Backyards: When Home and Garden Come Together
Renovators Place Columnist
Oct 08, 2009
Next time you want a summer vacation, how about taking a trip to your own backyard? With the right home and garden design you can turn your backyard into a restful retreat, accessible whenever you feel like stepping out the back door. Creating outdoor rooms that relate organically to your indoor spaces is one of the fastest ways to make your backyard the perfect homey hangout. Let these pointers help you get started.
The good news for you is that if you're eager to exploit the opportunities your backyard affords you, there are more designers, materials, and contractors than ever ready to help you. So pointer number one is to keep your eyes on the marketplace--the tools to transform your backyard are plentiful.
Turning your backyard into a restful oasis gives you a chance to access to a retreat whenever you need it. Consider a range of design options, consult with designers and contractors, or simply decide what equals paradise to you. Any way you go about it, the sooner the home and garden integration begin, the sooner you reap the rewards of outdoor living.
Sources
About the Author
Dawn West B.A. holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and teaches writing at Oregon State University.
Home Meets Garden: The Concept
Creating terrific spaces for outdoor living isn't a new idea, but more fully integrating homes and gardens--paying careful attention to the way they work together--is an idea that's picking up steam. The author of Outdoor Rooms, Julie Taylor, explains: "the line between the house and outdoor space continues to disintegrate." As home life grows more casual and outdoor spaces become more elegant, functions like entertaining are increasingly crossing over, back and forth, between the house and the yard.The good news for you is that if you're eager to exploit the opportunities your backyard affords you, there are more designers, materials, and contractors than ever ready to help you. So pointer number one is to keep your eyes on the marketplace--the tools to transform your backyard are plentiful.
Garden to Create Spaces
Patios, pools, brick ovens, hot tubs, pergolas, arbors--the list of ways to transform your outdoor living space goes on and on, and a few items from such a list may be just perfect for you. But for many yards, the best place to start is with the natural world. Think hedges, trees, tall flowers, short flowers, the shape of a vegetable garden, the placement of planting beds. The best designs are often those that divide a backyard into manageable spaces that mimic indoor rooms. A gazebo does the trick, sure, but so can a row of roses.Turning your backyard into a restful oasis gives you a chance to access to a retreat whenever you need it. Consider a range of design options, consult with designers and contractors, or simply decide what equals paradise to you. Any way you go about it, the sooner the home and garden integration begin, the sooner you reap the rewards of outdoor living.
Sources
About the Author
Dawn West B.A. holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and teaches writing at Oregon State University.
Deals for Friday, Feb. 10, 2012
-
Get a free estimate on Amazing Siding® and Amazing Windows®.
-
Add a sunroom to your home today with Patio Enclosures, Inc. Click to learn more.
-
Enjoy a custom-designed inground concrete swimming pool backed by a Solid Gold Warranty.
