One of the best ways you can beautify your home is with the latest landscape design trends. Although 2014 is still very new, there are many different types of landscaping designs that are already popular for this year.
It’s with that in mind that we’ve compiled a few of the top landscape design trends for 2014!
Landscape Lighting
Landscape lighting is a common landscape design trend this year. The lighted walkway that leads to your front door is something that never goes out of style. When lighting a walkway, it is best to use halogen lights if you are placing your lights low to the ground. Of course, you can also use LED lights for your lighted walkway if you are creating a spotlight type of effect. In that scenario, lighting can be placed in bushes or trees along either side of your walkway.
Colored lighting is also quite popular this year. A softer color such as blue is more soothing to the eye than standard white or yellow and works well for the type of lighting that get placed high up in trees surrounding your property. This is a great way to light up your porch, terrace or patio so that you can sit outdoors and entertain family well into the night.
Water Features
Utilizing water features around your landscape is another growing landscape design trend. They can make quite the oasis for your family as a place to escape and relax. Probably the biggest trend that landscape designers are seeing are in-ground swimming pools. Popular pool shapes include Grecian, which are generally rectangles with curved corners, long rectangles that are best for people who enjoy swimming laps and L-shaped pools, which are typically no more than four feet deep, but are at least 25 yards wide.
Outdoor ponds are some of the most beautiful landscape design trends of 2014. These are aesthetic but can serve a secondary purpose if you are considering housing aquatic animals in your pond. Fish and Japanese koi in particular are excellent choices because they can survive in outdoor ponds as long as you maintain the pond.
You can even have a water structure as simple as a stream built. Although it is one of the smaller options, it is one of the prettiest landscape design trends.
Landscape Structures
Implementing landscape structures are among the most common landscape design trends for 2014. For example, decorative wells are extremely popular. This is a design that you can have situated in front of your house that will certainly turn heads. It may not hold any water but will give the illusion of an elegant property, even if your house is only a couple of decades old. A front yard well is beautiful and can be built among your trees, shrubs and flowering plants along the front of your home.
If you have children, you can have a beautiful and fun landscape design built for them on your property. A personal playground can be made so that your kids can play under your watchful eye right at your home. A playground can be situated in your front yard or backyard. Another option that is great for kids is a tree house. Tree houses have skyrocketed in popularity lately and seem to never go out of style.
If you have the room, installing a large wrap-around porch is one of the hottest landscape design trends this year. Homes everywhere are taking advantage of their landscape contractors to install porches that families can enjoy together, even when the weather isn’t ideal.
Outdoor fireplaces have grown huge in popularity over the years, and 2014 is no exception. If you have always dreamed of having a gorgeous outdoor fireplace, it might be time to finally have it brought to light. Commonly made out of stone, outdoor fireplaces can be incorporated into outdoor living areas for maximum enjoyment and comfort. Add a throw rug and some furniture and create a warm and welcoming area that you can escape to with a drink, good book, some music or even a TV.
Finally, a trendy tool shed is all the rage in 2014. A tool shed is a great place to store your tools and garden equipment and it can also be something that can serve as a decorative touch in your landscape. Another option, if you have a particularly green thumb, is a greenhouse. You can add this to your backyard and can store your plants that can’t survive outdoors during colder temperatures.
Always do your homework when you are looking to incorporate any sort of landscape design trends to your home. You will be much more prepared to explain all of your ideas to your landscape design contractor and will be that much happier with the end results. If you have a bit of an artistic flair, you may even want to make a few drawings of your ideas as this is an excellent way to convey your design ideas to your landscaper.