Add Driveway Curb Appeal With A Design That Makes A Statement

A driveway is an essential part of your home's landscape, but it's too often a gray concrete route to the garage that's purely functional, adding nothing to your home's curb appeal. Edge pavers or tidy plantings make useful contributions, but the driveway itself is rarely the belle of the ball. Dressing it up with a checkered pattern makes a striking statement. But this is not limited to the black and white checked linoleum floor pattern popular in diners and 1950s kitchens, though there's no reason to avoid that design if it appeals to you. Black and white driveway pavers might just make your mid-century modern rancher or craftsman cottage stand out in a neighborhood of similar homes.

A checkered pattern alternates two or more colors or shades of the same color. Each block of color is usually a square, but you can achieve the same look with rectangles, and the block can be any size. The material that you use for the driveway needs to be more durable than what you'd use for a patio or walkway, so if you plan to install a checkered driveway, make sure the colors you want are available in a durable material. Solid concrete, concrete pavers, permeable pavers, natural stone, and brick will withstand time, weather, and the weight of your car. You will probably find the most variation in dyed concrete, where colors range from grays and browns to blues, greens, and even muted reds. This fun design will boost your curb appeal. 

Pavers come in myriad sizes, usually from 4 to 36 inches, but if you choose to use poured concrete, you can customize the look to your heart's content. A poured checkered design requires building temporary forms so the different colored materials don't mix as they dry, and those forms can be the size of your choosing. The two colors you pick can have a subtle difference in hue or be opposites on the color wheel. Either option, or any in between, will show the checkered pattern. The blocks can be flush, or they can have a seam of grass or pebbles between them, a look that adds upscale elegance. Consider continuing the checkered pattern on the walkway to the front door to both boost curb appeal and increase your home's value.

There are costs beyond the materials when you're installing a driveway. Labor, removing the old driveway if necessary, bedding materials, and whether or not you can do any of the work yourself or have to hire a professional all factor into the final cost. Generally, concrete is the least expensive material, at $4 to $10 a square foot. Brick starts at $6 a square foot, but can be cheaper if you source reclaimed brick. Natural stone is the most expensive, costing between $12 and $30 per square foot. Using an uncomplicated pattern like checks may actually save you money because installing them requires less labor. Adding a solid border of one or both colors or a driveway border of pest-resistant, colorful plants increases the cost but adds to the curb appeal.