Paved perfection: a driveway, walkway, patio and entertainment house are sure bets for increased resale value. Brick homes make it easy to expand and enhance your living experience outdoors with matching brick, blending the old with the new.
Blending the old with the new was the inspiration that motivated homeowner Len White to undertake an impressive outdoor restoration.
We looked in on White’s project this month as new landscaping and masonry work is wrapping up just in time for the balmy nights ahead.
Walking up the new driveway, we were stunned to find an amazing outbuilding remodeling project that was recently completed by Terry Smith of Smith Masonry. We’ll post about the guest house conversion to indoor-outdoor entertainment house in our next post.
Len White’s home dates from 1928. White purchased it late last year, moving in after Thanksgiving. At the time, the back yard was mostly hardscaped with clay pavers. There was a section of green space that wouldn’t stay green due to heavy shade from the house and surrounding trees. White decided it was a good idea to make the space more inviting by extending the older patio to the brick guest house and all the way to the street.
When complete, the back yard will be an expansive outdoor room for relaxing meals under the stars or for Super Bowl parties in the TV-equipped entertainment room.
A paver driveway can make a substantial difference in a home’s curb appeal. This fact is especially true in a brick home where the clay paver color complements the face brick. For the White driveway, Fred’s Masonry specified Full Range Rumbled. Full-range refers to the spectrum of color of the paver style. When laid correctly, this yields an appealing combination of reds, burgundies and blacks.
As beautiful as the finished driveway will be—landscaping is not yet complete—there is a lot of engineering and excavation that goes into the process, to get a smooth surface that will last for generations. Gravel and sand provide an amazingly durable bed for pavers designed for vehicular traffic. Over the years, a paver driveway will withstand freezing temperatures and resist cracking or buckling that can occur with concrete or asphalt.
Behind the home, the driveway meets the patio and even though the patio pavers are much older, it’s a combination that shows how timeless brick is. It’s as if the legacy brickwork is growing with the new masonry.
An enchanting curved brick stairway brings guests outside from a solarium to the patio. The property’s guest house even uses thin clad pavers on the floor for continuity as well as to provide a very practical surface for outdoor entertaining year-round.
Len White has outfitted his outdoor home with plenty of wrought iron furnishings that will be covered with new colorful cushions for spring and summer. The older patio with its aged patina is enclosed with a classic wrought iron fence supported by substantial brick columns and a decorative brick garden wall featuring a rectangular brick water feature. The final landscaping will complete the outdoor experience just in time for cookouts and parties.
White’s “new old” home even came with a Full Range Rumbled walkway from the street to home. So, wherever you look, there’s brick. Some new. Some old…perfectly at home and expertly matched.
Next post, we’ll look at the White’s guest house makeover! See more photos on our Pinterest page.
If you are interested in learning how to build a paver patio in seven simple steps Download Our Free Guide.
