A modern landscape design that meshes with your Madison, WI, area house could align the two largest components of your property—your home and your landscape. This design can embody specific elements from your home life and personal style, to achieve a modern, minimalist style. Here are some ways that landscaping companies would go about this.
Features of a Modern Landscape Design
When a landscape contractor designs a modern landscape, there can be certain principles at play to reflect this aesthetic. They can sometimes juxtapose two shapes for visual interest and utilize textures to achieve an eye-catching look.
A focus on materials: Many landscape professionals use materials to delineate lines and other geometric shapes that can appear in a modern landscape. This can happen with retaining walls featuring large, smooth blocks, to define outdoor spaces and intersect them in specific spots to establish symmetry and order. They can also use darker or lighter banding of wall stone to bring the eyes along a design.
Using right angles can be an effective tool in a modern landscape plan. For instance, the landscape contractor may create a rectangular stepping stone path instead of pavers for a walkway and have the stone path turn at a right angle to lead to the front door. The angles of the rectangles can be echoed in the placement within the outdoor space.
Choosing visually heavier materials can give an outdoor design good bones to carry it throughout the entire space. Horizontal wood planks could form a privacy fence and be paired with the stone walkway direction to reinforce where you want guests to walk.
Minimal variety in plantings: Most modern landscape designs don’t use a mix-and-match approach to plants in the landscape design. A landscape contractor will likely stick with fewer plant types and repeat them for effect and symmetry. Of course, they will take into account maturity height and plant size in the selection process. The use of repeated plants can also reinforce the symmetry of a modern landscape aesthetic.
Monochromatic colors: A modern landscape design tends to focus on one or two colors and vary the hues to achieve an interesting appearance. A landscape contractor might select one of the exterior colors of your house to incorporate into the landscape. They may use gray or tan tones to keep the focus on the outdoor structures and amazing materials.
Varied elevations: Modern landscape designs can feature multiple elevations in outdoor spaces. A retaining wall can run alongside the driveway for a clear definition of entry and parking spaces. This wall can connect to functional stone steps that can lead to a backyard hideaway for outdoor entertaining.
They might include a landing in the ascent that follows the stone steps, a place where you can stop and catch your breath when needed. By varying the elevations, an outdoor living space can feel more expansive and look interesting rather than viewing one large space.
Keeping the landscape design unified with the exterior of the house can create the most pleasing aesthetic since the two spaces are so closely linked. When a landscape professional continues clean lines and gives careful attention to the planting details, a modern landscape can be the star of the show.
