Circular Driveway
The term “circular driveway” can be misleading to some.
It is not a semi-circle or U-shaped design. Nor is it necessarily what we would call a perfect circle. Technically, it can be anything from a loop, an oval shape, or an ellipse, provided it has no sharp angles, no breaks, and ultimately turns back upon itself in enclosure.
The driveway will always have a single entrance, however.
The entrance is wide enough for two-way traffic so that it can also be used as an exit from the property at the end of an event. As the driveway entrance approaches the front of the home, it curves outward and then back in on itself to complete the circular design.
This basic model of circular driveway design gives professional landscape designers like Exterior Worlds an infinite range of design possibilities.
Many things can be done to modify this basic pattern to turn the driveway itself into the premier keynote of front yard landscaping, second only to the home itself in magnitude.
For example, you are not limited to only a single loop if you have sufficient acreage and a very large house.
A second loop is often built toward the side of the home either to provide overflow parking or special parking for homeowners and immediate family staying for an extended period of time.
Motorcourts can also be part of circular driveway design to designate either VIP or private parking areas. The possibilities are too large to enumerate at length but remember that the basic archetypal symbol of the circle can be utilized to enhance a great many different styles of architecture and works with small homes as well when constructed by professionals.
Around a very large home a circular driveway will immediately emphasize a sense grandeur and the sublime.
Specific architectural styles that exhibit this quality include the French, Southern, and Contemporary that we often find in the Memorial Villages, West Memorial, Tanglewood, and River Oaks areas of Houston.
Another benefit such a structure contributes to a larger estate is the opportunity to subdivide an otherwise aesthetically overwhelming lot into smaller areas of interest.
The linear entrance to the drive provides an ideal means of doing so because it often bisects the property. Formal gardens can be designed, or trees can be planted, that run parallel to the entrance to accent its linear movement with an expanded, organic sense of drama and interest.
On the veritable flipside of this scenario, similarly amazing effects can be achieved by adding a circular driveway to the front of a small home.
Many such homes have a quaint look to their façade that reminds you of a traditional English, German, or early American frontier dwelling.
The simple symmetry and austere beauty of such a dwelling can be greatly magnified by a driveway that forms an actual perfect circle in the front.
As good as this makes the house look, it can make a small front yard look better.
The geometry of a circle has the effect of enlarging the limited lawn space. It also creates another circular area inside the driveway that provides a space for garden design or an ornamental focal point.
Many people will have us create custom gardens within the interior of a circular driveway.
Some prefer to have fountains built here. Others will even go so far as to dedicate this area to a small custom patio with ornamental wrought iron furniture.
The possibilities truly are limited only to imagination, available space, and what best compliments the style of the house.