Hiding the garage

May 3rd, 2010 | By: Dar Webb

Is your two-car garage a little over bearing? Learn how to bring it down to size.

Two-car garages facing the street have become an all-too-common feature of contemporary houses. But there are many ways to fight their overwhelming prominence. Paint tricks, architectural details, colorful plantings and garden elements, and creative paving designs can do a lot to mitigate an overbearing garage and driveway while creating new focal points to attract the eye.

Begin with architecture

Start with changes designed to shift attention away from the garage and put the focus where you want it: on the front door and entry. Architectural structures, such as a vine-covered trellis over the garage doors, can soften the boxy lines of a garage and make it fade into the background. Upgrading to garage doors with windows or with an interesting design that reinforces a new architectural theme can also dramatically improve a garage’s appearance.

Paint is another way to soften a garage. Using a darker color on the house and garage will make them recede and appear less dominant.

Add lighter house trim and an accent color on your home’s front door and you’ve created a brighter entry to catch the eye. If you have a plain front door, consider replacing it with one that reinforces your home’s style—say, a door with panels or sidelights—while drawing attention.

Rethink driveway materials

Most driveways are paved with bland concrete or asphalt. Here in the Northwest, exposed aggregate is the choice for most builders’ spec homes. A change in material can turn a featureless expanse into a driveway with character and visual appeal.

For an inexpensive quick fix, edge the driveway with a band of brick, concrete or stone pavers, or stamped concrete. You can use the same material for a new walkway to the front door to create continuity. For a more dramatic change, upgrade the entire driveway. Concrete pavers come in a multitude of sizes, shapes, and colors and can be used to create all kinds of interesting patterns. If pavers aren’t in the budget, consider colored cast-in-place concrete with a pattern scored into the surface. Stick with darker colors, which recede and don’t show tire marks or oil drips as much.

You can also change the shape of the driveway to combat the cookie-cutter look. If you add a curve or a turnaround area in front of your home’s entry, the driveway becomes part of the house’s architecture and can double as a courtyard, making it seem less utilitarian and more usable and charming. If you don’t have enough room to adjust the shape of the driveway, offsetting the approach just a bit to one side can put planting areas in the line of sight to the garage, reducing its dominance from the street.

Soften and highlight with plantings and garden ornamentation

Carefully placed plantings can go a long way toward fixing the sterile or aggressive appearance of an unadorned driveway and garage. Small to medium-size trees planted along the edge will eventually overhang the driveway and partially screen the garage. However, be wary of placing plantings too close to buried utilities, and choose trees without overly aggressive root systems. Also steer clear of trees that drip sap, such as birch and honey locust, to avoid a mess on cars parked below them.

Garden elements in the front yard will also divert focus. Add a trellis or water feature, or frame the entry or walkway with flowering shrubs and perennials of different heights. If you combine evergreen and deciduous plants with trees that offer special seasonal effects, such as vibrant autumn foliage or winter berries, your yard will be full of color and interest at all times of the year. Add container plantings around the front door to brighten it up and create a dramatic focal point.

Finally, if you don’t already have one, consider installing a separate walkway from the street to the front door, reducing the need to use the driveway and redirecting emphasis to the entry. This is a throwback to the days before cars, when the front yard and porch were considered public spaces meant for sitting and socializing with neighbors and passersby, and the garage was relegated to an alley out back.

In the end, after you’ve done what you can to make the garage “disappear,” you’ll find you’ve created an engaging landscape. The emphasis will be off the utilitarian and on the bounty of usability and curb appeal you have added to your home.