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While residential and commercial properties all vary greatly in their interiors, certain home and business exteriors can be a bit too similar, especially when it comes to landscape and hardscape design, and especially in similar climates. Just about every business or home might have the same arrangement of bushes and short trees with a plain, concrete sidewalk leading up to the front door. It becomes monotonous after a while. Finding something original for your exterior property will make your home or business stand out in incredible ways. One great way to do this is to incorporate hardscapes into your property. With some creativity, an open mind, appreciation for nature, and the help of a hardscape architect with years of training and experience making beautiful hardscapes come to life, you can be the one home or business in a wide radius that people slow down to get a good look at, rather than simply driving or walking on by. Of course, in order to design a great hardscape, you need to know what exactly a "hardscape" is. Hardscapes are non-plant exterior features that are worked into a landscape and exterior structure design. Shrubs and artificial hills are the expertise of a landscape designer; cobblestone paths and fountains are the work of a hardscape designer. Artistic hardscapes are so thrilling and exciting because they are surprisingly rare! While every sidewalk, path, and outdoor dining space or patio could be called a hardscape, it is the original stuff that really turns heads in a good way! In order to start thinking outside the design box and ceasing to rely only on landscape design for high curb appeal, take note of the following 5 original concepts in hardscape design: 1. Embrace the natural environment on your property! If you have trees and shrubs, create a path that meanders through them in a pleasing way. Awkward spaces like close shrubs or stark sidewalks can be made interesting with a curved, stone path that mimics a natural trail through the wilderness. This type of aesthetic can suit any type of property. 2. Create destination points on your property, or spaces to which people will be drawn. Detached patios, gazebos, and fireplaces will draw people in like a natural feature would. Imagine seeing a waterfall in a park and gravitating toward it. Create this effect on your property, even if the destination is just the front door of your home or business. 3. At the same time, you should also create interesting paths between destinations, inviting people to stroll through without a purpose. This might be better suited to private areas like business courtyards or residential backyards, but calm, irregular paths or stately, right-angled promenades are the perfect feature to highlight the flora on your property. 4. Of course, you can make hardscapes the prominent features. Design paths and patios around fountains, running water, fire pits, and seating areas in creative shapes, like a large checker or stripe pattern. Your creativity can really shine! 5. Be sure not to overshadow your building, though. In the same way that landscaping should not be overly lush, completely drowning out a structure, your hardscapes should not distract from features of your property's buildings, especially if there are attractive features in it. Hardscapes are meant to beautify a structure, not overwhelm it. Look for ways in which features can be highlighted. For example, an arched walkway can be lined with stone benches that curve to create a semi-circle motif. While there are numerous ways to incorporate hardscapes into your landscape, you can always trust on the services of a hardscape architect to perfect your goals for your residential or commercial property and then bring them to life with unique and stunning results.
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