More than 'curb appeal' More than 'curb appeal' (November 19, 2004)

Exterior design enhances a home's value

By Jessy Berg

Last time I checked, housing prices were still high on the Peninsula. We spend dearly to buy and decorate our homes. Yet we often overlook the opportunity to maximize this mammoth investment by ignoring the usefulness and potential of our front landscapes.

Think of your front landscape as part of the square footage of your home. By recapturing the front landscape and incorporating it back into your home, you go beyond the simple concept of curb appeal. If you approach landscaping as "exterior design," a few useful principles can universally enhance your home's beauty and functionality. Circulation

Defining circulation -- the path to the front door -- is critical for front landscapes. A poorly defined entrance path leaves our visitors guessing as to how they should arrive and makes them feel less welcome in our homes.

In this landscape, key features act as circulation guideposts. Stone pillars define the entrance. Lit at night, they clearly mark the way for visitors. A widened pathway creates a more comfortable and inviting passage -- 5 feet wide is a minimum for two people to comfortably walk side by side.

Repeating a singular species of grasses along the entrance path accentuates the circulation message of "Walk this Way." The sculpture, by artist Paul Gralen, centered on the walkway creates a focal point to draw the visitor. A red door acts as a beacon to announce the front entrance. Color

While defining circulation is important to a successful front landscape, the use of color represents an effective design tool to change the feeling of a landscape. Simply changing the color of the house can significantly enhance the property.

This landscape demonstrates color's ability to make a difference: Reduced light from dense oak canopies coupled with the gray color palette of the pathway and house contributed to a dark, uninviting feeling. By adjusting the color palette, the feeling becomes more inviting. Tan tinted concrete and shades of light brown stone echo the new house paint color.

Plant selection also contributes to the updated color. Variegated grasses and shrubs add sparkle and light in areas that once were dark. While it is tempting to select plants from different color palettes, it can be tough on the eye when the plants clash with the color scheme or with each other. Selecting and sticking to a color palette in all materials is a basic principle in creating a harmonious and appealing design. Repetition

Repetition of materials represents a key factor in any good landscape design. If you have ever been tempted to purchase just one of those interesting plants at the nursery and stick it in your garden, don't do it! Most landscape designers plant in odd numbers, with a minimum of three.

Non-planting materials benefit from repetition as well. In this case, stone and tinted concrete repeat throughout. The wall stone here is echoed in the pillars and is laid in ribbons on the porch to break up the expanse of tinted concrete. By repeating the materials, we get the sense that this is one cohesive area with an integrated, and appealing textural design. Outdoor rooms

Thinking of our landscape as outdoor rooms extends the value of our home. With our temperate climate and high cost of land, it only makes sense to expand our living space into the front landscape as well as the back. The front garden is a fabulous place to greet friends and neighbors.

In this garden, a courtyard with seat walls makes a welcoming "room" before entering the house. Seat walls should be 16-18 inches tall for comfort, reducing the need for chairs that would confuse the entrance path. This "vestibule" is a wonderful place for visitors to sit and chat before they enter the house.

The principles of circulation, color, repetition and outdoor rooms help create useful and successful front landscapes. These design principles work time and again to create more than curb appeal; they increase our home's value and use.
Resources: Project management: Flowerscapes, 400-1990 Sculpture: Paul Gralen, 326-7686, www.paulgralen.com

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