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Our French Country Gate Entrance: Before & After

This week I’m excited to share a tour of our new garden on YouTube. But first I’m sharing some photos of our new driveway gate!

French Country House driveway landscaping

Here is what the house and garden looked like when we took possession.

Landscaping before

Day one I hired a crew to take down all the overgrown shrubs and trees that were completely in the wrong area, in the back as well.

All the trees came down to reveal a very taupe and brown house.  But happily, paint was all it needed. You can see my entire process for updating our exterior with colour in my Exterior Colour Masterclass!

taupe and stone exterior before

Here’s phase one when the hardscaping was installed (below).

new driveway French Country exterior

Adding a French Country entrance gate

And here’s our beautiful new gate and columns designed to match the house.

stone pillar driveway gate french country exterior

Here’s a different view. The original driveway had four problems.

  1. It was just asphalt, not even concrete
  2. It was in the wrong location
  3. There was no space for guest parking
  4. No one could back up to drive out, you literally had to back down the entire driveway

This photo (below), we had already installed some gravel to create a turn around spot and for additional parking.

driveway before

Here’s a photo of when the plant material arrived:

Here’s what it looks like now with the gate installed:

front french country landscaping installed stone fountain

If you’d like a virtual DIY plan from the best garden designer, contact MaryAnne White here. You will end up with a plan that is beautiful beyond your imagination I promise!

Watch My French Country Garden Tour

To watch the full tour of our garden, go here:

 

Sign up here for a free workshop to trend proof and navigate your next home project without regret.

Related posts:

My Enchanted Greenhouse and Garden

How to Make a Plain Exterior Fabulous? Design a Garden

My New Boxwood Garden Beds: Before & After

 

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20 Comments

  • Liz says:

    Wow! Looks amazing!

    2
  • Jane Dillon says:

    I love it Maria. You’ve done so much work to your stunning home! What make is your beautiful blouse?

    2
  • Susan says:

    Beautiful Transformation! Where’s the new mailbox?

    1
  • Alexandria Cottrell says:

    MaryAnne does it again! Looks so dreamy. The panicle hydrangeas are my kind of happy! Amazing this year, and will be even better next year. Thank you for sharing!

    1
  • Kim says:

    Oh, my goodness! You gave that home the beautiful estate glow up it deserves!

    3
  • Rory Vanlandingham says:

    😍😍😍 Goodness! It is absolutely gorgeous outside too! It would be hard for me to not stay outside all day.

    2
  • KariAnne says:

    What an INCREDIBLE makeover! The first view of the house when you drive up is STUNNING! You are AMAZING!

    1
  • JJaye says:

    So beautiful, I could live in your garden shed and be happy just to have a view of your beautiful yard! Do you need a gardener?? Seriously though, you have such a talent for design and creative vision. The changes are not only practical but seamlessly elegant and harmonious with your updated home.
    😆

    1
  • Louisa M says:

    What a gorgeous transformation! WOW!

    1
  • Kim says:

    This is truly breathtaking, Maria. Hope y’all enjoy it for many years to come.

    1
  • Liz says:

    It is BEYOND beautiful!!! Unexpected for the area (?) and very dream-like! 💫 How do you get any work done – I’d just be lounging & meandering all day, & preparing yum veg foods 😉 You & MaryAnn have outdone yourselves, it’s simply stunning! 🤩

    1
  • Laura P. says:

    Hi Maria, Your garden tour was a joy to watch! It’s so nice of you to credit MaryAnne so generously for the beautiful design. I loved seeing Lucy in the video hinting that she wanted you to throw her ball. Poodles are the best!

    1
  • Fran W. says:

    Jaw-dropping indeed! Love it!❤️

  • Lorri says:

    Stunning and unbelievable transformation, Maria!!!

    1
  • Mary C. says:

    My husband and I are preparing to re-landscape our backyard, and it is completely overwhelming and costly. It’s so overwhelming that we’ve put it off for 20 years — and we only have 1/3 of an acre total!

    I CAN’T IMAGINE what it took to make this huge property look so amazing. It looks like something out of a fairy tale. Great job!

    2
  • Karen Leone says:

    Did you keep your goats?

  • Chris Rakestraw says:

    It’s absolutely wonderful! Adjusting that driveway was so very smart!

  • Bethany says:

    This is absolutely beautiful!

  • Ann says:

    That turned out so spectacular!!! Really charming and well thought out! So happy for you!

    1
  • Rebecca says:

    Gorgeous! Would love to see your thought process behind picking out the gate design (and options you ruled out). I see so many great designs and think to myself I’d have a hard time deciding.

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