Gravel Walkway Inspiration {For our Front Porch}

Happy Monday, friends!

Hope you had a great weekend!  If you are on the east coast, I know you have been battered with a ton a rain.  I am praying for your safety.  

It has been dry and sunny over here on the west coast, and I have to admit that I am missing the cooler temps and the feeling of “fall.”  My time here is half way over, and guess what?!!! I get to see Cy and my boys this week!!!!  They are flying over here on Wednesday night!!!  YAY!  Please pray for their travel safety.  

I cannot wait to hug their necks!!!  

And I have got some more good news!!!!  Things are moving quickly on our adoption.  Yesterday, our sweet girl’s foster family got a visit from a lady from the government and found out that we are officially wanting to adopt her!  We didn’t expect this to happen so soon, so we are hoping this means that we may be flying over there to get her in November!!  Again, there are no guarantees because sometimes things get tied up in the court system, but so far, we are excited about how quickly things are going. :)

Here is a fun collage of her visit with us this summer.  I did it in pencil sketch since I can’t show her true picture yet online. :)

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Now to today’s post!  

I have a deep love for older homes.  Especially farmhouse style homes.   Something about them just warms my soul.  :)  So when adding on our new front porch, I wanted to give it an “old” farmhouse feel.  I started looking on pinterest, and I started noticing that many of the pictures I was drawn to had one thing in common….

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Many of them had gravel walkways leading up to the front porch…

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There is something so simplistic and rustic about a gravel walkway.  It seems that you usually find them in gardens, and they seem to always lead to somewhere magical.

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 I have always loved the crunchy sound that gravel  makes beneath my feet.  

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The more I looked at these pictures online, the more I knew I wanted a gravel walkway leading to our front porch.  I showed Cy some of my inspiration pictures, and he loved the idea too.

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There are many different types of gravel walkways that you can create, and I think they even look beautiful on newer homes too…

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My favorite look is light gray gravel lined with pavers, so this was the route we decided to go.  Something similar to this pic….

 

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Before I left town a couple of weeks ago, we finished our front walkway (sort of.)  We have filled our walkway with a layer of very fine crushed run to give our gravel a good sturdy base.  When I get back, we will be getting a little larger gravel to layer on top of our crushed run.

Tomorrow, I will share with you what it looks like so far!  I am very happy with how it has turned out.

So!  What do you think about gravel walkways for a front porch?  Yay?  Nay?

 

39 Comments

  1. I love how they look and how affordable they are. When searching for ideas online, I found several people mention that the gravel can track in on shoe treads and ruin wood floors. Not an issue if everyone takes off shoes at the front door. We’re still training on that since we’ve been remodeling for 4 years and it hasn’t been safe to go shoeless.

    1. Hi Angela!

      I “wish” we were one of those families who took their shoes, off, but admittedly, we are not. :( We will have to keep a close eye on whether or not the gravel hurts our hardwood. We are going to try and get a larger gravel that hopefully won’t get stuck in shoes as bad, and fortunately we have floors that have an older, rougher look, so dents and dings just blend right in. :) Thanks for stopping by!

  2. I love gravel walkways, too – especially the crunch underfoot. I think it will be a beautiful way to arrive at your front porch. I am so glad you are writing about this now because I would like to put a gravel walkway at our mountain home to go from the driveway around the house to the back porch and yard. My concern is keeping the gravel from washing away on the slope. The pavers are a good idea – or some rocks lining the edge like one of the photos. Is the fine crushed run supposed to help it be more stable? I wanted pea gravel, but was told the rounded edges migrate more. Does the gravel you plan to finish with have a sharp edge?
    That is such exciting news about your daughter! She is a little beauty.

    1. Hi Kim!
      The fine crushed run is supposed to keep it stable and give it a sturdy base. We haven’t decided on what type of gravel to put on top yet. I have not heard about the pea gravel migrating. I will let you know what we decide on in a future post! I think a gravel walkway sounds beautiful for your mountain home! :)

  3. love your inspiration photos! so pretty ;-) very exciting about your sweet girl!! praise God!! I’ll be praying Cy and the boys arrive in Cali safely!! Blessings ;-)

  4. I love the way they look but I wonder what happens in the winter when it snows. I live in Connecticut and we are supposed to be hit really hard AGAIN this year. Good luck on your adoption and I hope you get your little sweetie very soon.

  5. Love the crunch! My area is too wooded for gravel. When leaves fall it would be a nightmare so we did flagstone. However, I think you did the perfect thing for your house. I am praying your adoption is quick. I know she must be as eager as you if she knows. Are they able to tell her? This story is dear to my heart as I have 2 adopted children that are now grown. Love them to pieces!!!

    1. Yes, I believe that she is aware that we are wanting to adopt. I pray that she is as excited as we are, but I know it must be a little bit scary for her since she has been with her foster family for three years and it will be such a big change. Please pray for us all. :) God bless you for adopting. xoxo

  6. We have a pea gravel walkway to our front door, too. It looks so much better on our 1920’s home than concrete sidewalk. One side of the walkway is lined with bigger rocks (basketball size). We love the look with the trailing of flowering plants that grow in between the bigger rocks.

