Front Entry "Outdoor Room"

Sometimes we neglect the concept of creating outdoor rooms in the front yard. But in reality, this is an important element of design. Too often the front porches of homes are small and not very inviting. You can transform your entry by adding a garden enclosed "greeting pad." This is space for welcoming guests, entertaining small groups, or simply a place to relax and wave across your street to the neighbors.

Pictured here is a front entry garden we created for home in Naperville, Illinois a few years ago. The original entry was simply a 3 ft. wide concrete walk that led from the drive to the front stoop. The homeowners disliked this and desired a more spacious and lush entry.

We removed the old concrete walk and replaced it with brick pavers. To its right (as you walk toward the entry) we created a large greeting pad with more pavers.

The space was enclosed with a "seating wall" made of concrete block wall stones from the same company that makes the pavers. This L-shaped wall stands about 24 inches tall and each leg is perhaps 15 or 20 feet long. No mortar is used. You simply affix the top two courses, coping included, with a suitable adhesive. These kinds of walls can be completed rapidly and with little effort.

Even though I generally discourage the use of concrete retaining wall stones, their use in seating walls is a good way to use them.