I'm interested in putting in a circular drive in front of the house, but the house is not symmetrical. Should I center the circle on the front door or the middle of the house?

by John Hutchinson
(Carlisle, MA)

House is about 80 ft wide total, with 40 ft of main house and 40 ft of garage+family room. Right now the driveway approaches on the garage side, but we would like a more central approach to the front door. Does a perfect circle look strange in front of an asymmetric house? See attached picture.

Thanks!

Dear John,

An off centered circular driveway is definitely a more challenging design problem, but can be very nice. Most circular dirveways are about the width of the house, or a little wider. Center the circular driveway on the house, not on the front door. I think it would push the drivway too far to the right, if it's centered on the door. In the sketch above, the sidewalk to the front door gently curves to the right, stopping approximately at the right front corner of the house. Change the walk to gently curve in the other direction, lining up with the left front corner of the house which is also the center point of the new circular driveway. Install landscaping where the walk meets the driveway to announce the front entrance. Have the new plantings blend with the existing landscaping which looks very nice.
Thanks for posting the question. Nancy