A front garden on a slope cannot do without stairs to overcome the difference in height comfortably and safely. In addition to their pure function, a staircase offers itself as a decorative element for creative front garden design. This guide provides tips for imaginative options and introduces you to four common stair constructions.

Steps in the front yard can give this a nice plus

Front gardens love free-standing stairs - tips for the design

On the flat slope, individual, wide steps serve as an uncomplicated solution to cope with the slight difference in height. To overcome a larger difference in height, a continuous staircase is installed parallel to the slope. Due to structural borders, however, the staircase becomes a foreign body in terms of appearance. The following tips summarize how you can harmoniously integrate a step into the front yard design:

  • Add steps to a perennial bed
  • Edge with a low hedge of boxwood or ornamental grasses
  • Create steps slightly offset or vary in width

Ideally, the building materials used in the house and front yard are repeated in the staircase. Of course, this only applies to rough surfaces such as plaster and natural stone slabs made of sand-lime brick. Slippery wooden floorboards or smooth marble stones are unsuitable for a garden staircase.

These 4 stair variants are very popular

The wallet and the frequency of use decide on the concrete construction of a staircase. A rarely used staircase can consist of inexpensive stick steps. Where there is daily public traffic, the focus is on a massive construction made of block steps. The following 4 variants have emerged in the professional front garden design:

  • Block steps: solid blocks of natural stone or concrete laid on 30 cm thick gravel and 3 cm sand
  • Laying steps: flat stone slabs, 3 to 8 cm thick, laid on a stepped reinforced concrete foundation
  • Stick steps: simple construction with wooden planks, stabilized by posts and treads made of gravel or bark mulch
  • Risers: More stable alternative to billet steps with concrete curbs and cobblestone or mosaic treads

It is important to note that a railing should be installed from a height difference of 100 cm. In any case, handrails are recommended to make it easier for older people to climb up.

tips

A perfectly straight staircase visually reduces the spatial dimension of an area. By creating a staircase with a slightly curved course, you give the small front garden more depth.

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