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Redesigning Your Already Designed Landscape

 

Your new villa is stunning. You’ve finally gotten the opportunity to have the interior you’ve always dreamed of. Outdoors, though, is another story.

 

You’ve “inherited” the former owners’ landscaping and you’re less than overjoyed with it. It is not “you” at all. It isn’t appropriate for you and your family’s needs. What can you do?

 

Redesigning or redecorating a room, or even a whole house, is often easily accomplished. New paint or wall coverings, some new carpets or flooring, a room addition or repurposing, and then there’s your personal touches – furniture, art work, accessories.

 

Outdoors, you typically have more space, but less room to work. Redesigning a landscape is no quick fix.

 

And that’s where you need professional help, like we give here at Milestone.  There is a process for working a new and old design together, and here are somethings to consider.

 

 

 

 

Knowing What Landscape You’ve Got to Begin With

 

The first thing that needs to be taken into account is your current design and landscape. A plan of your existing space needs to be drawn up.

 

• What is the purpose of each part of the garden?
• Are there features such as a pool, water feature, or fire feature?
• What about architecture – gazebos, pergolas, decking?
• What plants are there, and how are they planted – in raised beds, defined spaces, or groupings of pots or planters?

 

Knowing exactly what your existing landscape consists of can help greatly when it comes to redesigning it. There may be hidden benefits, such as shade or relaxing sounds and/or scents that you may not realize are there until observed and experienced closely.

 

It can also assist you in deciding your next step – how to use the space for your own purposes.

 

 

 

What Do You Want From Your Landscape?

 

Gardens typically have more than one purpose.

You want a space for entertaining, for relaxing, perhaps you need a play space for the children. Or a mini football pitch for the kids to practice their goalkeeping skills. And then there’s the family dog to think about.

 

Maybe you need it all – grownup space, play area, and pet space all in one.

 

Deciding what “room” goes where in your outdoor living area is just as important as deciding what color to paint the rooms inside. When working with an existing landscape design, you may be able to retain a space or two, or simply repurpose them, to meet your needs.

 

That carefully manicured grass may be just the thing for those after-school football matches. The patio under the pergola may make a lovely entertaining area.

 

And the plantings under the tree by the garden wall may have to be sacrificed so Farasha can have a space of her own.

 

Using a professional landscaping company like Milestone ensures that your desired plan and your existing plan can work together with minimal loss of use of the space.

 

 

 

 

What Landscape Can Stay, and What Goes?

 

Now that you know what you’ve got to work with, and you know what you want to get out of your landscape, you have the most important decision to make – deciding what to keep and what absolutely MUST go.

 

Unless you want to lose months of use of your outdoor living space, you may want to keep major changes to a minimum. If that is not a concern, then you may decide to keep nothing and change it all.

 

Again, your professional landscape designer can tell you approximately how long your landscape will be out of commission during the redesign.

 

Large features like pools and walls, and even some architectural features may just have to stay, at least for winter.

 

 

 

Even though it doesn’t rain much, rain CAN delay your project, or prohibit it from progressing altogether. That means you may have to put up with some of the former owners’ design elements for a little while.

 

Also, certain plantings may be necessary for the health of your landscape. Large trees may provide much needed shade and water retention. Other plantings and/or architecture may be holding back soil erosion, or providing cover for an unsightly retaining wall or other view.

 

Don’t forget to consider the noise-dampening qualities of certain types of lush foliage, too. What may look like an unruly bed of greenery may help to keep the sounds of nearby traffic at bay.

 

 

 

 

Incorporating Your Own Style in to Your Landscape

 

You’ve taken a close look at what you’ve got. You’ve assessed how you want to use your landscape. You know what you want and what you can or need to keep, and what can go.

Now, how do you get YOU into your old owners’ landscape?

 

Use Your Favorites

 

Have a favorite flower or combination of flowers?

 

Remove existing plantings and replace them with your favorites, if your designer says it is possible. Bring in your favorite stepping stones or type of garden path. Add a sauna or wading pool for the family to enjoy.

 

That spot by the corner may make a perfect koi pond, much to the delight of the children. Bring your own personality and style into your landscape by simply adding some of what you know you like.

 

 

 

Replace Features and Accessories

 

Add your own style by using your own accessories and architecture. That old gazebo can come down, and a beautiful pergola can go in its place.

 

Those awnings by the pool are NOT your taste and must go, to be reconstructed in shades of your own favorite color and style.

 

That statue in the fountain, or perhaps the entire fountain itself, can be switched out for something more to your liking.

Small changes can make a BIG difference in how you feel about your landscape.

 

 

 

 

Use The Space In Your Own Way

 

Your landscape may not be exactly what you want it to eventually be, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Use it as you see fit, and as best as you can.

 

That shady spot under the tree may prove the perfect place to escape with a book and a cool drink on a stressful day. That gazebo may not be to your liking, but it’s still a wonderful place to entertain your friends.

