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There are a lot of good reasons to improve your yard with creative porch and patio ideas. First, by spending only 5% of the value of your home on outdoor areas, you can increase the resale value of your home by up to 15%. And creating a space that is conducive to spending time outdoors will make quality family bonding and hosting friends and family all the more enjoyable.

Hardscape is the common word used to refer to any solid structure incorporated in human-built landscapes. Most traditional backyards and gardens combine both hardscape and soft scape elements, which is the golden rule of an appealing landscape. From masonry and woodwork to concrete and metal construction, hardscaping offers a wide range of appealing features, creative decisions and optimized solutions for outdoor living areas, allowing landscaping contractors and homeowners to transform any land into a perfectly arranged backyard.

 

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Hardscaping for Backyards Includes

Patio and Porch Ideas

Patios create a homey space for you in the backyard. You can have an open air seating area  with a connecting outdoor kitchen, or create an arrangement of benches around a fire pit. It’s really up to you how you want the space used. Don’t believe that a patio is essentially an outdoor pad of concrete. Build in benches, a counter with outdoor refrigerator, barbecue, chimenea, a shade structure with connections for hanging hammocks. Whatever serves you and your family’s outdoor needs. A well designed patio is a relaxed hangout place for everyone.

 

Tackle Hills with Terracing & Balconies

Hilly yards can pose a number of planting challenges, including erosion and drainage issues. Adding a terrace or balcony is a fantastic option that can transform to hill or drop-off into usable space. Terraces can be used for planting beds, seating areas or to separate areas of the yard. Projects can be anything from a simple seating area and staircase to a major yard overhaul, and the material you choose for your retaining walls can completely transform the look of your backyard.

Because terracing changes the flow of water in your backyard, it is best to leave it to the professionals. A landscaping designer will be able to make sure your terracing is long-lasting and perfectly positioned in your yard.

 

Fireplaces and Fire Pits

Adding a fire to your outdoor living space is a great way to make it a dream space. Fire features add a lot of ambiance and add light and heat to your space as well. You can choose from outdoor wood burning fireplaces, gas fire pits, chimineas, wood burning stoves, even a fire pit or fire ring. The dancing light of fire has a special magic that adds joy to an outdoor space. Whichever fire feature you choose, don’t forget the marshmallow roasting sticks.

 

Mix Materials

Stone or concrete patios, walkways, driveways, stone steps and retaining walls are American landscape staples. Your design choices may only be limited by your imagination. The variety of materials, their combinations and landscaping ideas is pretty much endless.

Modern hardscapes are famous for shunning plain concrete and stone designs for intricate combinations of different hardscape materials. For instance, walkways made of concrete stepping stones and river rocks, natural stone flowerbed edging, curved multileveled wood terraces, mosaic patios or retaining walls forming a tiled private seating area with a built-in outdoor fireplace. With so many materials to choose from, it can be hard to make choices that create the right look at the right price. You can rely on a a good landscape designer for advice to get it right.

 

Subtractive Design

Instead of hardscaping around natural elements, bring natural elements into a hardscaping layout. This is particularly good for yards that don’t get great light or have particularly bad soil for growing. Create a curated environment where hedges, trees, and plants emerge from planters or lower levels of a paved, cemented, or otherwise covered yard. This option would also be great to practice xeriscaping in drought-prone climates.

In Conclusion, hardscaping is a tool that can create beauty and utility in your backyards. Contact Meadowbrook Design today for help creating the outdoor space of your dreams.