Hardscaping is underutilized in many settings. If you’re considering selling your home, there are many things you can do to the inside and outside of your home to increase its value. Most homeowners seem to concentrate only on the interior renovations that will increase the price of their home. However, there are many things you can do to your exterior living space that will not only increase the value of your home, but also increase the aesthetics. Our landscapers in Greenville get requests from time to time to create an outside oasis using hardscaping rather than landscaping.
Here, we will explain exactly what hardscaping is. We will also talk about the different types of hardscaping you can choose from. Finally, we’ll discuss the ways in which professional hardscaping can increase curb appeal and the selling price of your property.
What’s the Difference Between Hardscaping and Softscaping?
Most people have heard of hardscaping, but they aren’t exactly sure what it is. When you hire someone to improve the exterior of your home, you’ll usually have two options. You can go with soft scaping, which is normally referred to as landscaping, or you can opt to install hardscaping instead. These two things are exactly what they sound like they would be.
Landscaping is whenever you have organic materials planted, installed, or customized in your backyard. This can include anything from flowers, trees, bushes, and plants. It could also include a new plot of grass. Essentially, anything that is natural and not man-made would be considered soft scaping.
Hardscaping on the other hand, includes any materials that are man-made. In other words, things that are hard. This can include decks, patios, walkways, and even outdoor kitchens. One of the great things about hiring a Greenville landscaping architect is that you can customize the appearance of your home. When you call one of your Greenville landscapers they will come out and perform a free estimate of your outdoor space.
Landscapers in Greenville Can Customize Your Hardscaping to Fit Your Home
One of the ways you can make your house stand out amongst all the other houses on the market is by employing the services of a landscaper in Greenville, South Carolina. Depending on the size of your outdoor space and your budget, Greenville landscaping architects can customize the outdoor design for your property. This can include the frontage of your house or your backyard.
If you have a rather large property, you may choose to install walkways, driveways, and patios. However, if your property is not that large, you can still install things like fire pits, pizza ovens, and decks.
When it comes to customizing your hardscaping to fit your home, the only limits are your imagination. Anything you ask your landscape architect in Greenville to do, they’ll be able to accommodate you. For example, if you’re looking to install stone features in the backyard, they’ll source local stone so that you know that it’s guaranteed to be durable in your climate. If you’re looking for an exterior kitchen, the professionals at Greenville landscaping contractors will call in any subcontractors they need to complete the job.
What are the Most Common Types of Hardscaping in Greenville, South Carolina?
While your landscapers in Greenville can customize the outside of your home to look any way you want it to look, there are certain features that most homeowners choose. Some of the more common hardscaping features used in Greenville include the following:
- Pergolas
- Patios
- Decks
- Firepits
- Walkways
- Dree standing walls and retaining walls
- Water features
Of course, these are only a few of the various features you can choose from when meeting with your Greenville landscaping architect. We always suggest that you take a look through some magazines to get an idea of what exterior features you’d like to add to your home. If it’s a matter of cost and you’re on a tight budget, our experts can still come up with a beautiful hardscaping plan that both improves the appearance of your home and increases its value.
What Materials are Best for Your Outdoor Space?
One of the important decisions you’ll have to make when you meet with your landscapers in Greenville is the type of materials you wish to use. Depending on your budget and your design, you may choose to install any of the following materials:
- Wood-Wood is probably the most popular hardscaping material in South Carolina. It is easily customized, and you can vary its appearance with a stain or paint. One of the problems with choosing wood is that it is subject to the elements. It will also require an awful lot of upkeep and maintenance. If you’re really unlucky, you may even have to contend with an infestation of insects or wood rot.
- Brick-A lot of our clients choose to use brick in their outdoor design. One of the nice things about brick is that it comes in many sizes and many colors. It’s also good regardless of what climate you live in. However, brick is not the most durable material. Not only is it vulnerable to extreme weather events, but it is also vulnerable to erosion. The last thing you want to do is spend thousands of dollars on brick hardscaping only to have to replace it three to five years later.
- Natural stone-When our clients request natural stone in their hardscaping design, we always suggest they choose local stones that can be locally sourced. One of the great things about natural stone is it is versatile. You can handpick from different types of stone, different colors of stone, and different sizes. Even if you only use natural stone to fill in the gaps in your hardscaping design, it makes your exterior look sleek, rich, and expensive.
Why Would Hardscaping Improve the Value of Your Home?
If you are looking to increase the value of your home, one of the things you can do is invest a few thousand dollars in exterior hardscaping. When people drive by your home, you want them to see an expensive aesthetic. You want to have enough curb appeal that entices a potential buyer to want to do a walkthrough of your property. This includes the frontage of your lawn as well as the backyard.
Contact an Experienced Greenville Landscaping Architect Today
If you’ve decided that you want to move forward by listing your property, one of the first things you need to do is clean up the appearance of your backyard. Rather than rely on softscaping, which is what all your neighbors have done, you can invest a few thousand dollars in a hardscaping design that is unique, rich, and aesthetically pleasing. When you call one of our Greenville landscaping architects, they’ll describe the various options that are at your disposal.
Not only will this increase the value of your home, but it will also provide you with a natural living space that you can enjoy while you’re waiting for your home to sell.
We recommend that you contact one of our Greenville landscaping architects as soon as possible so they can get started on the renovation love your exterior space. If you call today, they’ll be more than willing to provide you with a free estimate and give you an idea of how to customize the hardscaping of your outdoor space.