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When it comes to curb appeal, is your yard hitting it out of the park? Or is it swinging and missing?
A beautifully landscaped lawn can enhance your property and give you more space to enjoy the exterior of your home. If you’re thinking about selling your house in the future, it’s also a worthy investment that could increase your resale value.
If yours could use a complete renovation, the task might seem daunting at first. Thankfully, we’re here to help. Today, we’re sharing seven tips to help your yard remodel go as smoothly as possible.
1. Create Vibrant Focal Points
Looking for an easy way to approach a yard remodel project? You don’t have to tear up your existing shrubbery and start from scratch.
Instead, look for ways to create focal points around your lawn, planting a variety of flowers, plants, and shrubs that will surround your property with color all year long. Consider planting different plantings along different levels to add visual interest and dimension if you have the space.
For example, plant your tallest plants in the back, followed by a middle row of your mid-height ones and a front-row highlighting your small but mighty ones.
In addition to planting your shrubs in a designated bed, you can also use planters to elevate them off the ground. These accessories look striking against front-porch steps or a backyard patio, especially when they’re a bright, bold color!
2. Add Hardscapes
Yard remodeling tends to focus primarily on plants and flowers, but don’t forget the power of a hardscape. These structures, such as outdoor kitchens, decks, and arbors, extend the livability of your yard and allow you to use it more than just a few months out of the year.
Like walls and fences, some hardscapes can make your property more private, blocking sights and sounds from neighboring homes. Others, such as walkways and sidewalks, are less noticeable and are designed to help you transition from one part of the yard to the next.
3. Use Water Features
Did you know there are therapeutic benefits to sitting near running water? Scientists explain that water sounds are naturally soothing and gently guide the neuron waves in our brain. This sound produces a calming effect, promotes general wellness, and can even help us sleep!
You don’t have to install an oversized waterfall in your yard to enjoy these benefits. Instead, look for any way to incorporate water into your yard renovation, whether a small birdbath, a bubbling stream, or a standalone fountain. Place it in an area where you can sit and enjoy it, and you’ll find yourself spending more and more time outdoors!
4. Embrace Native Plants
Native plants grow and thrive naturally in your specific geographical region. So when you incorporate these into your landscape design, you can rest assured that they’re already off to a strong start.
These plants are adapted to the soil conditions in your area and are used to surviving in your local climate. As long as you do your part to maintain them, they should grow plentifully and beautifully where you plant them.
If you live on Long Island, there are plenty of native plants to consider. A few of the most popular types of native flowers include:
- Lady fern
- Purple coneflower
- New York aster
- Black-eyed Susans
If you want to plant trees, native varieties include red oaks, pitch pines, and sugar maples. Shrub-wise, the following are considered native to this region:
- Prairie rose
- Highbush blueberry
- Northern spicebush
For a complete, comprehensive list of plants that are native to Long Island, Delaware, and southern New Jersey, check out this guide.
5. Enhance Your Patio
If you already have a patio in your yard, consider expanding it to make it more usable—This might mean adding a firepit a few feet away or building a small outdoor kitchen.
If these projects are outside your budget, you can make an equally transformative statement with a few lounge chairs and a coffee table, creating a cozy conversation spot. If you’re tired of the plain concrete on your patio, look into refinishing it or staining it. Or, add a colorful accent rug to give it a new look.
If you don’t have an existing patio, check if building one is within your budget. A patio is one addition that can increase the resale value of your property, especially for modern homebuyers who favor spending as much time as possible outdoors.
6. Define Key Spaces
Does your yard feel like one big, open area? While there’s beauty in that vastness, it can also be overwhelming. So what do you do with so much green space, and how can you redesign your yard to use it effectively?
The key is to create different spaces within your yard.
A pair of Adirondack chairs and a side table become an instant lounge spot—A hammock between two trees is a designated chill zone—A small playset and sandbox are a children’s area.
You don’t want to crowd or overwhelm the space, but think about how your family naturally uses the yard. Where do you tend to congregate the most, and what are you doing? You can make your lawn more comfortable, livable, and accommodating by enhancing those areas.
7. Decorate With an Arbor
When you think of an arbor, you might visualize a wedding with a betrothed couple standing underneath. Or, you may think of a garden center, where it’s common to find these accents covered in flowering vines. Both scenarios are lovely, so why wouldn’t an arbor look just as elegant in your backyard?
Inexpensive and easy to customize, arbors add a unique architectural detail to your yard remodel. For example, place one near the front to serve as an entrance and focal point if you have a garden.
Ace Your Yard Remodel
Planning a yard remodel doesn’t have to be complicated. You can turn any existing space into an outdoor oasis with the right approach.
If you’re planning to sell your home, then focus on exterior upgrades that can increase the resale value of your home, such as adding a patio or water feature. On the other hand, if you’re planning to stay put, you can pour time and energy into beautifying your lawn’s trees, shrubs, and flowers.
We’re proud to be your trusted source for Long Island real estate. Contact our team today to learn more about our services.
