Retaining walls do much more than simply prevent soil erosion. They also serve as beautiful landscape design elements. We’ve got 11 ideas for retaining walls to help inspire your next project.

1. Follow the Slope

A retaining wall doesn’t have to be one uniform height throughout. You can easily design one with varying heights that follows the slope of a hillside. This will provide the necessary support to prevent erosion without disturbing the natural architecture of the surrounding landscape. Also, a sloped retaining wall accented with plants or shrubbery is a clever way to delineate between your and your neighbor’s property without building a fence, which can block the view.

2. Design with the Landscape in Mind

Rather than dramatically alter the landscape to accommodate a retaining wall, you can build a curved wall that accentuates the natural flow of the terrain. It’s always best to work with the beauty nature has already gifted you.

3. Break It Up with a Multi-tiered Retaining Wall

Building a very high retaining wall to fortify a hillside is a major undertaking when one considers the material cost and planning required to create a single structure that can bear that much weight. A much simpler and visually interesting idea is to go with a multi-tiered retaining wall. Not only will this cut down on the planning, but it also creates additional surface area where you can show off your gardening skills by incorporating multiple planting beds. You can fill in each tier with any combination of colorful shrubs and flowers, or even include an in-ground herb garden if you’re a culinary enthusiast.

4. Create Beautiful Borders with End Posts

A great way to frame both ends of a retaining wall — especially if you need to create an opening for a walkway — is to incorporate end posts into the design. You can top them off with stone post caps.

5. Frame a Driveway or Walkway

Another creative use for a retaining wall is as a border for a driveway or walkway. And if the area is located next to a naturally occurring hill, erecting a barrier can help keep dirt, leaves and fallen tree branches from washing onto the path during heavy rainfall.

6. Work in a Raised Planting Bed

Use stone blocks to create a freestanding raised planting bed or one that’s built into a large retaining wall. The addition of height is a great way to break up open spaces and add variety to both large and small yards.

7. Go with a Garden Wall

Retaining wall blocks can be used to frame fences or create small planting beds around garden walls or other privacy structures. You can install wide, flat stones vertically by simply digging a small trench, adding a bit of compacted leveling sand and burying them halfway in the ground. This makes for a fun weekend DIY project that involves minimal skills and only one or two basic gardening tools.

8. Ensure Proper Drainage

Faulty landscaping can cause water to pool and stagnate in low areas of your yard, which can be a health hazard. And when this occurs near your home’s foundation, excess moisture can lead to rot and serious structural damage over time. Use retaining wall blocks in combination with mulch, gravel or in-ground moisture barriers around the perimeter of your home — particularly near gutter runoff areas — to help with drainage and absorption.

9. Explore Bold Color Options

You can choose a retaining wall block color that can blend into the background if you prefer. But you can also use a retaining wall to introduce color into your outdoor landscape, choosing a hue that complements your home’s porch or patio.

10. Create an Eye-Catching Entry Way

Including a well-designed retaining wall into your home’s entryway can add some serious curb appeal. So be sure to consider one when planning a new home construction or an upgrade.

11. Incorporate a Fire Pit

Retaining wall blocks are not only good for landscape support structures — they can also be used for other projects like an outdoor fire pit area. The possibilities are nearly endless. You can match the fire pit to the retaining wall by using the same blocks — as long as they’re heatproof — or choose a complementary hue.

Contact Atlanta Paving Solutions Today for all of your Retaining Wall needs in Atlanta & Athens!