When elevating your outdoor living space, the first thing that comes to your mind is landscaping. The living element can bring your backyard to life, but you can incorporate it with some non-living or inanimate elements.
Landscaping can beautify your home, but some hardscaping projects can increase its value.
Swimming pools, decks, and patios may be the usual hardscaping suspects, but various affordable projects can transform your compound. The hardscaping world has some unique features or projects that you didn’t know your family needed until today. Here are some top hardscaping features that can elevate your residence.
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Privacy Screens and Dividers
Even in outdoor settings, privacy can be a very precious commodity. Patio and poolside furniture can enhance your lifestyle, but sometimes you may need to unwind without worrying about prying eyes. Instead of going back indoors in the hot summer afternoons, you can install some dividers and privacy screens in your backyard.
This partition or divider is an integrated or freestanding fixture that can shield your balcony, porch, or patio from your neighbors or passersby. Your fence can keep your neighbors away, but if you need more privacy while sunbathing by your swimming pool, you should consider getting this fixture. Some fixtures can protect you from the prying eyes of your neighbors sitting on their balconies.
Illuminate the Night
As the sun sets, your backyard doesn’t have to fade with the light, forcing you to return indoors. Instead, you should install unique outdoor lighting to ensure safety while enhancing aesthetics. This is one of the most affordable, but very effective hardscaping projects. Path lighting can illuminate your pathways while showcasing your home’s architectural details.
It will make navigating at night easier for your family members while lowering the possibility of falling or tripping. Outdoor lighting can also deter potential intruders or thieves from getting into your property.
Pathways and Paving
Unlike the above fixtures, installing a pathway or driveway can be costly, but they do play a huge role in laying the groundwork for the backyard aesthetics. A pathway can help you differentiate various corners and areas in your backyard, making it look more organized. When properly installed, they can tempt visitors to walk around your compound and see where they lead.
Fortunately, there are various types of pathways, and with the help of a local concrete company, you can transform your entire backyard. If you have a big budget, you can install a block paving or concrete pathway. However, if you don’t want to break the bank, you can try gravel and bark-chipping pathways.
Outdoor Kitchen
If you love hosting your friends in your outdoor space for some evening or afternoon barbecue, then you should build an outdoor kitchen. With these kitchens, you can grill your meat outdoors and let your visitors enjoy the aroma of your sizzling food. This fixture can transform your backyard into a gourmet delight. An outdoor kitchen can complement your outdoor fireplace or fire pits.
Endnote
Some hardscaping features can enhance the beauty of your backyard’s living elements. For instance, porous driveways can prevent flooding in some parts of the yard during the rainy season as they let water seep through them into the soil.
Other exceptional features that fly under the radar are retaining walls. Besides adding visual interest and depth to your yard, they can create multi-level terraces and prevent soil erosion.
Read Next: Unique Garden Decorating Ideas To Elevate Your Backyard