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Extraordinary Landscape Design

Where design and craftsmanship artfully converge.

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Landscape Design

Swanky and Blissfully Inviting
Outdoor Living Rooms

Your starting point to insightful landscape design ideas that make home feels more special and blissfully inviting. Rewarding to all those fascinated with form, function, and materials. This article encapsulates the dynamic process  of integrating diverse elements into a unified and splendid whole. Read on to discover some of the most amazing designs that exude gracious living.

Zcollector
Published on JULY 8 20212 6:58AM
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Nothing says "welcome" like an inviting entrance. A gate offers visual appeal and so much more.

The Role of a Gate in Landscape Design

A gate serves as a stunning addition to complement one’s home or landscape. There are many reasons why homeowners choose to invest in a gate for their property—from an entryway to various parts of a landscape to safety and privacy and curb appeal. Whether made of wood, steel, or wrought iron, the visual appeal of a gate leaves a memorable impression, certainly a way to artfully announce that you are about to enter a very special residence. 

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Fully realized swanky outdoor rooms for multi-generation to enjoy.

The Outdoor Room Concept

As the benefits of nature and green space become ever more compelling, outdoor rooms have never been more popular. The last two years of pandemic living has propelled them to the top of homeowners wish list. It's often said that the pandemic has enhanced our sensitivity to the beauty of the outdoors. Homeowners are more willing now than they were before the pandemic to invest in personalized “outdoor rooms”—viewing them as extension of their home—reflecting their lifestyle, tastes and needs, as well as a way to increase existing home value. The above iconic estate with over a century of historic and architectural significance seems to have every bell and whistle a family could imagine. Out the kitchen's swinging screened door is a sprawling courtyard equipped with the luxuries and conveniences of modern day life—with lawns and patios for lounging and alfresco dining, kitchens under overhead roofs, grills, cabinets, sinks, pool, a pool house, and a custom natural stone fireplace to create a wonderful indoor/outdoor living experience in the fresh air—making outdoor space as important as the interior. There is a surging demand for fully realized outdoor rooms and it isn't going away anytime soon----as outdoor furniture sales continue to outpace all other furniture sales----and a demand for upgraded outdoor spaces continues.

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The harmonious atmosphere of this blissfully inviting Landscape is defined by its informal, organic design movements and sweeping open spaces. 

A Compelling Narrative Through Harmonization
of Precise Details

In landscape design the intention of a space dictates meaningful ways to engage the user by providing the framework for design resolutions, including dictating forms, design gestures, delineation of uses, and how movement through the spaces is choreographed. A well-defined concept, often thought of as a theme in landscape, is key to creating aesthetically pleasing outcomes—rendered through precise harmonization of proportion, order, repetition, and unity—a layered, complex and nuanced process. One’s adeptness in the dynamic process of integrating those diverse elements into a whole contribute to the total impression of charm, thereby demonstrates the quality of attention manifest there. The lack thereof prevents a clear and simple template for any project at hand, therefore can prevent a unifying and cohesive impact on the overall harmony between the dwelling and the land. 

A small fountain allows the sound of trickling water to evoke relaxation.

Engage the Senses to Create Meaningful Design

There are plenty of ways to maximize small-space landscaping ideas. Limited space indeed is a garden pain point but certainly does not mean it’s impossible to create an aesthetically pleasing and meaningful design. Therefore to connect at a deeper level with nature----engage the senses by way of touch, sight, hearing, smell, and  taste. People are sensory beings, we communicate and interact with the natural environment through our senses.

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Lovely dining room under a pergola allows for magic in this indoor/outdoor haven.

An Outdoor Room Designed For
a Sensory Experience

Throughout time, pergolas have served many purposes. And understandable so! They seem to beckon you in. It’s only natural that the pergola is a favorite for defining an “outdoor room.”  intricate or as simple, pergolas are available in many shapes, sizes, and a number of customizable elements to perfectly express one’s idea of the ultimate “outdoor room”—with design details carefully chosen to create an intentionally design space—a pergola that is unique as your needs will integrate seamlessly with the look of your home.

