give your home a personal touch. When choosing a palette for your exterior, consider how it will work with the surroundings. A turquoise front door and purple-gray shutters give this white exterior a playful edge.

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No-Fail Front Door Colors

Take the guesswork out of choosing a front door color with these tried-and-true hues.

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Keep It Casual

Let the essence of nature drive your entry's design aesthetic. Slightly overgrown landscaping that includes hydrangeas and tall grasses suits a carefree style.

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Separate from the Street

Create a layer of privacy from passersby and enhance your facade with a front yard landscape. Lush plantings provide year-round color and act as subtle layers of separation between this ranch house and the street. A curved walkway to the front steps creates a natural spot for a bed that's anchored with a pair of arborvitaes.

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Consider Exterior Materials

Consider your home's style when landscaping the entryway. Contemporary gardens, for example, rely on repetition of plants and design motifs for continuity. Materials often are natural in texture and color, such as slate, stones, and gravel. Even mulch can take on a modern look, with slate or colored stone serving as a ground covering.

 

Landscape Lighting Tips

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Establish Americana Style

Use your front door to make a statement. Here, a bright red-painted door adds warmth to this home's soft gray facade. An American flag hung from one of the support columns anchors the porch in patriotic style. Dentil molding around the perimeter of the front porch adds subtle depth and dimension.

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Create Lasting Curb Appeal

Harness year-round curb appeal with contrasting leaf colors, textures, and heights. This small, steep front yard features stone terraces and plants that increase in height as they near the house. Brick red alternates with leafy green creeping fig growing on the stair risers.

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Highlight a Wood Entry Door

A handsome front door can be the foundation of a welcoming entry, and a contrasting trim color is an easy way to make it stand out. Crisp white trim highlights this wooden entry door and ties it into the exterior's color scheme.

Tip: When choosing trim, consider using urethane or PVC products. They look just as good as wood and require little or no maintenance.

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Welcome With a Walkway

Lead visitors to the front door with a clear walkway that coordinates with your home's exterior. A curved brick path, rather than a straight design, adds interest to the front yard. Time-honored materials make this home's French-inspired style apparent from the street: The exterior and front walkway are clad in reclaimed brick, while limestone frames the double front entry doors.

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Update a Classic Exterior

Add a splash of color to a traditional exterior with a bright entry door. This soft celery-green door catches your eye and provides a nice accent to the crisp white siding and black shutters. A portico with white trim and thin columns adds finesse to the Colonial-style house.

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Layer On the Charm

Give your exterior a polished look with character-boosting details. This Dutch Colonial's entry addition features a focal point portico with elegant trim, outdoor lighting, and a glossy black door with sidelights. Window boxes, a white picket fence, and a brick pathway framed by low-trimmed shrubs amplify the home's Nantucket charm.

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Frame the Front Door

Add whimsy to entry doors with custom touches, such as an arched portico, molding, and trim. Even the smallest of details -- such as this entryway arch -- can work wonders for curb appeal. Boxwoods soften the transition from home to driveway and add sophisticated charm.

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Define the Entry

Boost your home's curb appeal with a well-defined entry. Low-trimmed shrubs and a wide walkway usher visitors to the front door. A portico enhances the exterior's prominence and shelters from wet weather. The black-painted front door adds a striking focal point that complements the home's white-and-gray color scheme.

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Punch Up the Porch

If your front door fades into a wide front porch, add personality with accessories. Large planters filled with ferns extend a warm welcome while echoing the greens found within the landscape. Black-and-white-stripe paper lanterns bring modern appeal to this charming farmhouse.

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