5 Tips to Having a Successful Landscape Design Project in Carson City, NV
Are you dreaming of a beautiful new landscape that ticks all the boxes on your must-have list? Bringing a landscape vision to life involves a lot of moving parts—and some proven techniques that ensure a happy outcome. We explore five tips to having a successful landscape design project in Carson City, NV.
There are two schools of thought regarding the initial planning state: Define your budget first and then try to fit what you want into the budget, or you could start with what you want first and then adjust it to fit your budget. Whichever method appeals more to you, know that it’s a dual effort.
Know What You Want
Try to be absolutely clear on the feeling you want your landscape to give you. You may be pleasantly surprised! A landscape designer can offer suggestions that give you the same emotional outcome using less-expensive features and elements than you would have received by stretching your budget. For example, depending on your lifestyle, you may discover that a small but exquisitely designed grill station is a better fit for you than a gourmet kitchen with all the amenities.
This evaluation includes planning for today, as well as planning for the future. What are your must-haves? A pool? Game area? BBQ station? Shady place to enjoy a book? If you have kids, how will you meet the family’s needs now and when the kids are off to college?
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Define a Budget
This stage is where dreams often collide head-on with reality, but don’t get discouraged. What you see in magazines and online may be far outside what you can realistically afford. If you define your budget and you’re clear on your must-haves and priorities, you can decide where you can splurge and where you may have to scale back.
Work with a landscape designer who can help you make compromises where needed without giving you an outcome you won’t make you happy. This can include stepping down in scale, breaking up a project into multi-year phases, or opting for less expensive finishes.
Splurge Now, Save Later
When considering your needs and your budget, note that some things may cost more upfront, but you could actually save in a big way with your future enjoyment and lower maintenance needs. Consider the following:
Better hardscape materials are more colorfast, lower-maintenance, and more durable than cheaper versions.
Drip irrigation will save a lot of water over a spray irrigation system.
Concrete patio pavers look much better than poured concrete, and outlast it by decades.
Good outdoor lighting would make your outdoor space much more user-friendly (and it will be smarter to install it now when you are having other changes done rather than trying to retrofit the electrical system after your hardscape has been built).
Related: Landscape Designer: Tips to Narrowing Down Design Ideas and Styles
Work with a Landscape Designer
It’s vitally important to have a good visual representation of what the finished landscape will look like. Many people cannot accurately envision how a blueprint translates into real life. A 3D design can help with visualizing the vertical elements of a landscape including trees, pergolas, fireplaces, retaining walls, and privacy fences. This helps not only with placement of specific elements, but in determining how various elements fit together and whether they are compatible in scale with the home and the rest of the landscape.
Consider Applying Phases to Your Landscape
A landscape designer can help you create a master plan that you can execute in phases over several seasons, as the budget allows or as your needs evolve. For example, your immediate priority may be a patio and outdoor kitchen, so phase one can focus on those features. At the same time, you can run the plumbing and electrical for a future spa area/water feature. This will make future construction much less expensive and less disruptive while giving you a useable space right away.