When it comes to designing your dream home, the exterior is just as important as the interior. The possibilities are endless with countless combinations of softscape and hardscape. However, there’s more to the process than simply choosing what looks good. There are key differences between softscape and hardscape you should be aware of when it comes to designing your home’s exterior.
All About Hardscape
When it comes to deciding between softscape and hardscape, it’s important to look closely at your yard. Both types of landscaping have advantages and disadvantages, performing differently depending on conditions. To help you decide which is best for your home, let’s first look at hardscape. Hardscape includes landscaping elements such as pathways, patios, pavers, and fire pits. These elements help add visual appeal and entertainment value to your yard. While hardscaping can be ideal for small spaces, it is also common for homeowners to add larger hardscape areas designated for relaxing and family gatherings. While this can be visually appealing, it is important to strike the right balance. Too much hardscape can make your home look like a commercial property. However, the ease of maintenance is certainly something to consider if you are looking for low-maintenance landscaping options. Especially given the fact that it can withstand the elements, often lasting for years.
All About Softscape
Softscape, on the other hand, includes the “green elements” in your yard such as grass, shrubs, perennials, trees, soil, flowers, and so on. Using softscape in your exterior design helps add color and life to the outside of your home, making it inviting. This helps improve your property’s curb appeal and effectively raises its value. The challenge is that it requires significantly more effort and attention when it comes to acquiring and maintaining softscape. It must be carefully taken care of in order for it to grow healthy and reach its full potential. While too much hardscape can make your home look like commercial property, too much softscape can make your home look wild and overgrown. One alternative is to install artificial turf rather than real grass. This is because it is relatively easy to care for, while still providing color and many other benefits to your yard.
Which One Is Right For My Home?
The best advice for any homeowner is to keep a balance of hardscape and softscape. When distributed evenly, they compliment each other well. Together they can add a great feel and look to your home. Chorbie has experts for helping homeowners throughout the DFW area achieve the perfect balance of hardscape and softscape. Chorbie uses a hardscape approach to a very common problem in this area– declining side yards due to inadequate sunlight. This is done to support the energy needs of Bermuda grass. Bermuda sod is commonly installed when a house is built in the DFW area. Initially, the yard will look good, but after a few years, the yard begins to decline. This often results in leaving a bare, muddy, eroding side yard. While some sod varieties (Zoysia, St. Augustine, etc.) are shade tolerant and can survive these conditions, they generally won’t take a lot of traffic. One of the best solutions to this problem is to install hardscape composed of Native River gravel or other decorative stone with flagstone or concrete pavers.
Let The Experts Help
The experts at Chorbie are used to dealing with this problem and are trained to help homeowners achieve the perfect balance of hardscape and softscape for their homes. Visit us online or call us at 972-697-5221 to request an appointment for Chorbie experts to come out and help you make your dream yard a reality today.
