1. Make It Feel Like an Extension of the Home
If you’d like to create an outdoor space that feels as comfortable as a room in your home, it’s worth considering the flooring. A soft material underfoot can tempt you out, even before you’ve put on your shoes.
The owner of this yard had a dream of being able to walk out barefoot and be surrounded by plants. “I said, in that case, we need to build you a deck,” landscape designer Pippa Schofield says. Two levels of the soft wood planks are roughly split into dining and lounging areas. “The top deck is nice for having breakfast, then, the way the light goes, the owners use the sofa and lower deck for afternoon and evening entertaining,” Schofield says.
Wood decking was used in this project, but for added durability and ease of maintenance, you could consider composite decking. These wood particle and plastic boards look the same as the wood versions, but without the need to clean off mold or repair areas that have rotted.
It’s tempting to run upstairs and take a photo of the yard from a top floor window. After all, an aerial shot will show the whole space clearly. However, this isn’t necessarily the best way to showcase your projects. Photographs taken at ground level look more attractive and will give an idea of how it feels to be in the space.
This image, taken by Fine House Photography, provides a potential client with the view they would have if they were walking along the gravel path, with the greenery either side of them. A photo like this can be much more evocative than a wider shot taken from higher up.
To get the best results, it’s a good idea to invest in professional photography. Someone with skill and experience with a camera knows how to achieve images that are framed beautifully.
Find a professional photographer near you