Extending the value of your home with a landscape renovation
While we faced some trying and bewildering times in 2020, home and property owners began to look at their homes and the land they resided on with a fresh perspective. Forced to look out our windows, at the walls, walk the halls and find new ways to enjoy our homes, we all found ourselves looking at new and inventive ways to maximize space and cultivate quality of life. While some folks took on home renovations, others found themselves looking out their windows and recognizing that they hadn’t yet capitalized on the way they lived out their lives within their own property lines.
We’ve always invited our clients and prospective clients to visualize themselves living their best lives by extending the way they live outside of their building envelope, creating places to wander, eat, play, contemplate, escape, grow food, entertain and engage with nature. Extending the walls of your home to incorporate the gardens and borrowed views, breaks barriers in the way we end and start our days and how we engage with our families as well as our environment. Creating an oasis, whatever your vision of an oasis might be, gives you something to look forward to when you’ve been sitting at the desk all day, in a noisy classroom or office environment. It gives you a place to escape on a coffee break, to listen to the wind, the birds, the ocean, and even the hustle of city noise can be pleasant with aromatic plants and soft textures nearby.
Maximizing the space in which you carry out your home life is key to extending the value of your property while you’re considering additions or renovation in your gardens and surroundings on the value of your investment and potential reality sale. Outdoor features and living spaces, accompanied by complimentary garden bed curation will significantly increase the purchase value of your investment and inspire prospective buyers to see themselves enjoying the bounty of the entire property.
If you’re considering making an investment in an outdoor renovation, there are a few things we’d recommend considering.
How do you, and your family or friends, plan to enjoy the garden
What are the exposure, wind conditions, and evening temperatures?
Are you on bedrock, does it host large specimen trees, has it ever?
Are you going to need to incorporate drainage infrastructure?
What architectural elements of your home will need to be honoured; how can you transition or compliment them?
How can you incorporate cozy areas that provide privacy and feel like an escape?
What can you do to maximize the space without creating overcrowding and congestion?
Are there any borrowed views you can capitalize on?
Would it help to incorporate white noise or sensory features to modify background noises like heat pumps or noisy streets?
What are your municipal bylaws; how can you maximize the space and will you need variances?
How do your neighbours use their outdoor spaces; will this need to be considered when placing larger features, spas, vegetable gardens, sports features or seating areas?
Will you grow food, introduce trees, pollinators, grasses or allergens, does the plant material require regular maintenance, deer or rabbit protection, pet protection?
Is your love of gardening going to be shared by others if the home is sold? Will your plans translate to a calming space for others or ring alarms around maintenance or upkeep?
How does this fit with the home and the neighbourhood it rests in?
Is the installation timeless, durable and sustainable?
Is the layout accessible?
Outside of new and large-scale landscape installations, Danée Lambourne of EDEN Projects can often be found on renovations, reclaiming and sculpting landscapes on newly purchased properties, for homeowners looking to extend their lifestyle to incorporate their gardens or prepare their properties for sale.
