Stepping Stones for Garden, Yard, and More: Inspiration
By: Sarah
Stepping stones function for way finding, creating paths through yards, gardens, or simply from one thing to another. But they can also be beautiful. Choosing a particular type of stone will inject personality into your home’s exterior. Large rounded slabs, small mismatched pieces, or rectangles placed in a pattern all say something about your style. Here, we’ve rounded up ideas on stepping stones for your garden, yard, and more.
From the stones you step on to the door you walk through to the roof covering your head once you’re indoors, every element of your home’s exterior design should work together. Our exterior designers are experts at considering each piece that will make the whole transformation stunning. Learn more about our virtual exterior design services.
Charming Historic Home
This 100-year-old exudes charm but also presents a particular design challenge: two doors with two corresponding stairs up to them. While we can’t create symmetry where it doesn’t exist, what we can do is provide visual balance. By using the same colors on the doors and the same materials for the porch railings and steps, everything feels connected. The stepping stones in the front yard encourage you to veer off the path — and enjoy the small garden bed and bird bath up close.
Large Slab Stones
We surrounded the large, welcoming front porch of this home with lush plant life. Large slab stepping stones ease the transition from hard surfaces to soft. Their shape, color, and size work perfectly with the modern rustic style of the exterior design. Plus, they offer a convenient way to enjoy the landscaping without stepping in the mulch.
Orderly Stones on Gravel
The stepping stones outside this home function as a walkway, leading through the landscaping to the front door. Their rectangular shape and orderly layout work with the home’s geometry. Stones like this work well on top of gravel. We particularly love how this choice delineates the landscaped area from the front yard. And the in-ground landscape lighting is a smart touch!
Stepping Stones for a Soft Landing
The low retaining wall and front deck outside this lovely Cape Cod home are split up by stepping stones placed flush with the surface of the yard. We love how this carries the hardscape from the sidewalk to the front door. Additionally, these stones act as a soft landing between the concrete and wood elements.
Stones as Connectors
The stepping stones outside this home lead from the walkway, through the landscaping, to a gate that opens to the backyard. Their irregular shape provides welcome contrast against all of the façade’s hard lines.
Path to Patio
For the beautiful design of this home’s rear exterior, our designers suggested stepping stones from one of the rear doors to the covered patio. This gives the homeowners and guests an alternate path to the lounge space, without cutting through the yard or walking through the home.
Stone and Pavers
The classic stone and pavers outside this home offer pathways through the xeriscaped front yard. One leads from the sidewalk to the front door, another from the driveway to this first walkway. We love the idea of stepping stones for yards with no grass!
From One Level to Another
The rustic slab stepping stones above guide the way from a main level door on the side of the home down to a lower level door and staircase. Our designers used a mix of shapes and sizes and lined the path with beautiful shrubbery. We always embrace the opportunity to make something beautiful!
Bridging the Gap
We love how the stepping stones that comprise this home’s walkway bridge the gap between the yard’s gravel and mulch areas. The hopscotch-plus-one pattern is interesting and plays off of the other patterns on the home, such as the x-railings and the porch gable truss. Plus, the in-ground landscape lighting between pavers in the mulch is so smart!
Stepping stones for garden, yard, walkway, and beyond
Stepping stones are one of those details that makes a home, a yard, an exterior feel finished. They can lead your feet — or just your eye — to a destination. And they’re just one of the many small things that we include in our exterior designs for our clients!
Let us be your stepping stones on the path toward a redesigned home exterior. (We had to.) Work with our expert designers to see your home’s potential AND we’ll direct you to the resources you’ll need to bring it to life. Get started today.
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