  7. NAY, I did it and I am very sorry. Weed grow in it all the time!, Dirt and gravel get into the house….I have a no shoe policy. It is VERY hard to walk on for toddlers, elderly–especially if a wheelchair, roll (sometimes called a rolling walker)rollater or crutches. I suggest if you want that look, put concrete down then have pea gravel placed on the top..then you could have you cake and eat it too.
    Jan Marie
    flourishesllcom

    1. Thanks for your comment. Those are things we have definitely considered. Luckily we have a great back porch entrance that people use 99% of the time. We never use our front door, and our guests do not usually either. :) But if the gravel seems to be a problem over time, we will do something different a little later when money is available.
      Thanks for stopping by! xoxo

  8. I do not like gravel walks leading to a front entrance!
    Women wearing high-heels shoes often skin the heel down in the gravel. I’ve twisted my ankle,fallen and ruined shoes for this reason..
    Gravel garden paths are fine..
    but front entry way should have a very solid walk leading to the step and porch!

    1. Love the gravel idea, but I’d want it in pea gravel or crushed granite. Limestone gravel is too dusty, just drive up my driveway and you’ll see what I mean. I’d also be afraid of someone in heels falling when they come to visit. But it’s a very interesting idea. We are adding a farmers porch next year. I’ll have to research this idea. Thanks Traci!!!

      1. Yep! There are some negatives to gravel walkways, but we use our back door 99% of the time, so it really won’t get much use. I am going to try and fill it with gravel that is not very dusty. :)

    2. Good point, Loui. Truthfully, no one ever uses our front door. :) Everyone uses our back door, but if it ever becomes a problem, we would definitely change it.

  9. I love gravel paths too. I have a decomposed granite pathway from my driveway around my side yard to the back fence. It looks good and is low maintenance. It is also impossible to walk on without shoes. The gravel sticks in the treads of my shoes which will scratch a wood floor if you’re not careful. Some things to consider before you make a commitment.

  10. Gravel wouldn’t work for us on a farm in Iowa because of snow in the winter. Shoveling snow is hard enough work on a flat solid surface, but would be a mess on gravel. I do like how it looks though, and may work fine in your situation. Safe travels for all.

    1. Snow is hit and miss for us. Sometimes we have a ton, and sometimes we don’t. We don’t use our front door, and our guests usually don’t either, so we wouldn’t really need to keep it clear in the winter. We will just use the back door. :)
      Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a blessed day!
      Traci

  11. I like garden paths but for heels or other nice shoes, no. I have considered gravel in the back but do’t know how it would be for regualr use with little ones, my grands or hold up in the winter. Some of your examples are so pretty! Williamsburg has gravel for their paths and road.

    1. Yes, Linda! You are right. There are definitely some negatives to gravel walkways. We rarely use our front door, so I don’t think it will be a problem, but we will have to see over time. :) Thanks for stopping by!!

  12. I love the look and sound of gravel! It adds texture to a landscape and a fluidity that concrete does not have. I think that the type of precipitation you get in the winter is a factor for some of us.

    Here in CT with the amount of snow we get, it makes shoveling a bear. The gravel will “roll” even under sandals or sneakers in good weather(ask me how I know lol). I have not had any problem with it being tracked into the house.

    Yay on your Little Girl & upcoming visit with Cy & boys! Can’t wait to hear about what you and Jonathan have been up to!

  13. Just like anything I think gravel pathways ( especially for the front walkway) have pros and con.

    Pros:
    Less expensive, easier to replace in the future, gives a romantic and welcoming feel, adds texture and beauty to a garden, good for drainage.

    Cons: Not a “sure footing” especially for the very young and elderly, difficult to walk on in heels, needs replacing from time to time (future expense) as compaction happens, has the potential to ruin floors if rocks get caught in shoes.

    In my humble opinion, I would save the gravel walkway for side or backyards and not for the main front yard walkway. So, the answer is both Yay and Nay :)

    Congratulations on your new family addition to come!

    In my

  14. This is so timely! We are trying to figure out what to do with our walkway. We are considering making our own pavers, but I like this idea- so much easier. I wonder how difficult it would be to remove the leaves in the fall. Hmmmm…. Thank you so much for a great idea.

  15. The gravel will be great, but lets get to the good stuff…Congratulations on the possible blessing of having a new daughter~ This is something to celebrate!
    Prayers for you and this precious child :-)

  16. Pretty, but difficult to keep clean, rake leaves or shovel snow. It will ruin your floors and track constant dust through your house. Plus they can be slippery. Ask me how I know. :( I’m currently replacing mine with pavers… nice and flat and clean! Don’t mean to burst your bubble. It’s not bad for a woodland walk, but has issuers for a real thoroughfare.

    Those lovely shell drives one sees in Europe were kept up by servants with rakes and nothing else to do. However, if anyone can make it work, you can, but it’s time intensive.

  17. The sound of gravel crunching under my feet has always been one of my favorite sounds, too! So much so that I layed a gravel path at our house before this one.

  18. Yay/Nay
    I love the idea, but for us in the midwest, it would be a bit difficult to shovel or blow 3 foot of snow. So, no go for us.

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