They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. So from the moment guests step onto your property, you want them to take notice of your home. Designing a natural stone walkway is one great way to ensure you capture your guests’ attention from the beginning. The variety of style options allows you to be as creative as possible.

Before getting into the actual design of your walkway, you need to keep a few things in mind. The first is the climate of where you live. Each natural stone reacts differently to certain weather conditions. So knowing what the stone you choose can and can’t handle should be top priority.

Your next consideration has to be function. Are you looking to design a more secondary path? Will the walkway will be more for high traffic, or a simple garden path? The reason you are building your walkway will help focus your ideas and the type of stones you choose. And once you’ve figured these out, it’s time to get designing. The following are a few of the most popular and creative natural stone walkway ideas.

Round Stepping Stones

The key to getting the best out of this type of stone is spacing. When placing them in the lead-up to your front door, keep the spacing consistent. Even if you stagger the stones, having consistent spacing adds a cohesiveness to your design that makes it look effortless.

Framed Walkway

For a modern, minimalist type of look, try setting square paving stones into loose stones. For the best results, contrast the colours of the stones so that one is bright and the other is dark. That way, they will stand out as much as possible.

Spaced Stones

Probably best suited for a garden walkway, leaving space in between each stone placement allows greenery to protrude in between. This adds a softer look to your walkway and blends well with the rest of your garden.

Rustic Natural Stone

The best part about this is that you don’t need to do any cutting. Essentially, all you need is an eye for arranging when pairing different pieces of this stone together. This is perfect for gardens or backyard walkways.

Split Walkway

Using large natural stones that split around a garden into two smaller walkways is a design idea that can easily grab attention. Wide stones are probably best for this job, but you can be as creative as you want.

The truth is, if you’re a semi-experienced DIY homeowner, nearly any natural stone choice or style will look amazing to complement your home and garden. It more so comes down to knowing which stones will work best for what you are hoping to accomplish. And if you are foregoing some of the work yourself and looking to hire a landscaper, you open yourself up to even more opportunities to really beautify your walkways.

FSI Landscape Supply has everything you’ll need to get started on making your natural stone walkway perfect. Whether you’re looking to include it as part of your garden or as a walkway to your front or backyard, trust FSI Landscape as your first choice supplier. For more information on materials and services, please visit the web site or come into the store to see for yourself.