First Impressions

Ross Iverson knows the value of a great front entrance. His landscape design firm, Southview Design of Inver Grove Heights, partnered with a national homebuilder last year to dress up front entrances of five new homes that had been on the market for months. The homes, though attractive, were surrounded by dirt. For each one, the Southview team created an outdoor scheme that incorporated lighting, a variety of plant materials, and walkways. The properties promptly sold within one week. “Going from a dirt yard to a landscaped façade psychologically made all the difference,” Iverson says.

The front entrance to your home makes a first—and lasting—impression. Think of this area as the cover of a great novel, says Gary Aulik, president of Aulik & Associates, a home building firm in St. Louis Park. Like a book cover, an effective front entrance should intrigue guests and encourage further exploration. “People are interested in creating a story for their homes,” Aulik says. “Maybe it’s a glimpse of the house from the curb. Maybe as you travel up the driveway, you get a better sense of how the property develops. Maybe it’s the use of landscaping to give a hint of what’s to come.”

Front entrances can come in all forms. Some homeowners want to convey a sense of privacy, while others want to make guests feel welcome. But most of all, people want the main approach to their homes to make a statement. To that end, elements such as plants, trees, architectural materials, garage placement, sidewalks, driveways, and front stoops should all work together to create a dramatic entrance.

Material World

When it comes to designing a home with extraordinary curb appeal, many builders and designers believe that the first order of business is considering how the space will blend in with the other homes and yards around it. “Most people want their front entrance to be warm and inviting, but more than anything, they want it to be appropriate for the neighborhood,” says Michael Anschel, owner of Minneapolis design-build firm Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build. “It’s a matter of looking around you and figuring out what is the size, scale, and theme of the area, and then trying to put that into your project.”

Aulik agrees: “Most of our customers don’t want to necessarily beat their proverbial chests about how big their home is relative to the neighbor’s. But they do want good-quality, refined architectural amenities.”