Home Decor Style Blog

While studies show that you will only recoup 80 to 90 cents on every dollar you spend to upgrade your kitchen or bath, professional landscape designers estimate that improvements to your lawn and garden can boost your home’s value by 7 percent to 15 percent. Those findings have been confirmed by survey results [from the Gallup Organization and the National Gardening Association (NGA)] this year, despite the economic down shift toward the real estate market.

Lawn and garden equity is all the rage these days as homeowners continue to invest heavily in their property values. The NGA says U.S. homeowners spent a $36.8 billion on their lawns and gardens in 2007, $11.4 billion of that on landscaping.

Dorcas Helfant, general managing partner of Coldwell Banker Professional Realtors, in Virginia Beach, Va., and the first female president of the National Association of Realtors, says her fellow baby boomers have a far different aesthetic than their parents.

“Our parents were not as particular. In the ’50s, you had this era of bomb shelters and fear, and the homes we grew up in had these high windows where you couldn’t see in or out of them,” she said in a recent New York Times article “Today we don’t live like that. We want broad, open expanses and windows that look out on gardens and ponds. We’re not willing to live as prisoners in a house.”

Homeowners are finding; however, that creating interest and harmony on the outside is far trickier than making upgrades to the inside. The sheer variety of trees (evergreen and deciduous), flowering plants (annual or perennial), and the walls, paths, window boxes, benches, and arbors that landscapers call “hardscape” can create a dizzying array of choices and potential missteps.

Yes, you can get some creative ideas from popular HGTV shows such as “Curb Appeal” and “Landscaper’s Challenge,” but flash and dash from someone else’s plan won’t necessarily work to your home’s advantage.

“There are a few people out there in the world who have an intuitive sense of how things should be put together, and everyone else doesn’t,” says Mel Senallé, landscape professional in the Atlanta area. “If you barge ahead on your own, you can make some horrendous mistakes and create some maintenance problems down the road that could have been avoided if you’d hired a designer.”

So, with this advice let’s take the challenge of looking at our home’s landscaping with a designer’s eye. There are trends out there that may help you paint your garden masterpiece. Wherever you live, proper landscaping can enhance both your enjoyment of your home and its ultimate resale value. The first thing you probably noticed about your home was its curb appeal. Even though your home’s appearance from the street is only part of creating the perfect outdoor environment, first impressions are often lasting ones for buyers.

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Matt Buquoi is a contributing author for Flower Window Boxes, a manufacture company that works with designer, landscapers, gardeners, and more to create products that help improve the curb appeal of homes and businesses. They fabricate window boxes, planters, and other garden decor. http://www.flowerwindowboxes.com

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Water Gardening is the latest fad catching up in the area of gardening. It can take up the form of a waterfall, fountain, or a pond. Combining it with lighting effects, plants, fish or adding rock boulders could create mesmerizing effects. It is not at all necessary that you set up a water garden in a natural environment such as a pond. It can be very aesthetically set up in any vessel or a plastic tub that can hold water.

You should be very careful in choosing the spot for your water garden. It should preferably be in the open area under the direct sunshine. This is the very basic requirement because both the fish and the plants need lots of sunlight. It will also prevent dead leaves from falling in the water

It is very important to decide on the area and size you want for your garden. It will ultimately depend on the budget you have allocated for it. In case you go ahead without considering the budgetery aspects, the costs could go out of hand, and it could get too expensive for you to handle. The size of the garden too should be in proportion to the overall area you have for this purpose.

For the proper growth of aquatic plants, and for their roots to spread properly, they should cover only half of the total water surface. They can be of any type, free floating, marginally submerged or fully submerged. Every plant has its own characteristic. Some are known for their sweet aroma. While there are others which give off more oxygen to keep the water body healthy. Then there are some which are simply beautiful to look at. Apart from being nice looking creatures, the fish in the pond also keep a control on larvae, insects and other parasites.

In ponds or water gardens one of the biggest headaches is to keep it clear of algae. Algae is usually formed if there is an excess of nutrients in water. It can also form if you over fertilize the plants or feed your fish too often. If you keep these points in mind the algae problem in your water garden will be kept in control to minimum.

Irrespective of their size, the water gardens need constant maintenance all year around. The algae problem can be overcome by cutting down on feeding the fish, and reducing the addition of fertilizers.

You can also install filters, or replace the water in the water body occasionally. The use of copper compounds such as copper sulphate is quite effective in controlling the algae growth. But do not use it in excess. It could be fatal for your plants and fish.

Water gardening does not involve any other extra efforts as compared to the normal gardening. Even if you have never grown a flower in your lifetime, you could still try out water gardening for its simplicity to set up and maintain.

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Article written by : Alitsa Neuyo. She is the professional freelance writer. To read more articles about Household Appliances, please visit HomeZaab.com

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It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, there will come a time when you want or need more rooms in your house. Growing families, working from home, hobbies and interests or simply a need for entertaining space can all conspire to make you feel like a pint in a half-pint pot.

Moving house is not always an option. The cost of moving is massive as it almost always includes re-fitting a new property to match our requirements and taste. New carpets, soft furnishings and the little ‘tweaks’ that make our home special all cost a lot of money which, on top of the purchase price, can make moving house prohibitive.

As most of us can’t just sell up and move to a bigger property we need to find a way to make the best of what we already have. In other words, we need to look around and find ways to get better use out of existing space. The first place to look is in the garden.

The latest developments in garden room design have changed the way people use their garden space. Using a garden solely as an outdoor leisure space is no longer cost effective. We simply can’t afford to ‘waste’ valuable space that could be better occupied by a purpose built, carefully designed garden living room.

Before you hesitate, I want to make it clear that the sort of room I’m talking about is an extension of your existing living space. It can be situated anywhere in your garden, even away from the house, but it has all the amenities you enjoy in your other rooms. Lighting, heating, plumbing, double glazing, thermal insulation; everything you expect from your house can be made available in a custom built garden room.

The advantages are huge. No moving costs and best of all, no upheaval, no new schools for the children and no new neighbours to learn to get along with. In fact, all you get are benefits. More living space, less overcrowding and a much easier lifestyle.

The first step is to contact a specialist garden room design company and discuss your requirements. They will be able to help you look more objectively at your garden space and point you toward the most cost effective way to expand your living area.

Think hard about what you want the extra space for. Is it an extra room in which you can personally relax and spend quality time? Would you like a self contained living area for a teenager? How about a ‘granny annex’ so that an elderly relative can come to live with you but still have their own space and privacy?

The most important thing is to decide what you want to do with your new room as your choices could affect where the room needs to be sited. A good design company will be able to help and advise you on all aspects of installation and your lovely new room could be in place in a matter of weeks. Check it out today!

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Graham Baylis is as busy a business man as you can be and he knows that it’s a well known fact that people need space to think, and what better space is there than a peaceful spot in your own back garden. This is just the thinking behind Garden Escape’s unique range of Garden Buildings. Of course you can also use such space for business or pleasure, this list covering the FUN area. See www.thegardenescape.co.uk

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