How to make your driveway practical and stylish

The topic of driveways can be terribly mundane but Emily Murray, the creative force behind the Instagram account @pinkhouseliving, proves otherwise. Her transformation of the drive in front of her southeast London semi is a triumph, turning the “big mess” with “ugly walls and crazy paving” into a chic, useful space with aplomb.
The interiors influencer’s classic block paving was looking somewhat decrepit and the layout of the old driveway — inherited from the previous owners when the Murrays bought the property in 2017 — didn’t make much sense. “There wasn’t enough room for anything, a ridiculous situation because, actually, it’s quite a lot of space, especially for London,” she says.
“It was completely useless as a driveway. The garage was created to fit an old sports car and the driveway itself was so narrow that you wouldn’t be able to get out of your car without banging your doors. There was nowhere to put the bins other than in the driveway. And, of course, that leaves no room for your car.”
Her original vision included plans to render the whole house and paint it pink (naturally). “My husband, Euan, used his power of veto on that so that didn’t happen,” Emily admits. A concession has been to paint the windowsills in her own bespoke bubblegum shade, aptly named Pink House Pink from Mylands.
The couple put their heads together with the landscape gardening company Bes Landscapes to figure out the best way to rejig the front garden. “We needed somewhere to put the bins and we wanted to keep certain things like the wooden platform [for a table and chairs in good weather] that Euan had made,” Emily says.
A decision was made to move the old wall (removing the stone topping and opting for a simple plaster wall for a cleaner, contemporary look) as well as shifting the stairs backwards and rebuilding them at an angle to enlarge the driveway. However, the process uncovered another problem: the gas and electric pipes along the wall on the right-hand side as you look at the drive.
“That delayed things a bit,” Emily says. “Instead of going to the gas board and waiting forever, we got it done privately for a couple of hundred pounds. They came within two weeks and rerouted the pipes and we were able to make the driveway as wide as it is.” Once the driveway was the appropriate size, Emily had an electric car charging point installed.
The least sexy but perhaps the most useful part of the new design includes a designated area for the multiple bins (general, food waste, garden waste and recycling) in front of the stairs to the right of the house, as well as planters and a climbing hydrangea over the garage door for verdant vibes.
Works also included installing motion-triggered solar lights and Emily chose the colour Garden from Little Greene, a paint company recommended by Bes Landscapes, for the stairs and garage door. “It was a much brighter green than I was expecting but it’s so fun and fresh. I knew it was going to look good with the pink because you can’t go wrong with the combination — pink and green always works.” She caveats: “When a colour is outside, it always shows brighter than it does if you see it inside.”
The Murrays’ project timing couldn’t have been better. In their London borough, Lewisham, the council brought in parking measures in October 2023 as part of its Sustainable Streets initiative, limiting free street parking on certain roads. “That means a driveway becomes even more worthwhile, but also adds value to your house even more,” Emily says.
Maximising kerb appeal can also have a hefty uplift on your property price. Estimates will vary, but you can expect to pay about £10,000 to £15,000 for a project similar to the Murrays’.
Bes Landscapes recommends stabilised gravel as the “best, easiest and cheapest option” for the driveway surface — Emily picked a blush-pink variation. “The gravel has been done using a gravel stabilising grid. This means the gravel has a soft look while having structure underneath,” Bes Landscapes’ founder, Besmir Mustafa, says.
He recommends the website cedstonelondon.co.uk as a good supplier of gravel and grids. They also fitted a lockable security bollard, which Emily rates highly for multiple reasons: “One, it stops people stealing your car, which seems to be happening quite a lot these days. You just pull up, click and then lock. Even if someone manages to clone your key and get into your car, this good old-fashioned piece of metal means they’re not going anywhere. Second, when you’re not using the driveway it means people can’t come and park in it.”
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David Hadley, the owner of Creative Gardens & Driveways, a specialist firm based in Cheshire, is reporting an increase in clients opting for eco-friendly driveways. “The UK’s love affair with asphalt and block paving is waning,” he says. “Consumers are increasingly recognising the irony of parking their electric cars on driveways that are environmental disasters. The environmental impact of a new driveway is now as much a part of our design consultation as cost and aesthetic. We now have options that are permeable, durable, cost-effective and beautiful, which is great news for homeowners and the environment.”
Hadley estimates rough costs per sq m (for surfacing only, including labour costs) based on 100 sq m (about the size of a three-car drive) for four different types of driveway material. He ranks each option in order of least to most sustainable.
In fourth place is resin-bound aggregate, which would set you back roughly £120 a sq m. Pros include good drainage (if laid onto the required porous base) but Hadley warns it has a limited lifespan and generates a large amount of non-recyclable plastic waste. “It also cannot be repaired without replacing the whole driveway,” Hadley says.
He ranks tarmac third, averaging £60 to £75 a sq m, while block paving is second, estimated at about £120 to £180 a sq m. While both tarmac and block-paved driveways are long-lasting options, Hadley warns: “There are high CO2 emissions in transportation and production and both must be used in conjunction with a robust SuDS [sustainable urban drainage system] compliant.” SuDS is legislation on how rainwater is dealt with as it falls on a newly installed driveway surface. A specialist laying the driveway will need to consider rainwater run-off for compliance.
Creative Gardens & Driveways recommends stabilised gravel as the best solution: a long-lasting option that offers great drainage and can easily be altered and repaired. At £40 to £50 a sq m, it’s also the most pocket-friendly. “Gravel is cheap but it is also great at withstanding heavy daily use, doesn’t age or require much upkeep and drains fantastically well, if installed as a stabilised surface,” Hadley says.
He suggests Nidagravel UK, which has gravel grids that are completely rainwater-permeable to reduce run-off and flash flooding. Where possible, Creative Gardens & Driveways will also use reclaimed stone for driveways. “Even better if it’s already on a property as there is no carbon footprint for extraction or transportation. We typically use a combination of natural stone and gravel to create attractive driveways that cause less environmental impact and are SuDS compliant.”