The landscape of your home should be an extension of your personality as well as the architecture of the home itself. This continuity enhances both the structure and the landscape making the sum surpass its separate parts. Your choices in softscape and hardscape additions and modifications will depend on the architectural style of your home, as well as its color scheme and the plants native to the area. Consult a landscaping expert to assist you in the creation of a creative, individual, and appropriate landscape design plan in Oyster Bay, NY.
The Importance of Lines
The significance of lines in architecture is generally understood even while it is overlooked in landscaping. However, when creating a design for a home with modern architecture, the importance of clean, crisp lines in the landscape becomes clear. Walking paths, outbuildings, and even shrubbery maintenance should reflect this homage to geometrical cleanliness.
Even with traditional homes, the lines displayed in the architecture should also be reflected in the landscape. For example, if the home has multiple windows on the front of the home, using parallel linear walking paths, greenery, or other landscape features can emphasize these windows. When the linear pattern is continued into the landscape design, the overall effect is to maximize the visual impact of these features.
Lines can also be used to create a more natural setting, incorporating meandering lines and organic curves. These too work in conjunction with your home’s architecture, contrasting the right angles and straight lines and softening the overall appearance.
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Shapes Matter as Well
Lines aren’t the only geometric element within architectural design nor landscaping. The continuation of shapes as well as the contrast of shapes serves to highlight individual architectural elements. Take walkways as an example. When homes are formal or modern, the expected path would be straight with right angles, and created from smooth, rectangular landscaping pieces. However, you can also use crisply rounded hedges sparingly in order to dramatically emphasize the right angles and straight lines of the home’s architecture. Other architectural styles, including Victorian, would be better served by curving pathways and rounded, flowing greenery. Using overly formal, straight-edged shapes, can stifle the relaxed ambience of Cottage, Mediterranean, or other casual styles of architecture.
Remember Color and Light
The substantial effect of both color and light on your architecture and landscape shouldn’t be overlooked. The color of hardscape elements should complement the home’s architectural elements and each other; avoid contrasts that are so jolting as to cause unsettling clashes that ruin the effect. Moreover, these color choices can be further enhanced by the use of shade and lighting. Plantings most obviously depend on the amount of light provided, but hardscapes will often appear different depending on the time of day and the light conditions. With the assistance of an expert in the field, you can design an overall plan that takes every important element into account, including how light and shade change over the course of the day.
Materials Should Mesh
Finally, the materials chosen for construction of hardscapes and the plantings incorporated into the landscape make a substantial difference. Your choice of wood, natural stone, and even concrete make a statement that can either enhance the architectural pattern of the home or diminish its effect. Make sure that you choose materials that convey the impression sought. While all of these elements overlap in effect, a professional landscape contractor can help you make sure that the form and appearance of your design plan works with your personality and existing architecture.