6 great ways of making your outdoors look beautiful

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When designing a home, remember that exteriors are just as important as the interiors. Don’t forget that when your guests approach your abode, they will first form their impressions depending on the kind of exteriors you project! Begin planning your outdoor area by choosing a theme for it. Whether you have an expansive courtyard or a tiny balcony, your private outdoor space should be designed to match the overall interior scheme, but it should still retain its own identity. Here are a few outdoor design tips to help your home stand out.

One of the basic design principles to follow when designing the exteriors of a house is to balance shapes and symmetry. When thinking of the shapes in your outdoors, look at the shape of your house, the plants, flower beds and other garden elements. To maintain balance, the outdoors need not be absolutely symmetrical but the visual weight should be well balanced. For example, if you have a tall tree on one side, you could balance it with a short wide shrub on the other side.

Lighting is another important aspect to keep in mind when designing outdoors. When it comes to choosing a colour palette for the outdoors, don’t forget about the colours of the flowers. Choose planters and exterior structures or furniture that will let the colours of your flowers dominate the design. If you have a large outdoor area, you can break it down into zones, while for a small outdoor area, it is best to let the entire area have a single focal point. 

Add a water feature

Whether your outdoor area is big or small, it must have a focal point. A focal point not only draws attention but also binds the design together. Installing a fountain is a good way to create a focal point. Along with adding to the aesthetics of the outdoors, the sound of falling water is also known to be stress-busting. 

Choose a fountain design and size depending on your outdoor theme. When choosing a fountain, pay attention to the material it is constructed from, and the weight of the material. Fountains run on electricity but the combination of water and live electric wires can be disastrous. Hence, when installing a fountain, it is best to ask a qualified electrician to do the wiring.

Take a look beyond the floor

As with home interiors, the floor should not be the only area of focus while planning your outdoors.  If you have a landscaped garden, look at how your fencing can add to the outdoor aesthetics. For smaller balconies, you may want to consider installing shelves along the walls to increase the amount of space you have for decorative pots.

Mounting pots directly on the wall is another option. Hanging pots can also work well for compact balconies. This design tip also works for narrow corridor-style outdoor spaces. You can also dress up exterior walls by mounting a mirror or metal wall art on them.

Add planters

Planters are often ignored when designing landscaped outdoors, and only thought of when designing balconies and terraces. However, decorative planters serve more than just as vessels to grow plants in; they also add to the aesthetics of the area. While a series of planters arranged in a line can complement a minimalist garden, painting them in vibrant colours can make them ideal for growing ornamental grasses. 

When choosing planters, make sure they have a hole at the bottom to help the soil drain excess water. You will also need to match the colour of the planter and the flowers growing in it, to ensure that they do not compete for attention.

Decorate the walls

The first step to making your outdoor walls look attractive is to choose a colour and texture for them. Choose a minimum of two colours for your outdoor colour palette, with one colour meant for the walls and the second one for the roof and architectural trims. These walls can then be ornamented according to the theme of your outdoor area. 

If you like entertaining outdoors but have a restricted outdoor space, consider a folding bar mounted on the wall. Mirrors and upcycled window frames are other interesting ways of decorating outdoor walls. Recycled wooden palettes, when mounted on walls, can function as attractive planters for succulents. Along with these, you can also incorporate wrought iron décor elements and lanterns. If you have an artistic streak, why not create a mosaic or paint a mural on the walls?

Install a trellis

A trellis is a simple and budget friendly way to style the outdoors. Depending on the size and design, a trellis can suit both formal and informal outdoor spaces. Trellises are also space saving solutions for gardens in small balconies. 

For large outdoor areas, a trellis can be used to divide the space into smaller zones. Though wall mounted trellises are usually installed in panels, you could also use them to frame a window or other such architectural features. A trellis can also be used to cover the entire surface of a wall, and draw attention to it. 

All types of climbing plants are suitable to be grown on trellises, especially climbing roses, ivy, tomatoes and beans. Get inspired by this ravishing courtyard garden designed by Garden Club London, garden and landscape suppliers from United Kingdom.

Accessorise cleverly

An outdoor design tip most landscape designers offer is to accessorise the space. Along with water features, statues and busts can also act as focal points. This is ideally suited for slightly more formal gardens. For a more informal outdoor space you could look at large earthen pots or abstract sculptures as outdoor installations. A wheelbarrow filled with potted plants can also be a great focal point for the garden; especially if your outdoor area is mostly tiled or landscaped as a lawn. If you have the space, invite your feathered friends to the garden with a bird bath.  To this, add outdoor furniture that complements your space and the theme of your garden.

Lastly, create an impressive entrance to your courtyard or garden. As mentioned before, this is the first impression guests are likely to have of your home, so make it count.  Instead of the mundane tiled pathway leading from the gate to your front door, consider something different like leaf shaped concrete stepping stones or cross cut sections of fallen logs. Here is another ideabook to inspire you further - 6 fab ideas for roof terraces!

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