In case you haven't heard the term before, hardscaping is any part of your outdoor landscaping that is manmade, including items made from Cast stone, brick, concrete, metal, or wood. This is as opposed to living plantscape, which generally consists of the flora in your yard.
A modern outdoor design project will incorporate both hard and soft elements working together to create a beautiful and functional outdoor space that acts as an extension of your home for your family and friends to enjoy. If you do it right, your hardscaping could even transform your outdoor space from a traditional yard with pretty flowers and plants to an exciting and unique living space.
Here are a few helpful hardscaping tips that will allow any homeowner to make the most of available outdoor space.
1. Measure Your Space
You can't really get started planning your hardscaping project until you know what kind of space you're working with. This knowledge can help you to put together a design and create a budget before starting your project.
2. Plan Ahead
There are two things to consider in the planning process: budget and design. You don't want to start any hardscaping project if you're missing one or both of these elements.
If your budget allows, consider hiring a professional to put together a design for you. There are programs you can use to dream up your outdoor spaces on your own, but without a background in design you might end up with a major disaster in your yard.
3. Comparison Shop
Even with a design in place that sketches out the basic layout of your yard, you might not have a firm handle on the hardscape materials and elements you want to include.
Your best bet is to comparison shop, learning about the differences in cost, construction, durability, and aesthetic appeal associated with a variety of materials. Even though you might like the price point of concrete, the look may not appeal to you as much as, say, natural stone. So shop around before making any decisions.
4. Functionality
In design, form follows function. Before you start perusing planter boxes and pavers, you need to make sure that you have considered how you want your yard to function, as well as the role that your intended usage, regional weather, and other environmental factors will play.
5. Aesthetics
Finally, it's time to think about the element of beauty in your yard. Hardscaping, when done right, can transform your yard into an attractive retreat.
Think about how every paver, planter, and piece of furniture will work together to create a cohesive whole and provide visual appeal, in addition to functional value. You'll end up with a hardscape that perfectly compliments your living landscape and makes your home more attractive overall.
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Thank you for all the hardscape planning tips. My husband and I really want to add some hardscape to our lawn, but we don’t know how to plan for everything. I think that is a really great idea to make sure we measure our space before we start. It would be easier to plan out everything if we knew the size of our yard.
I loved that you mentioned budget and design are one of the most important factors to consider when planning a landscape remodeling. My husband and I moved to our new house, and we are looking for advice to remodel our patio. I will let him know about your recommendations to plan our remodeling project properly.
My sister is very excited now that she found a nice house with a huge backyard. I appreciate how you suggest considering hiring a professional to put together a design for you. I will recommend her to set a budget so that she can have a great outdoor space in her house.
I love that you talked about planning ahead especially by getting a professional if your budget can fit it. My husband and I are looking for a hardscape design service to help with our landscaping since we have never had a yard before. We will keep these tips in mind as we search for a professional that can help us best.
My wife and I moved to our new house, and we are looking for advice to remodel our backyard. I had no idea that it is recommended to hire a professional designer to help you with your landscape remodeling project. I will make sure to follow your recommendations to plan our landscape remodeling project properly with the help of a professional.
Thank you for telling me to measure the available space for my hardscaping project and come up with a budget that I should strictly follow before starting anything. My mother asked us for help to transform our front lawn into a unique and nice space where we can spend a peaceful tea time surrounded by flowers, and we all agreed to help her. It might be a good idea to ask around how much ready mix concrete costs and start estimating from there.
Thank you for reminding me that I have to measure the entire space that I can work with first before coming up with a design. We’re thinking of getting into gardening and exercising our green thumbs while we’re on home quarantine and we want to separate the available space in our backyard using ready mix concrete. I’ll follow your advice first and try to come up with a budget before starting anything.