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The Makings Of A Mid Century Modern Path

102809-concrete1.jpg Mid Century enthusiast Jenn Ski wasn't fulled settled on having the traditional straight and narrow front walkway. Instead she turned to decades past for inspiration when it came to pouring her own circular pathway.

 
 

Jenn Ski along with the help of her husband have been hard at work over the last several weeks creating this concrete walkway reminiscent of the mid-century era. There's nothing in the homeowner handbook that says driveways, sidewalks and pathways have to be straight in nature.

The couple staked their own forms, added in wire mesh for support and did their own concrete work, with the help of a delivery truck. It's certainly a show-stopping addition to the house and their time and effort will be repaid if they ever decide to sell.

You can see the steps they took in their process over at Flickr and over at Jenn Ski's blog if you'd like to see more of a play by play.

Would you ever consider tearing up an existing pathway to take on a project like this? Or would you rather stick with the one that came with your property? Let us know in the comments below!

(via: Hatch
(Images: Jenn Ski)

Tags

Outdoor, diy, concrete, sidewalk, path, walkway

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Comments (20)

I love the look of this but I think big outdoor projects would be lower on my list. I would want the inside finished first.

This style of walkway / patio area is getting rather popular...

posted by GreenJessicaA on October 29th 2009 at 12:08pm
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This is beyond great. You have inspired me.

posted by noraL on October 29th 2009 at 12:12pm
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Ooo, I love this!

posted by TexanNewYorker on October 29th 2009 at 12:16pm
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I looked through a few pages of her blog posts tagged "home" and drooled.

posted by NorNor on October 29th 2009 at 12:23pm
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Wow...that is amazing!

posted by RedMaiko on October 29th 2009 at 12:43pm
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We're renovating the interior of our mid-century ranch this year, and are starting on the exterior next year. While I think we might be stuck with our asphalt driveway, this is a fantastic alternative to our current brick walk, which is hideous. My only concern is that the brick walk is already terribly uneven from rodents (mostly chipmunks) burrowing around underneath it. Do you think this would fare any better?

posted by misstokyo on October 29th 2009 at 12:44pm
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I love this! Definitely a great idea, and kudos to the homeowners for DIY'ing it!!!!

posted by Limeliteshines on October 29th 2009 at 12:47pm
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I love the concept and I really hate to be a Debbie Downer... but somehow I can't just get past the fact that these things kinda look like uncooked sliced potatoes.

posted by nancy_s on October 29th 2009 at 1:26pm
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Fan-fricking-Tastic! Suits the house architecture, sprawling-looking, Wrightesque. I love the fact that she's got two really generously sized ones for people to stand on: apart but together... definitely a front entrance that encourages lingering. Can't wait to see if they can keep up this level of interest and excitement in their plant choices now! They've made the fatal error of beginning at the top of their game! Good luck. I definitely want to see more, later.

And I've got to issue a friendly challenge to GreenJessicaA on her comment. Why should interior projects come first? And let's not discount that huge bonus of pulling up to something gorgeous and personalized every time you come home!

posted by DeborahMcP on October 29th 2009 at 1:32pm
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I guess I'm the only one who doesn't really like it. I think i like the idea, but I have 2 issues with it. I like the different sizes but the large circles just seem a little too large for the size of the house. IF everything was scaled down a bit I think it would look even better. The other thing I really don't like, and this is probably my biggest issue with it is that the circles seem to be pointing you to the window and not the door.

posted by Jose A on October 29th 2009 at 1:51pm
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Jose A, i don't think the circles are as large as they look. There's a lot of lens distortion there. Look at the dead leaves on the ground at the bottom edge of photo and then look at the size of the front door.

I would love to see pics when the ground is all planted! Some creeping thyme or other low evergreen groundcover would look great.

posted by spanky on October 29th 2009 at 2:17pm
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Reminds me of the circular slab garden steps my Dad built in the 1960s.

posted by Netleigh on October 29th 2009 at 2:30pm
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Jose A: You're not the only one. My "its ugly" comment was deleted.

I think its extremely unattractive.

posted by SeanG on October 29th 2009 at 3:19pm
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Can't wait to see when it's all finished with landscaping, etc - but I really hope that they use a concrete stain on these because despite the cool shapes, all that greyness is kinda drab.

posted by bepsf on October 29th 2009 at 3:25pm
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I like it, a lot (and the house is great, gorgeous in fact) but I'd be worried about snow removal (Jenn's in NH, right? I hope they are thick enough to resist cracking and spalling, I saw rebar in the photos) and tripping hazards/liability once it's all done (obviously, the edges will be less once it's landscaped), which are the only things that worry me about this.

posted by dn on October 29th 2009 at 5:11pm
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I actually do not think that this look compliments this style of house. How do circles (huge ones at that) flow with the angular forms of the house? Also, I think it is a shame that someone's comment was deleted about it. Sharing ideas should be part of defining your taste.

posted by thebev on October 29th 2009 at 5:37pm
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I can appreciate the DIY nature of this project, but I think it's a shame they removed ALL of the previous landscaping. Hopefully they were able to relocate the plants or at the very least give them away to someone else. The project could have been successful without tearing out everything.

posted by dmh on October 29th 2009 at 6:17pm
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How can someone not absolutely LOVE this? That is the question...

posted by aliciaanne on October 30th 2009 at 4:19am
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This is exactly what I want to do in our backyard and now i have a photo to borrow from! Thanks!

posted by Gigi818 on October 30th 2009 at 5:03pm
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Love it, so ingenious.

LOVE.

posted by Azucar on November 3rd 2009 at 6:41pm
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