Yesterday, I showed you our front yard, driveway and front walk before our big overhaul this past fall. I know, I know. It was pretty awful!
Today is the pretty post – at least I think so. You get to see the after.

If you checked out yesterday’s post, you can see right off the back what a dramatic change this has been.
Here are the key parts of the project:
- A new, much wider gravel driveway, which we absolutely love!
- A new limestone wall along the front walk and landscaping beds just behind it.
- Rebuilt, radiating front steps built from pavers.
- A paver landing with curving sidewalks to the driveway and front walk, with limestone slab steps at the front.
- An overhauled front garden with new plantings. The only thing that stayed was our two cone-shaped boxwoods, which we had planted several years ago and were thrilled to keep.
- A gorgeous weeping Japanese maple tree in a small bed along the driveway.
The landscape was designed by architect Cheryl Jacques of Brower/Jacques Design. My husband and I hired Cheryl after struggling for years to try to figure out how to solve our issues. She was fantastic!
Her husband oversaw the crew who did the work – and completed the project in less than four days! They were both incredibly responsible and helpful, even as we had to scale the project back a bit to fit our budget.
Here’s a panoramic shot I took with my iPhone using a great program called AutoStitch.

The obvious thing about this project is how much better the whole thing looks! But really, what my husband and I can’t get over is how much better it all functions.
For me, the big change is the much wider driveway, which allows me to get out of my car onto the gravel, rather than onto the grass.
There’s plenty of room to park, walk along side the car and load things in and out of the car.
That seems like a basic, but after living for years with an old, skinny driveway, it’s truly a luxury!
I was really worried about the gravel. But I have to tell you that now I wonder why more people don’t go with gravel.
I love the way it looks. It drains like a dream. And it’s really packed down so nicely. Plus, there’s that fantastic gravelly sound every time we drive in. I love it!
I can’t believe that we ever even thought about going with concrete! Combined with our neighbor’s drive, it would have seemed like a parking lot.