 

The fire feature by the waterfall may not appeal visually, but it can be a pleasant place to spend evenings with the family. Use the landscape you have in your own way, and it will naturally become your own.

 

 

 

Landscape Design and Milestone

 

At Milestone, we understand landscape design. We have experienced designers who can create the perfect landscape for you, either from scratch, or by redesigning an existing plan.

 

We can help you in every step of the landscape redesign process, from plotting out what you’ve got, to creating your own style and spaces with it.

 

Contact us today for a consultation. We’d love to see you have a landscape to love.

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Owning a Slice of The World

By Kuheli Sen

 

Looking out at the leafy world through the large bay windows of this charming tapas bar in Mallorca, as the owner extols the virtues of authentic local cooking styles in a smattering of Spanglish, one mulls how the same can be said of architecture.

 

 

 

The well-heeled home-maker knows the difference between Frank Lloyd Wright and Antoni Gaudi.

 

And their home is sure to be distinct from all others for they tend to pick up memories and lifestyles besides the regular knick-knacks from the world over.

 

 

 

The opulent world of their own they create finally is as inspired by Bali’s Ubud as the profusion of pillars and ornate tastes of the Mediterranean, they will incorporate indoor gardens, perhaps even infuse bright colours of the Philippines or borrow the sober English shades.

 

 

 

The number of villas inspired by Mediterranean and tropical indigenous architecture in Dubai is testimony to this nod to adapting vernacular styles.

 

 

 

And how one adopts these native styles and owns them adding a personal touch every time, bringing home the best of world’s cultures, is nothing short of a marvel.

 

A lot of influences colour Dubai homes melding modernist lines with the tropical rustic, refining them to suit local needs.

 

 

 

Some distinct styles are more sought after, some for their clean simplicity that embraces the future even as it holds on to the past; some for innovative use of local materials while others for the inherent philosophy itself.

 

If Zen be the quest, then one looks to Bali, the divine Indonesian island. The Balinese style is centuries-old reflecting the island’s traditions and ancient Javanese elements. Use of coconut wood, bamboo poles, teak wood, stone and bricks are traits of this form.

 

 

 

Luxury villas make effective use of Balinese architecture for infusing a relaxed tropical atmosphere that is in tune with the environment.

 

Spatial organisation is prominent in this design philosophy focussing on good ventilation, strong foundation, spacious front yards, high walls protecting from prying eyes and the villa itself will have separate zones for different uses connected through a series of gates.

 

 

 

Another key element is beautifully landscaped gardens with decorative tropical plants bringing one closer to nature, most often with a water feature to reinforce the calming and relaxing ambience.

 

Another popular tropical inspiration is Hawaiian. High, steep roofs are characteristic of this style. The original Hawaiian thatch homes of yore, hales, though were more or less grass cabins with typical high roofs and square holes for windows resulting in surprisingly cool interiors.

 

 

 

Today one can spot massage huts, and sometimes bars, reminiscent of the hale in many resorts. Interestingly, the Hawaiian design philosophy too calls for separate sections for separate activities.

 

Using the horizon as the reference point, the Maui builders used their body parts to measure.

 

 

 

Since integrating with the United States in 1959 as its 50^th state, a new landscape was sketched in Hawaii, that of tropical modernism.

 

It was but natural that the architects of this new land were the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright and Russian modernist Vladimir Ossipoff known for his avowed dislike   for “ugliness”.

 

 

 

One gets a taste of this tropical modernism from the moment of stepping down on the tarmac at the airport at Honolulu.

 

Sample the concept of indoor and outdoor patios, known locally as lanai, blooming border gardens and a general sense of openness, all hallmarks of this tropical form.

 

A third most liked form is that of tropical chic, a muse for many a well-travelled owner and what better than Maldives to infuse some tropical appeal.

 

 

 

This island paradise espouses green and sustainable architectural practices, whether it is in sourcing materials for construction that makes good use of indigenous resources such as coral stone and plant products or the stress on simplicity.

 

The theme here is laid-back and unfussy. The clean lines are not grand or verbose but whisper an understated minimalism that sets this style a class apart.

 

 

 

Beating a similar rhythm to the other two forms, indigenous Maldivian architecture too calls for certain functions to be built separately, such as the badhige (kitchen) and even bathrooms.

 

While such extreme measures might have suited housing needs of a bygone era, a touch of modernism has refined the simplicity to suit 21^st century demands. Maldivian houses also accentuate ventilation and lighting techniques.

 

 

 

Bringing home a whiff of the roads travelled by building a personal Shangri-La is now possible. Irrespective of what one fancies, what is paramount is the sensitivity to the surroundings and being true to the chosen style.

 

With Milestone working on your behalf, you can capture a slice of these distant lands within your home in a tasteful and personal manner.

 

During a complimentary design consultation with our expert designers, we can show you how to bring your space to life.  Contact us today to schedule your appointment.

 

Book Your Complimentary Design Consultation