Home landscape design matters. A study commissioned by the Professional Landcare Network states it in financial terms: Homes that have been professionally landscaped bring 15-20 percent more upon resale than those with no home landscape design. From an aesthetic viewpoint, it delivers pleasure. “The importance of home landscape design is that it creates an experience and evokes emotion as you come up to the house,” says Jeff Halper, home landscape design specialist with Exterior Worlds. “Additionally, it supports and enhances the architecture of the home.”
Home Landscape Design: The Steps
• Planning. This phase is where you get to dream. While you dream, you want to factor in how you and your family live in the space. Will your landscape design fit your needs, whether that means a pool for the kids, an herb garden or seating space for lots of guests? Would you like a outdoor kitchen for entertaining or the visual and auditory pleasures of an outdoor water fountain? What qualities do you want to bring to your landscape—do you prefer lots of color, variations on one color theme or the more subtle effect of different textures of green? Perhaps you own an outdoor sculpture that you want to spotlight or have a garden type in mind, such as a Mediterranean landscape design or an English garden design. Professionals, such as landscape designers and landscape architects, can help you make the best decisions.
• Budget. During this phase, the scope of the work is defined, including phasing in the different landscape elements. Cost factors include the hardscapes items like patios or decks; surfaces (cement, stone, brick) and walkways; fences, gates and arbors; outdoor kitchens; luxury swimming pools and other water features. Also landscape lighting; irrigation systems and landscape drainage systems; and types of grass, shrubs, trees, perennials and seasonal color.
Single story floor plans appeal to many people because they give families with different age groups various benefits. Older adults and young children don’t have to worry about dangerous stairways, homeowners have less expensive energy bills, and the house is easier to clean. There are numerous residential home styles that can be used to develop a one story home. Working with a custom home builder allows you to fulfill any desire you want with your home, whether it’s practical or extravagant. Single story houses can be large or small depending on your own personal preference.
