Lay of the Land: Designing a Landscape that Complements Your Home

When building your home, landscaping shouldn’t be an afterthought. Great landscaping can add immense value to your property and serves more than just a cosmetic purpose. If you read our previous blog post about putting together a construction dream team, you’ll know that bringing on a landscape architect or designer early in the process can eliminate problems down the road and ensure you get the results you want. Here’s what you need to do to ensure your landscape design complements your home design:

Hire a Landscape Designer Before Construction Begins: We talked about this in our last blog post, but it is too important not to mention it again. If the topography of your lot is anything but flat, things like drainage, the need for retaining walls, what vegetation can be saved or transplanted are all issues dependent on how the home is sited on the lot. A landscape architect can anticipate the issues that may arise due to the siting of your home on the lot.

Be Careful with Plant Selection: Choosing the right plants for your landscape is much more complex than it may seem and should be done carefully. Certain species do better in different climates and soils, vary in sunlight requirements, have varying growth patterns, etc. Plants that look nice this year could either die or grow out of control by next year, costing you more in upkeep. Plants should extend the architectural lines of your home and improve upon the exterior aesthetic. They can also serve functional purposes such as increasing privacy, reducing wind and sun exposure, attracting pleasant wildlife, and more. Your landscape designer can recommend the right plants for your property and indicate which plants and trees to save prior to construction, saving you time and money.

Don’t Forget about Other Landscape Structures: Landscaping is so much more than just flowers and trees. When planning the space around your home, you also need to take into account driveways, walkways, stairs, retaining walls, fences, outdoor lighting, decks, patios, pools and more. Decks and Patios need to be carefully planned so they can be fully utilized for their intended purpose. If you plan to use an outdoor area for dining, it should be close to your kitchen with an exterior door to connect the spaces included in the home design. If the kitchen is on the sloping side of the lot, a patio may not be realistic. A pool takes up a lot of real estate in your yard and what goes around it is just as important as the pool itself. Proper lighting can prevent accidents in the dark and enhance the overall ambiance.

You spend a lot of time and effort designing and building a beautiful home, but the curb appeal is just as important as the interior layout. Your yard should be functional, beautiful, and hassle-free. By planning ahead, you can get exactly what you want without all the headache that comes from leaving landscape decisions as an afterthought.