Your home is to the right? My first thought is to make a series of broad steps to the side, but can't tell where the steps would lead to.

This post was edited by Violet.West on Mon, Oct 27, 14 at 17:24

Pretty house!

If you aren't going to re-do the driveway, I'd live with it for a few months and see whether you still think you need stairs.

Are you talking about losing the small tree to the left of the white van? And is that the front door to the left of that small tree? If you put stairs in the lawn directly to the door, I think that would look nice, esp if the stairs were made out of an attractive stone.

Assuming that is an entrance to the front porch/entry right between the two white pillars, you can take a gradually stepped walk from the corner of the garden where it meets the drive up to the porch and entry. It does not have cut right through the middle of the garden but can angle up somewhat tightly from the drive to the porch, maintaining most of the lawn on the left side while still preserving the tree on the right side of the porch and adding a small drive side planting area.

btw, that doesn't look very steep to me (and I'm getting be an old thing :-)) but could be different with snow or ice.

Would visitors most likely be parking on the drive or on the street? It might make a difference how you want to handle this.

Thank you! It is the blue house. Here is a picture with the old driveway that might be helpful. You can kind of see the front door in white peaking through the plants.

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There is couple steps "behind" the small tree that leads to the porch.

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I will probably be there tomorrow and I can take a better picture if that is helpful.

I am definitely open to living with this for a while. The only downside is that we need to build a small retaining (?) wall on the side of the soil. It will probably cost us more to tear it down if we change our minds.

I am ok with no stairs, but I am worried that guests will find it strange or uninviting to walk up the driveway to the porch. Of course, it would also be nice not to pay for stairs. They are pretty expensive!

Guests would probably park on the street, but we don't get snow/ice here usually. If there is snow, no one drives anyways! :)

For me, it isn't too steep. I tend to overthink things....plus I have some regret that I didn't just build stairs into the driveway like the original one had.

oh, duh. I was looking at the big tree to the right, not the small one to the left. If I were you, I'd consider making some kind of pathway direct to the front door, which isn't easily discernible from the street. It could be stepping stones or something rather than a whole staircase.

Visually speaking, with the large house, the drive seems a bit narrow. A walk/steps added to the left of it, making it wider, seems like it would balance better. An improved -- widened -- landing at the top could dramatically open up the entrance. Are you satisfied with "acceptable" ... or do you really want it to look nice?

Not working out details in the pic. Just showing generalities.

Oh, and limb up the trees to a more workable ceiling.

This post was edited by Yardvaark on Tue, Oct 28, 14 at 4:05

Rebecca,
You don't have to get rid of the small tree at all.
Remove those hedges that are blocking your front porch.
Open it up, and put some type of walkway there, right to the front door.
Personally, I would take it all the way down to the sidewalk.
It doesn't have to be cement, like the driveway, it can be stone, mabey with just a couple stairs and a nice railing at the steepist part.
You can landscape around it, both with flowers and some evergreens for the winter.
You need a walkway up to the house that isnt a driveway where you will have your cars anyway, which is small.
Google online and see if you like any of the ideas that other people have.

You really don't want an arrow straight pathway bisecting the lawn to the sidewalk.......that is SO old school! And not the slightest bit welcoming. I wish I had software on this archaic computer of mine to show graphically exactly what I mean.

Let me see if I can explain it better.

Have the walkway start at the far right corner where the driveway meets the side walk. An initial concrete slab (4'x4'?), then a couple of steps up to another slab (not all slabs need to be 4' in length - both longer or shorter will work - but make sure the width is at least 4'). Repeat this in a geometrical/angled progression until you reach the porch. This type of public entry way is a much more up to date and interesting approach than a simple straight path to the street. And it is an easy accommodation to the slope. It doesn't have to be angular if you prefer a more curving pathway but I think the angular is a bit more striking and dynamic.

This will provide a pleasantly shaped yet modest planting area to the right of the walkway, saving the tree, and still leaves a large expanse of lawn. You can always plant some sort of specimen plant right at the beginning of the walk (Japanese maple or unusal dwarf conifer?) or otherwise call attention to the start of the walk. Even a large landscape boulder with your house numbers or a light fixture.

I like what Yardvaark did with the new steps next to the driveway.

By the way, I'm curious - in which state are you located? I have never seen steps built up the middle of a driveway before, and I'm glad you provided the picture because I sure couldn't imagine what that might look like. Ingenious. :)

beware of the "welcome to my garage look that you can get with a wider driveway and less interruption of the view to the garage that the tree now provides.

Also consider more than the stairs. Do you want to get more space out of your small front yard for purposes other than mowing exercise and a foreground to your house? If so, consider a retaining wall or more than one with a walkway and steps incorporated through it. I don't know if this street and/or your personality makes it such that you would want to spend time on that side of the house or not, but you should go through that mental exercise.

I don't have a problem with bisecting the lawn to make a walk/stairs that would re-center the attention of the curb view of the house from the driveway to the front door.

Thank you everyone so much! This has been really helpful and I am feeling much better now. I am thinking that revamping the front yard space would be a good choice, so planning the steps with this in mind is the best thing to do.

@littlebug5 - I live in Portland, OR. These steps are really common around here. I have lived in the midwest and east coast, and I don't recall seeing them before either.

Thanks again!!!

shoot, if you live in Portland, you might as well plant vegies in the front yard!

This house is a bit more modern than yours but the concept of using planters, beds and creating a path the moves thru the landscape may give you some ideas.
A hedge within the landscape creates feeling of privacy yet leaves the front yard still welcoming.

It is kind of you to consider the mobility to future visitors. What makes it possible for me to go up elevations is the presence of a handrail.

Maybe you could try something like this picture for your lawn. Adjusted to suit your yard of course

Update! We decided to hire a landscape designer, who has helped us with a full front yard re-do. The little trees were sickly, so those had to go. We are going for an organic look with the boulders and multiple "levels". I am so happy thus far. I think it makes the house more beautiful. Thanks all for your input!

Thanks for the follow-up. I'd love to see you continue to post as the project progresses.

I'm glad you chose a professional. I love those stairs. Please keep us informed.

Yes, 100% worth it to consult an expert. Here is a view from the top of the stairs. I love how they turned out.

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Amazing!