Intentionally designed "outdoor rooms" provide a source of great enjoyment for many—a pergola with a fireplace to provide warmth when it’s cool with a hint of chill provides an ideal setting not only for alfresco dining but also for vining plants to flourish while providing shade and cozier private spaces for the guests below. Favorites include climbing roses, wisteria, honeysuckle, climbing hydrangea and grape vine. Considering it is often our other senses especially touch and smell—that provide us with the most meaningful and memorable experiences, if you apt for something truly marvelous, adorn your pergola with rose and crab apple. The latter among the most prized of ornamental trees and the scent of these two in bloom is magical—after all, nature’s way of creating things are very magical—so prepare to be entranced by the magic of nature.

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Eye-catching trellis doubles as a functional and decorative element.

An Impactful Architectural Structure to Lend
Charm and Character to Outdoor Spaces

Another architectural structure commanding equally visual interest wherever it stands is the trellis. Usually made from wood or metal, its framework with crossbars of a tighter weave is used to support, train and display climbing plants to grow long, higher, and fuller. A trellis construction varies widely from simple post-and-rail grid patterns to intricate systems composed of horizontal, vertical, and diagonal elements of different length and width depending on the type of vegetation to be supported.

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A trellis as an elegant shade structure easily elevates an ordinary seating area and beckons you to embrace calm.

Beautiful Shade Structure For Your Backyard

On a daily basis we subconsciously seek out to connect with nature, hence outdoor space is highly prized no matter the size. In this example, a trellis easily elevates a seating area to provide the benefits of relaxing outdoor with the comforts of indoor—a memorable backyard getaway to embrace calm in the fresh air. Health benefits from interacting with nature are plentiful, every cell in the body and therefore every function in the body relies upon a constant, fresh stream of oxygen. 

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Atmospheric setting defined by clean lines and lush softscaping.

An Impactful Focal Point in Landscape Design

Another beautiful example of a compelling narrative through harmonization of precise details as reflected by show-casing clean lines and stately softscaping. The power of a rich collection of lush trees enlivened by soothing color and texture can help to maintain a calm, tranquil and beautiful atmosphere—a sure way to add visual intrigue to a pool surroundings. Conceptualizing this degree of cohesive design reflects all of the personalized elements that create a truly distinctive experience for the homeowner. 

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The power of lush evergreen enlivened by soothing color and texture help to maintain a calm, tranquil and beautiful atmosphere. 

Idyllic Landscape Designed to Evoke Serenity 

Contrast and harmony, color, balance, line, proportion, repetition and rhythm are pretty much incorporated here to create a refuge of exceptional quality, privacy, and beauty of this wine country estate. Elegantly groomed grounds with pool/spa and gazebo adorned with the inspiring beauty of Italian cypress----boasting its narrow and elegant silhouette----second to none when it comes to landscape luxuriance.

Color sensations affect the unconscious mind and most people are less aware of the great influence color has on them. A person may be unconscious of the colors around and yet be profoundly affected by them in regards to mood, temperament, and behavior. Where does the power of color originate and why it plays an important role in our daily lives? Possibly this feeling results from our contact with nature. The flowers appear in a thousand hues, and the hills are of ever-varying tints. What a barren world ours would appear, were the ground, the hills, the trees and the flowers, the sky and the waters all of one color! Form we should have, and that in its richest variety; light and shade we should have, with ever-varying intensity and change; but color would be gone. There would be no green to cheer, no blue to soothe, no red to excite; and, indeed, there would be a deadness, although the world be full of life, so appalling that we can scarcely conceive of it, and cannot feel it.

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The virtues of nature positively impact our health and wellbeing.

The Use of Gardens, Landscapes as Therapy
is Ancient

It comes as no surprise that the virtues of nature positively impact our health and wellbeing—from calming and motivating us to improving sleep patterns and regulating serotonin levels. There is evidence that shows correlation between engagement with nature and health and wellbeing. After all, landscaping was used in the past as a therapeutic instrument before the advances in medical technology. Additionally, recent events in alternative medicines have once again introduced the use of gardens as a healer. Scholarly research carried out to promote the therapeutic benefits of gardens found that viewing natural scenes or elements foster stress recovery by evoking positive feelings, reducing negative emotions, effectively holding attention interest, and blocking or reducing stressful thoughts (Ulrich, 2000 in SULIS, 2006

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