Whether you’re building a new house or remodelling the yard, all good landscapes start with planning and design. Hiring the right landscape designer can make all the difference, however there are still a few basics you should know that will lead to a better outcome for all parties involved:
- How will you (and your family) be using the space? → Answering this question will help you to prioritize the functional requirements of your landscape. Here are a few follow-up questions to help you visualize your new yard:
- Do the kids or dogs need a space to play? (A large turf area perhaps)
- Do you plan to have company over for outdoor dining and entertaining?
- Do you want to have privacy from the neighbors or drown out sound with a water feature?
- Do you plan on having a BBQ, hot tub, gas fire pit, playground, putting green, etc.
- What are your aesthetic preferences? → usually you want the landscape to reflect the home so that there is a seamless transition from outdoors to indoors. For example, if your interior design is more minimalist with a certain colour pallet, that style can be replicated in the landscape design. Creating an inspiration board or photo album ahead of time is a great idea for consolidating your favourite design ideas. This will help your designer and installer to choose the right materials and layout for your home. Go for a walk around the neighborhood and take note of what you like or dislike about other landscapes. Artificial grass is extremely versatile and adds vibrant colour to any landscape. Aesthetically, turf looks great in between stepping stones and you can’t go wrong with a putting green either!
- What materials should you use? → it’s one thing to sketch out a design on paper, but to get a real sense of the final product, you want to see the actual materials being used in your yard. Spending a few hours to check out the showrooms of landscape supply stores and nurseries can really help to narrow down what you like and don’t like. When it comes to turf, just ask us to see some samples. When it comes to materials there is always a fine balance between aesthetic and function, so this is where you want to get the input of an installer or sales rep. Spending a bit of time researching the different material options can save you from headaches and disappointment down the road!
Hopefully these 3 tips have been useful, and if you need more help, we have an in-house design team that can walk you through the entire design/build process. Just fill out the application form on our “contact” page (Click Here) to speak with one of our designers.
Lastly, here are some of our favourite projects that have incorporated artificial grass into the design. You can also check out our instagram page @turf_team for more inspiration:
