Whether your outdoor lighting is installed to light up the front of your house, or throughout your backyard, there is nothing that can create as much elegance, charm, and peacefulness. Trees and architectural elements with uplighting and spotlights provide a sense of calm and stillness.
When most people think of synthetic grass, they think of the kitsch green outdoor rugs of yesteryear. Nothing could be further from the truth. Artificial turf has improved tremendously in recent years and the market abounds with natural-looking, high quality products that can easily pass for real grass. Even so, there are some things to bear in mind when investing in artificial turf. Here are some pointers to help you get the most out of your man-made Orange County, NY lawn.
For many homeowners, the consequences of caring for a lawn outweigh the benefits. Water, fertilizers, and chemical treatments zap money, while spending hours mowing, weeding, feeding, and edging is undesirable or simply not feasible. Eco-friendliness, too, is a common concern, as lawn care products and water overuse can increase a homeowner’s environmental impact. If the time, financial, and environmental costs of natural grass seem less than appealing, look to these 6 alternatives for your Orange County, NY lawn.
Busy with her hands full with her one year old son and her husband deployed overseas, this future sister in law of Pete (Landworx owner/president) came home to this beautiful backyard transformation. In less than 24 hours, the Landworx of NY crew installed a new patio, firepit, plantings, new steps, irrigation system (because who wants the maintenance!?), landscape lighting, and some new sod.
Complete residential landscapes involve quite a few different elements that when brought together in the end product, must function cohesively. These elements of a landscape design include things like plantings (referred to as the softscape), irrigation, low-voltage lighting, structures like pergolas and gazebos, and hardscaping. The “hard” surfaces of a landscape such as retaining walls, walkways, decks and patios, are referred to as hardscaping.
A home’s hardscaping provides structure within the often freeform nature of outdoor design. Almost always installed before the other elements, walls and patios shape the land for proper function in terms of ground stability and navigation, respectively.
Here in Orange County, working in communities like Warwick, Florida, Goshen, Chester, Monroe, and Pine Island, hardscape design often involves the combination of stone, concrete, and wood. The Landworx crew works with a great deal of natural fieldstone for retaining walls and driveway pillars, while relying on PA bluestone for flatwork like walkways and patios.
The real magic of a great hardscape design, however, comes into focus when materials combine. When a designer introduces concrete pavers from the likes of Unilock to compliment the natural tones and textures for the bluestone, the outdoor living project is instantly elevated to a new level. Add in a custom pergola built from rough-cut lumber, and you have a true masterpiece.
A large number of homes across Orange County, NY and the greater Hudson Valley are built with standard poured concrete front walkways, porches, and landings. Even if the house was built in the last 10 years, chances are still pretty good that the front walkway is concrete.
Either way, at Landworx, we work with a lot of customers who are looking to upgrade the look of their home's outdoor surfaces. While concrete overlays are a great way to add the beauty of bluestone and natural fieldstone to your curb appeal, it is important that these existing surfaces are sound structurally. Barring any large cracks and/or shifting, overlaying and veneering can be a cost-effective way to bring big outdoor style and curb appeal.
Front landings are particularly well-suited for this approach. The above photo shows a member of the Landworx install crew working on a total front entry transformation. On the sides of this landing and on the step risers, colonial fieldstone is skillfully veneered, achieving a finished product that looks like it has been that way for years. Finishing off the structure, the bluestone step treads tie in the natural colors of the fieldstone and cohesively unites with the house facade.
Now that's a drastic improvement over the existing concrete stoop!
