The goal of today’s landscaping is to strike a harmonious balance between both “hard” and “soft” features to provide a beautiful outdoor setting for your family to enjoy. To balance elements in a well-designed landscape, it is necessary to consider two main elements that make up outdoor living, known as hardscape and softscape landscape.
Hardscape includes the hard items in your yard, such as concrete, brick, and stone. Softscape includes natural living elements such as perennial flowers, shrubs, succulents, and trees.
We have all seen yards in neighborhoods that go overboard in one direction or the other in landscape design. Some front yards go heavy on hardscape landscape, which mostly includes rocks and gravel, a stone retaining wall and architectural lighting.
On the other hand, a yard that has too much softscape may look more like a jungle when a neighbor becomes plant-happy and creates a chaotic mess with no paths or separation of the various elements. So how does a log home strike a harmonious balance to create relaxing and eye-catching outdoor living space? Here are five easy ways to incorporate hardscape into your landscape.
1. Design a Beautiful Patio
A patio can create a central location for family and friends to gather, and if placed close to the back of a log home, it serves as an extension of your living space. This will increase your log home’s livable square footage and the value of your home. Choosing hardscape that is natural and rustic, such as gravel, is a good choice for log homes and is cost-friendly.
2. Add Fire Features
Fire pits or fireplaces are a perfect choice for log home’s hardscape and will add both function and style to your back yard. These hardscape elements will provide warmth and an oasis for family and friends to socialize. Durable materials such as brick, flagstone, limestone, concrete and river rock are good choices for fire features.
3. Incorporate a Water Feature
Adding a water feature, such as a water wall or small pond in your landscape design combines easily with plant life, and provides a soothing respite for homeowners.
4. Feature Tile in Landscape Design
Tiles have a natural rustic look and work well in grilling areas and along small walkways. Smaller tile sizes can blend well throughout a landscape design, and there is a huge range of options to spruce up a regular old surface.
5. Build a Pathway
One of the most common uses of hardscapes is to build a stone pathway or decorative fencing around a property. A landscape design that includes these elements can be beneficial overall to the look and function of a yard.
Gastineau Log Homes has over 40 years of experience helping people realize their dream of building a log home. Contact us today and let’s explore your log home dream together.
