With summer just behind us, this is the perfect time to reassess your outdoor living experience and make a few improvements so that next year’s outdoor living is exactly what you want it to be. If something felt like it was missing, here are __ ideas for taking your landscaping to the next level in Somers and Yorktown, NY, areas.
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Today, homeowners are investing in sophisticated backyard retreats with a smaller ecological impact and amenities that encourage outdoor living.
1. Less Lawn
A lawn is the single most labor, time, water, and money-intensive element of a landscape. If you love taking care of a lawn and showing off its lush beauty, don’t change a thing. But, if you find that you’re spending more time caring for a lawn than you are relaxing, replacing parts (or most) of the lawn with other things could be the ideal answer that will enhance your outdoor experience.
You could replace a lawn with an expanded patio that has plenty of space for the whole family to spread out and enjoy being outside. Or, add a more naturalistic look to your landscape with dedicated pollinator gardens, more trees, and edible gardens. Pollinator gardens, herb gardens, and vegetable gardens can be in-ground, or they could be in raised beds or colorful containers for convenience and easier weed control.
Adding native plants and minimizing thirsty chemical-intensive lawns is a great way to minimize your environmental impact. Native plants are beautiful, hardy, water-wise, and low maintenance.
2. Multi-Level Outdoor Living
A popular solution to expanding outdoor living space is to create multi-level living using different materials: for example, the main patio could be constructed using bluestone or concrete pavers. This space could house an outdoor kitchen and dining area. A lounge area could be positioned on an elevated teak or composite deck just a step or two higher than the patio. This will give the space an amazing presence, and the use of different materials is a chic modern approach that adds interest to the backyard.
3. Outdoor Kitchens That Suit Your Cooking Style
If the heart of outdoor living is the grill station and you want to enhance your cooking experience, you could add to the grill station to create an L-shaped cooking station where one leg of the L is for cooking, and the other integrates a bar where people can socialize and eat.
Adding a pizza oven to an outdoor kitchen or grill station is an instant hit with everyone.
4. A Private Retreat
Everyone needs a tranquil space to unplug. If your backyard is a boisterous place filled with laughter and activity, you could make use of a side yard to create a zen retreat. This simple solution makes great use of an otherwise neglected area. All you need is privacy fencing, some pavers to keep the maintenance to a minimum, comfortable seating or a hammock, a small fountain to mask environmental noise, and plants in a soothing monochromatic theme. If you have two side yards and teenagers, both adults and teens could have their own private getaway that’s still within earshot of the family.
5. Updated Lighting
Transform your after-dark backyard experience with updated lighting design that creates amazing ambience while offering plenty of safety, security, and task lighting. Today’s landscape lighting is a far cry from the single high-wattage house-mounted bulb that attracted every bug in the state… it transforms your landscape into a magical and welcoming place to be when the sun goes down.
Related: OUTDOOR LIGHTING TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR SAFETY OUTDOORS IN SOMERS AND BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY AREAS