How to Know When You Need New Hardscape Ideas

The quality of your home is directly reflected in the hardscape ideas that you use to support it.
Hardscapes are structures such as walkways, patios, terraces, porches, driveways, masonry, and retaining walls. Since 80 percent of your Houston landscape design can consist of any number of these structures, it is imperative that you keep them clean and attractive at all times. When structures become dirty, damaged, or obsolete, it is time to call a Houston landscaping professional for a consultation.

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You can get a clear sense of just how well your current hardscape ideas are working for you by conducting a simple self-assessment of your property. Ask yourself some honest questions.

  • How much time do you spend outside on your various hardscape elements?
  • Do you sit by the pool on the patio much?
  • Do you ever recline on your seat wall?
  • How often do you sit on your terrace to read in the shade?
  • When you walk through your garden, do you actually sit in the garden on the small patio that resides in its center?
  • Do you actually walk on your walkway, or do you just walk beside it on the grass?

Naturally, your particular property may not possess all of these specific hardscapes.

However, it is likely that you have at least more than half of the ones we have named, and possibly a few others we have not. The point of the matter is that your investment in any of these elements calls for something more than having them built. They are intended to be used, and if you are avoiding their use, that is a very strong signal from your own consciousness that the form lacks either function, attraction factor, or both.

You can also determine the quality of your current hardscape ideas by watching how people react when they come to your house. A well developed landscape design works as a unified outdoor living space. Although it is divided into separate zones of interest, none of these zones is ever meant to be avoided. Each should represent a new realm of attraction—not unattraction–to every visitor to your estate.

If you see people staying in just one small area behind your house and avoiding your other landscape elements, then it is definitely time to consider refinishing these old hardscapes or having them replaced all together.

The good thing about new hardscape ideas is that they do not have to deviate much from the old ones to give your property an entirely new look. In fact, it may not be possible to outright replace certain elements that are integral to your particular style of landscaping. An example of this would be a courtyard in a very traditional, formal landscaping plan.

It would alter the balance of the entire design to remove the structure altogether. However, reconstructing the courtyard walls with new masonry and cleaning layers of grime that have built up on the patio over the years can make it look like an entirely new structure that adds a significantly improved aesthetic quality to your house.

Swimming pool renovation is also something that always involves new hardscape ideas. Most pools that we remodel were not designed as part of a landscape design plan and require serious reworking to truly compliment the house and surrounding yard elements. Sometimes it is only a matter of redoing the tile and coping within the pool itself. More commonly, however, it involves patio reconstruction and possibly a redesign of the pool itself.

Driveway design is another area where a new hardscape idea is more than worth the investment. Even though the original design may appear satisfying enough, consider how important that new driveway will look to a prospective home buyer should you ever choose to list your house on the market. The first element they see will go a long way toward making a superb first impression in regard to the overall quality of your home.