Front Yard Landscape Design Elements to Highlight the Beauty of Your Upper Arlington, OH, House

The design of your Upper Arlington, OH, home’s front yard is an important factor in maximizing the curb appeal and value of your property. A balanced landscape design with properly integrated elements can not only enhance the look of your home, but also make your front yard more usable and comfortable.

A Unified, Flowing Design

Having a central theme for your overall design is an important aspect of a unified design. A theme can be a specific style, such as a Mediterranean or English countryside landscape, or a more generic one that follows a modern or traditional theme. Regardless of the choice, it is important to ensure that the front facade of your home conforms well to the landscape design. This principle should be extended to the individual elements and features of your design as well. Sharply incongruous shapes and textures should be avoided and smooth transitions should be allowed for a flowing design that is easy on the eyes. Such a design also makes it much easier to highlight different components of your design through the proper use of contrasting colors and textures.

Variation

While sticking to a central design or theme is important, creating variation in different elements can help your front yard really stand out. You can create variation in textures and shapes to delineate different areas of the front yard and create outdoor rooms. Alternating between straight lines and circular shapes can also achieve the same effect. Lastly, variations in vertical scale is an important aspect of design that is often neglected. Consider introducing vertical elements into your design, such as hedges, trees, retaining and seating walls to offset flat areas such as driveways and lawns. Having this type of variation can go a long way in transforming a drab front yard into a dynamic, appealing one that highlights your home.

Balance

The best landscape design achieves a balance between uniformity and contrast, producing a landscape that flows beautifully without being monotonous. Achieving a balance between hardscaping and softscaping is also a critical component of a good landscape design, offsetting your masonry with contrasting areas of greenery. Draping vertical walls with vines, and lining walkways, driveways and patios with hedges, planters, and lush lawns are some ways to fuse hardscaping with softscaping.

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Lighting

A proper lighting plan is an essential part of a landscape design and will play a leading role in highlighting your home at night. You can really make the front facade of your home stand out with wall lighting. Textured walls, in particular, can be made more prominent with a lighting technique such a wall grazing. Moreover, vertical elements such as trees can also be highlighted with uplighting to emphasize the vertical elements of your design in the night. Recessed lights and wall sconces can be used for dining and sitting areas. Lastly, path lighting and perimeter lighting can help highlight the boundaries and shapes of different elements in your design, such as the smooth curve of a driveway or a sleek, straight walkway.

A focal point

Having a focal point in your design is an easy way of really making your home stand out. This can be done through a centrally located feature that immediately catches the eye. Fire and water features, in particular, are popular in this application. Fire pits and fireplaces serve the dual function of also providing warmth and light, while water features, such as ponds and fountains, offer a unique sound and an attractive shimmer in the right light.