Hardscapes make it a lot easier to maintain your landscaping and are a lot less work than conventional green spaces. It doesn’t matter where you live or what the climate is like — hardscapes will thrive! Hardscapes are non-living elements, features, and focal points of your property, and you may already have some hardscaping and not realize it.
Learn about a few types of hardscapes that make sense for your landscape.
One of the easiest ways to add hardscapes to your property is with patios; these small cement or tiled spaces relieve you of the maintenance of the earth, garden, or lawn below. Plus, they provide the perfect stable foundation for your outside furnishings and accents. Patios are a great way to begin curbing the maintenance and work required around your home while still keeping it looking great!
Patio Covers provide effective shade and shelter from the elements to any patio or outdoor living space. Not only does it provide shelter, but a well-designed patio cover also provides a sense of permanence and distinction for an outdoor living room, dining area, or other hardscape elements.
In Southern California, where the weather is often ideal, you are probably like most people and want to extend the amenities of the indoors to the outdoors. This is a fast growing trend in landscape design. Outdoor kitchens are a perfect example of this as they’ve become another popular hardscape element in recent years. Features like sinks, grills, gas burners, storage and even ovens can make the outdoors a true extension of the indoors.
If an outdoor kitchen is a bit too ambitious for you, than perhaps a custom BBQ island is the right choice for your outdoor space. A BBQ island can feature a grill, gas burners and storage. Most BBQ islands can also double as a bar-top and/or eating area by surrounding the counter with bar stools.
Don’t forget, whether you go with a full-scale outdoor kitchen or BBQ island, you’ll be entertaining in style with countless stone veneer and design options.
Stone and brick retaining walls are lovely hardscape features that contribute to your property’s overall curb appeal, but they also serve several other functions as well. First, they make areas of the property more level and provide access to these areas; second, they provide vertical space for gardens, plants, or landscaping.
Some other things to know about adding retaining walls to your hardscape include these tips:
Remember that you always have cosmetic options when it comes to sprucing up or altering the appearance of a retaining wall. Some property owners paint the wall, while others integrate it into the natural environment with hanging plants and climbing ivy.
For a creative and inventive addition to your yard, consider pavers. With pavers, you are only limited by your imagination. The key to having pavers last for years to years in your hardscapes is to have them professionally installed; consider pathways, borders, or a pattern of pavers across your lawn for aesthetic curb appeal.
You can also create a sense of curiosity by using pavers to lead the way to secluded areas of your property, garden patches, or nooks and crannies.
Fireplaces and firepits are hardscape features that will quickly become focal points of your entire property. These are the perfect source of light for your yard, as well as a spot for entertaining, engaging, and eating outside. Take care to hire a landscape design professional who will create something distinctive that accommodates your distinct lifestyle.
Talk to your landscape professional about the many ways to integrate hardscaping into your surroundings and what options you have for your hardscape features, such as cement, stone, and brick.
Enjoy the effortless beauty of hardscapes this summer, and spend less time trimming and mowing. Consider these hardscaping ideas for your yard, and talk to the professionals at Precision General Contracting to learn more about how to integrate these features into your property.
