5 landscape design errors you should avoid
If you have renovated your home and are now turning your sights to the landscape, you should know that building space with indigent design costs as much as building a well-designed space. That said, you should invest not so much money, but in planning the right design. The more time you spend reviewing small nuances, the more you will appreciate the result. It is especially important to avoid some of the common mistakes that people make in regards to landscape design.
Here’s what you should avoid when considering landscape design:
Poor indoors/outdoors connection – the best thing you can do with the outdoors area of your home is design it in such a way that it becomes a visual extension of adjacent rooms. This is essential for smaller homes, where the patio and garden need to utilise every square metre. The connection relies on carrying the colours, style and texture of indoor spaces over the threshold to the outdoor area. Ideally, you want the transition point to disappear. Manage that, and you will be creating a wonderful design.
- Creating too small of a space – urban homes often have the problem of boasting little outdoor space. This often leads to patios, walkways and gates of minuscule dimensions. This is bad for a few reasons. One, you will not be able to use furniture there freely. Two, you will hardly have enough freedom in picking the features you want there.
- The piecemeal design – choosing to design the landscape a single item at a time may not be as good as you think. For example, if you get a swimming pool installed, the designer of that feature will do it from their point of view. Later on, everything else you include there will be an afterthought, and it will just not look good. It is best to work with a single designer and opt for a phase installation so that they can create the whole project up front.
You think the design is overrated – there are plenty of landscape design companies out there to choose from. You may be tempted to go with one that doesn’t charge much but offers little regarding experience and execution. As a result, the outcome may not be one that you like. Remember, a good landscape can give you so much regarding entertainment and added home value. It is up to you to make the most of it.
- Picking oversized plants – planting design plays a huge role in landscaping. No outdoor area is complete without some plants. However, not just any plants will do. Just because it is an outdoors area doesn’t mean you can feature too large types. You don’t want the plants to outgrow the space, as that will only contribute to a sheared look. Work with a designer that takes the dimensions and character of each plant into account, because this is important in the overall scheme of things.
As you can see, there are a few roadblocks you may encounter when dealing with landscape design. It is up to you to overcome them all to get the perfect outdoor area for your home.