Let the Music Playwith an Outdoor Sound System

Photo: The Landscape Series by Sonance.

"A relaxing day of sitting by the pool in Orange County, NY gets even better when your favorite playlist plays effortlessly and inconspicuously in the background."

THE DESIGN OF LANDSCAPES AND OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES continues to evolve at a rapid rate. The modern comforts a homeowner can expect outside, no matter how traditionally interior they may have been in the past, are quite impressive. Many of them are getting a warm welcome from homeowners right here in the Hudson Valley, NY area including outdoor sound systems.

It only seems logical with many of the NY outdoor living spaces in the Orange County area featuring the likes of complete outdoor kitchens, outdoor fireplaces, and even outdoor TV’s, that outdoor sound systems would begin to be a popular request. And with the rise of home automation systems controlled by smartphone apps, integrating outdoor speakers with interior systems is totally possible. Hit a few buttons on your iPhone and your cued-up music will be playing in the interior rooms of your house, as well as gently filling your outdoor living spaces.

Manufacturers are beginning to offer super attractive speaker components that blend in with the landscape seamlessly. Sonance, a home theater manufacturer located in California, offers their Sonance Landscape Series and these lighting fixture-like speakers are truly beautiful. 

Not ready to take it that far? Look into a wireless speaker system. Bluetooth, WI-FI, and Apple Airplay systems are available and a few manufacturers offer the ability to link multiple speakers together. With these options, you can play the same music across different speakers at the same time allowing an entire outdoor space to be adequately covered with sound.

Whichever solution you choose to try, moving your music to the open air rooms of your house is no longer a crazy idea. Picture this…you are entertaining at your Hudson Valley home, and your guests are gracefully transitioning between indoor and outdoor gathering spaces. You turn on your favorite party playlist and pour a few glasses of wine for your guests. As the music starts to fill your living room, you transition to your poolside guests and continue to hear the same sweet sounds without interruption. Now that is a beautiful thing and, perhaps, the perfect finishing touch to your new outdoor living project.  

Related: 5 Ideas for Your Outdoor Bar in Orange County, NY

Welcome Home, Natural Stone!Hudson Valley Landscape Entrances

So many of the landscaping ideas and garden advice available to homeowners today focuses primariliy on backyard ideas such as patio design tips.  This is kind of funny when you think about it because a driveway entrance has the responsibility of welcoming guests to your home before you even have the chance to say hello. And that is why it's surprising that while developing their home's landscaping over a period of years, homeowners here in the Hudson Valley often overlook the amazing curb appeal possibilities that custom entrance pillars can offer.

Driveway pillars can be built using either precast block from manufacturers like Unilock, or from natural stone, which can offer a natural elegance to the surrounding landscape. Like the natural stone entrance pillars shown here—Installed by Landworx in Orange County, NY—it is common practice to finish the top with what is called a bluestone pillar cap. A few inches larger on all sides that the pillar itself, the bluestone overhangs nicely creating depth and beauty while also providing moisture protection.

Be sure to outfit your pillars with lighting fixtures that tie-in to your home's design aesthetic for a cohesive landscape design. Sometimes you can even tie these fixtures into your landscape lighting system, making things a bit easier for sure. For a bit if extra class and style, Landworx offers an option of including custom engraved plaques that their team inlays into the natural stone pillar. Have Landworx carve your mailing address, your last name, or one of your favorite quotes into stone like the examples shown above. Truly amazing craftsmanship!

The Hudson Valley winter is here; time to plan your landscape design for next spring!

Image courtesy of Cast Lighting 

Ask anyone who has recently had a new landscape designed and installed here in the Hudson Valley if they have any advice for those entering the planning stage and they will probably offer up some great tips. Here's a few...Hire a qualified contractor; go see material choices in person; and check out online resources for great inspiration. But probably the best advice you can receive is to make sure you take your time and plan well in advance.

Landscape companies here in the Orange County, NY area tend to slow down a bit in the winter months. This can be a real advantage for homeowners looking to install a complex new landscape project early in the spring or summer season. By working with a landscaping company to plan, research, and design the project during the winter months, homeowners will receive a bit more dedicated attention from designers, while also gaining a huge scheduling advantage over those customers that wait to begin this process in the spring. Remember, the best design/build firms tend to book up very quickly in early spring.

To take advantage of early planning, you will need to have accurate measurements of your property, as well as pictures of the areas where the work will take place. If a plot plan isn't available, consider researching Hudson Valley landscaping companies in late summer and early fall, and invite the one you select to come measure your property before the snow starts to fall. This way, the designer will have a nice base map to work from and the weather outside will become less of an impact on progress. 

Picture this...Beautiful snow is falling outside your window, your sitting in your warm, comfortable chair by the fire researching and planning your newest room in the house which just happens to be outdoors.

More time to plan, more time to properly budget and save, and more time spent making sure to get all the details just right. Designing your new Hudson Valley outdoor living space in the winter is a win-win situtuaion for everyone involved. 

Happy planning!

Worx In Progress: A new front entrance in Cornwall, NY.

The Landworx Team hard at work during construction.

Often times, matching a new front landing and sidewalk to a home that has existing brickwork can be a challenging thing. Material choices and colors must be carefully selected to ensure that the new and old blend together seamlessly. 

Natural fieldstone and bluestone are timeless options that are a perfect fit for this home located in the history-steeped area of the Hudson Valley that is Cornwall, NY.

The designers at Landworx NY took the material pallet to the next level with the addition of the Unilock paver, Brussels Block, used here for the walkway. 

Most of us know that landscaping the front of your Hudson Valley home is a solid investment, often adding substantial resale value. But who knew that creating great curb appeal involves this much craftsmanship and attention to detail?

Seeing the Landworx team work with stone is a true thing of beauty and inspiration.  

The Parting Shot. 

Perfect Lighting For Your Outdoor Space

Landscape Lighting in Bethel, NY by Landworx Landscaping of NY. 

Proper use of low voltage landscape lighting takes many years of experience and study. Lighting design, whether concerning the inside or the outside of the home, is a true art.

The trained professionals at Landworx Landscaping in Goshen, NY design and install landscape lighting systems across the Hudson Valley region each and every season. We recommend locating lighting fixtures in some key areas for optimal safety and beauty in your outdoor living spaces.

WALKWAYS

High traffic areas should always be well lit for increased safety and function. Referred to as path lighting, fixtures are best placed along the outside edge of walkways and pathways; ensuring that light adequately but softly guides the way.

SEATING WALLS 

Landscape lighting fixtures from manufacturers such as Integral and Cast Lighting are perfectly designed to be included within hardscape features like retaining walls, seating walls, steps, and staircases. Check out integral-lighting.com and cast-lighting.com for more information.

DOWNLIGHTING

Many of the outdoor living spaces created by Landworx of NY include landscape structures such as pergolas, pool cabanas, arbors, and trellises. Lighting these structures with overhead-mounted niche lights can be very effective. Landscape lighting fixtures can also be located high up in mature trees, angled to gently illuminate planting areas and pathways.

GARDEN BEDS

Plantings are an important design element of any landscape design, especially in the Hudson Valley. Path lights double here as an effective way to light plant material and this makes a huge difference in ambience after dark.

UPLIGHTING

Last but not least, the residence itself! At the core of the landscape lighting system is the uplight. This fixture is most often used to illuminate the main structural features of the house. You simply have not seen anything more beautiful than a house after dark artfully glazed by soft light. Uplighting is also great for shining up on larger trees and statuary to add depth to the nighttime landscape.