Your front yard is the first thing people see when they approach your house. It is the basis of their first impression of your home. Front yard landscaping enhances visual appeal and can increase the value of your property.

To create the first impression you want people to have and increase your home’s curb appeal, consider these 14 front yard landscaping ideas.

How Do I Style My Front Yard for Landscaping? 

Your front yard is an opportunity to welcome people into a warm, inviting space. Curating the outdoor space from the curb to your front door creates curb appeal, which enhances visual appeal and increases property value. Good landscaping design complements your home’s architectural style, size, and building materials while showing off your style. 

Easy & Low-Budget Front Yard Landscaping Ideas 

Front yard landscaping can be costly, but there are budget-friendly DIY options that will add beauty to your yard. 

1. Try gravel

Gravel is an affordable ground cover that requires no water and helps inhibit weed growth, allowing rainwater to filter through the soil. This low-maintenance hardscape comes in various sizes and colors, so finding an option that fits your landscaping is easy. Using gravel is a great way to cover bare earth, create an inexpensive guest parking area, or increase home security by placing it so you can hear people or wildlife approaching your home.

2. Use mulch

Like gravel, mulch is an affordable ground cover that inhibits weed growth, quickly and easily covers bare earth, and does not require water. One of the main reasons you might choose mulch over gravel is that mulch offers a softer, warmer look. It depends on how you plan to use the area and what your overall goals are for your front-of-house landscaping.

3. Add a seating area

Your backyard is not the only spot for an outdoor living area to entertain friends or have breakfast with your family. If you have the space, add a seating area to your front porch to wave to neighbors while enjoying your morning coffee or greet your guests when they arrive. 

Taking Your Front Yard Landscaping to the Next Level 

If you’re a homeowner looking to invest in a more significant change, consider these mid-tier design ideas to increase your home’s curb appeal.

4. Grow a food garden

Vegetable gardens are usually part of the backyard landscaping but consider incorporating food garden design in your front yard. If you are concerned about keeping a front yard garden looking tidy, choose plants that look more ornamental, such as lettuces or herbs.

5. Plant fruit trees

Consider planting fruit trees in your front yard. Fruit trees are a great way to add shade, color, and visual interest while also growing fruits for your family and friends.

6. Plant an island flower bed

Island flower beds serve a variety of purposes. First and foremost, they are perfect for adding a pop of color, particularly if your yard is mostly one color, like a green lawn or a gravel driveway. 

If you have a no- or low-water landscape for water conservation but would like to give your yard a bit of life and a softer texture among hardscapes, an island flower bed is a great way to create just a small area that requires regular watering. Check out our article with 30 flower bed ideas for more ways to incorporate flower beds into landscaping.

7. Plant a rose garden

There is nothing quite like a rose garden to brighten your home’s exterior. Monochromatic, dichromatic, or as colorful as a rainbow, a garden bed of roses is a great way to add height, texture, and color to your landscape design.

8. Plant native plants on or near your curb

The sidewalk in front of your house is most likely a right-of-way easement. The narrow strip of land between the sidewalk and street is probably a utility easement you cannot block and need to keep for utility company access. 

This does not mean you should neglect these areas when landscaping your front yard. Curbside easements are a great spot to plant native plants, a cutting garden, or pollinators. Consider drought-tolerant ground cover, succulents, gravel, mulch, or synthetic grass for a low-maintenance option.

9. Employ colorful borders

Another way to quickly add color to your yard is to plant colorful borders or a picket fence along your home’s exterior. When designing these borders, choose low-maintenance plants. If opting for flowers, perennials like hydrangeas, lavender, and azaleas will return year after year, while annuals will require replanting. 

Plants with colorful blooms bring great texture and vibrance to a front yard garden design, making this an easy, quick way to enhance curb appeal.

10. Hide your trash cans

Most cities now have a three-bin refuse, recycling, and yard waste system. While this is progress for the environment and helps us easily do our part, it also means that we must figure out where to put three waste bins.

It’s ideal to store bins in an accessible, inconspicuous place that does not detract from your home’s curb appeal. Keep your bins out of sight by investing in an enclosure or designing your landscape to create a privacy screen.

Luxury Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

These luxury landscaping ideas can make a significant impact on your curb appeal. Luxury design projects typically require special skills, so you’ll want to hire a professional to ensure they are high quality. 

11. Leverage landscape lighting

Outdoor lighting is an essential part of landscape design and can transform the look of your home after dark. Illuminating entries and dark corners improves home security while lighting driveways, stairs, and walkways increases your family’s and guests’ safety.

Landscape lighting is also one of the easiest ways to accentuate architectural features or interesting landscaping features. Whether you add a few lights around your yard or an entirely new landscape lighting design, upgrading your outdoor lighting will increase your curb appeal. 

12. Add a paving stone driveway or walkway

If you want to make an immediate, significant improvement to your front yard, upgrade to a pattern paver driveway or walkway. Paving stones are available in various colors and styles, so you can find an attractive option to complement any architectural style. Pavers allow you to express your personal style and have unparalleled durability and longevity.

Learn more about paver driveway design here or get an estimate for your project here.

13. Install artificial turf

Landscape design for Southern California front yards is moving away from conventional lawns towards more water-saving options that offer plenty of color and texture without the upkeep of a natural grass lawn. 

If you like the look of a lawn but want a low-water, low-maintenance option, artificial turf offers the same look, feel, and function as natural grass, but requires no mowing, edging, irrigation, fertilizing, or aerating.

14. Add a water feature

A water feature provides a visual focal point to your yard. Bird baths are great additions that charm gardens or small front yards. If you want to create a grand entryway into your home, tiered fountains look elegant. 

Improve Curb Appeal When You Hire the Landscapers at Install-It-Direct!

Our experienced landscaping designers can help design a beautiful, functional front yard that improves curb appeal. Get a free estimate to start planning a front yard you love that increases your home’s curb appeal.