Landscape and Architecture Should Work in Harmony

Your landscape design should influence your architectural and interior design and vice-versa; they should work in harmony.

Imagine sliding open your huge glass doors from your living room into your outdoor entertaining space. You step across the threshold, which doesn’t even feel like a threshold anymore, just an extension of your house, because inside and outside share the same floor finish and level.  It’s summer, and the frangipani tree is casting a cooling, dappled shade on your outdoor space.  Native grasses rustle in the breeze, softening the edge of the hard surfaces and create a place for spectacular birdlife to forage. A water feature trickles in the corner, bringing a slice of zen to the end of even the most hectic of days and creating a relaxing backdrop to unwind with a chat and a wine. Everything, inside and out, works in harmony and, when those doors open, your home and the backyard become one. This virtually doubles the size of your living area and means you can entertain friends and family with ease. Daily life spills into the backyard.

Have we set the mood yet?

Architecture and landscape should work in harmony, each feeding of the other to create a more beautiful, functional and delightful whole. While of course we can plan ahead and design windows and doors for where you might eventually plant a feature tree or build an alfresco dining area, the result will be much more cohesive and impactful if we plan them at the same time. They will feel like one because they were designed as one.

Landscaping Takes Time to Develop

Rome wasn’t built in a day and the Giardini del Quirinale certainly didn’t grow overnight. Gardens take time to grow and mature, so the sooner you get started, the better. With a comprehensive landscape design, you can be one step ahead and start working on parts of the landscape that won’t be affected by the build or reno so your garden is lush and healthy when you move in. Of course some, if not all, of your landscaping will have to wait until the bulldozers and scaffolding and steel-capped boots have left the site, but at least if you’ve got a landscape design and a landscaping budget, you can get started as soon as possible to give your garden plenty of time to develop.

You Might Need Less Space

Developing a strong landscape design might save you money on your new home or renovation because you may not require as much internal space! If we’re designing a home and landscape in parallel, we’ll be able to anticipate how you will use both your indoor and outdoor spaces more effectively. Think back to our description of the living area flowing seamlessly into the outdoor entertaining area and backyard. The result is, we may be able to shave off some space from your living areas if they’re designed to work in harmony with your outdoor spaces. Creating what is effectively an outdoor room as part of your landscape design means you can make the most of your outdoor space and spend less time indoors, but the most effective way to achieve this is to design both at the same time; it’s important to get the flow and the connections right.

Make Your Home More Livable and Sustainable

Thriving landscapes offer more than just a great indoor-outdoor connection. With your architectural and landscape design in sync, we can take steps that will make your home more liveable and sustainable for the long term, making it resilient and self-sufficient to give back to the environment and help deal with the effects of climate change or, you know, global pandemics… While there’s no such thing as a toilet paper tree just yet, we can plan things like low, south-facing windows overlooking a pocket fernery which uses your garden’s microclimate to draw cooling breezes through your home and make those hot days all the more bearable (as well as looking amazing). We can design edible, working gardens right beside the kitchen so you’ll always have fresh herbs and veggies on hand. Combined with a water-harvesting system, this could help you be more self-sufficient and drought tolerant. Permeable paving could mean your garden can absorb all that precious rainfall rather than sending it flooding down stormwater to muddy creeks, rivers and ultimately, the ocean. By thinking about landscaping and architecture at the same time, it’s possible to create these rich moments and powerful systems that make your home more inspiring, comfortable, livable and sustainable.

Improve Your Health, Wellbeing and Even Your Lifespan

There’s a growing body of evidence about the idea of biophilia – that we’re naturally drawn to and benefit from trees, plants, water and other biological systems. Exposure to nature has been shown to improve mood, boost your sense of wellbeing and even lead to better overall health. So instead of moving into your new home overlooking a barren desert with the intention to ‘deal with that once we’ve saved up a bit more money’, plan your landscaping from the beginning, budget for it as part of your total build cost and reap the health and wellbeing rewards for years to come.

Have we convinced you yet? If you want to plan your landscaping, we work with a bunch of great Landscape Designers so whether you need a solution for your current backyard desert or you want an integrated home and landscape design, we can help. Get in touch to discuss.