Halifax Landscape Design
Local Landscape Design for your home or business
Hardscape Design Halifax NS
What exactly is Hardscape Design?
The term hardscape design refers to very specific components employed the in designing and creation of your landscape. Long story short, your hardscape is essentially all of the non-living element of a landscape design such as wood, stone, concrete, bricks, rocks and boulders, pavers, etc.
Other elements of hardscape design are the introduction of manufactured structures such as garden bridges, pergolas, benches, decks, water features, just to name a few.
All the living elements fall under the classification of “soft components”. So, your flowers and plants, trees, shrubs and bushes, and your lawn are designed to bring a softness to counterbalance or enhance the hardscape elements.
At Halifax Landscape Design, we’ve quickly become very popular with the local market because of our team being excellent at striking a balance between both the hardscape and softscape elements, bringing them together to create harmony and an oasis for you and your family to enjoy for years to come.
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The process of hardscaping any yard is to achieve more than just making it look good. It’s about taking a space and transforming it to be the best it can be, and function at a level that brings you joy and invites you to enjoy your outdoor environment.
A fine example of this is the introduction of retaining walls to properties that may have unlevel surfaces. In this case building a retaining wall will secure the soil from slipping and will also shore up any drainage issues that could be occurring.
Installing gates and fences can enhance your home with a higher degree of protection and privacy. They also help to establish borders around your property and can be a great backdrop for creeping vines and other softscaping opportunities.
Hardscaping also includes components of lifestyle enjoyment such as installing an outdoor kitchen. With adding patios or decks, outdoor spaces, by nature, extend the amount of space your family has to enjoy.
A piece of advice is to approach your hardscaping by ensuring there’s a clear purpose of what it is you want to achieve with it. Avoid having too many straight lines. This will make your space feel unnatural. There aren’t any straight lines in nature.
Rounded edges and curves soften the design. The effect is that there are places that draw the eye of the viewer to, bringing a degree of creativity to your space.
To be aesthetically pleasing, so that the interior and exterior environments flow well together, incorporate similar elements between the two. For example, wood is used throughout the interior, then incorporate wood in a tasteful way in the exterior hardscape design.
It’s very important to have a clear understanding of the potential shifting or movement of the earth through natural occurrences of contraction and expansion that soil experiences.
If this is not seriously considered, there is always a chance that any hardscaping will be, over time, destroyed in the process.
Done right, hardscape features add curb appeal and value to any home or property. Poorly done, and when the time comes to sell, not that many buyers are interested in investing in something that is not that appealing from the outside.
Outdoor design features such as stonework, decks,
patios, fire pits, outdoor kitchen and bars, etc. all bring a higher return on investment in the long run.