Let’s face it, homeownership is a constant juggling act, right? Gorgeous kitchen remodels, fancy bathroom fixtures, and redoing the floors eat up the budget, leaving the poor front yard neglected. But here’s the thing – your curb appeal is your home’s first impression! I know you want your home’s landscaping to make a statement so today, we’re transforming three ordinary yards into budget-friendly showstoppers, using clever design tricks that’ll leave your neighbors wondering if you hired a professional landscape designer.
Design #1: Color and Balance
First up, we have a house in St. Louis, MO that’s about as exciting as a black-and-white silent film. Our clients did an incredible job renovating the inside of their home but now it’s time for the outside to get an overhaul.
- PROBLEM: The home’s landscaping was outdated and had no life.
- SOLUTION: The landscaping needed a splash of color and a touch of harmonious balance, like a perfectly orchestrated symphony!
- Landscape Design: Now, this home has lots of curb appeal and seasonal interest. The mixtures of azalea bushes, red twig dogwoods, flowering cherry trees, and evergreens create a buffet of color that is sure to stop anyone walking their dogs.
Now, this home has gone from outdated and bland, to vibrant and full of life all while protecting the client’s budget and adding some serious curb appeal.
Design #2: The “Breakup Effect”
This homeowner in Roselle, Illinois was looking to tackle this area along the side of the house to complete their front yard’s curb appeal. I will stress that those areas along the sides of the house are often forgotten but are so important when designing your home’s landscaping.
- PROBLEM: The home’s front landscaping just ends at the corner of the house and needs to be extended down the side to complete the front yard’s curb appeal.
- SOLUTION: Bringing the beds out and away from the house to create depth and interest AND using a design technique called the breakup effect shows how using arborvitae bushes along the side “breaks up” the long run of siding.
- Landscape Design: Now, this home has lots of curb appeal and seasonal interest. The mixture of arborvitae bushes, a crimson queen Japanese maple, boulders, blue fescue grasses, and lilac bushes is just what this home needs.
No more mowing the grass along the house and chipping the siding. Just clean, beautiful landscape beds to add interest and value to this home.
Design #3: Layering
Finally, we are headed to Matthews, North Carolina where this house felt hidden behind a few crepe myrtle bushes and some unmanaged beds, and our client wanted more life and somewhat of a pollinator garden effect.
- PROBLEM: The home’s front landscaping is outgrown and unmanageable for this busy homeowner.
- SOLUTION: Per our client’s request, we kept the crepe myrtle bushes but everything else was fair game. We increased the landscape beds and gave them some sweeping curves to create room for more planting. The design technique we selected is called layering. Layering in landscape design refers to the strategic arrangement of plants at various heights and depths to create a visually appealing and interesting composition.
- Landscape Design: Now, this home has lots of curb appeal and seasonal interest. The mixture of butterfly bushes, perennials, soft-touch holly, and dogwood bushes, and the strategic placement of planters and a decorative privacy screen to hide an unsightly utility box have completely transformed this home.
Now, when our client pulls into their driveway after a long day of work they are THRILLED and love their beautiful landscaping.
Bobby K’s GIVEAWAY: The Color Wheel
It’s one thing to show you a few designs and talk about some cool techniques but I want to make this process as fun and easy as possible, so I am giving away “The Color Wheel”. This is a cool document that I created to help you find the best color choices for your landscaping based on your style, the architecture of your home, and your budget. From perennials to bushes to trees this document is going to set you up to win so that your home’s curb appeal is the best on the block.
Ready to get started?
