What Is An Aesthetic Landscape And How To Create One
An aesthetic landscape can be the key to creating a masterpiece in your yard and can be one of the most rewarding things you can do for your home. In order to do this, you need to create an aesthetic landscape that is pleasing to the eye, and more importantly, to you.
There are a few things you need to take into consideration when designing your aesthetic landscape. While it all comes down to what makes you happy, learning what you can about this type of landscape can help make that easier.
What Is Aesthetic Landscape?
The term “aesthetic landscape” is a broad term that is a way to describe your yard. The word “aesthetic” means pleasant, positive, or artful. So when you put two and two together, you find out what the term means.
However, the term aesthetics can be defined as the “study of beauty, especially when pertaining to nature.” This is what aesthetic landscape truly means as well. “the study of beauty in a way that is pleasant, positive, and artful.”
Because pleasant, positive, and artful mean different things to different people, and the aesthetic landscape isn’t the same for everyone. So the key to creating an aesthetic landscape is to create something that pleases you.
Mixing Practical With An Aesthetic Landscape
Although having a perfectly balanced zen stone formation can be pleasing, having one that is 10 feet tall may be dangerous. It’s important to make sure your aesthetic landscape is also practical, for safety reasons.
Make sure that everything is cohesive and that even if you don’t have kids, that the yard is safe for children. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have a deep pool, but ensuring that there’s nothing that can hurt an adult is a good idea.
A hodgepodge of decor can work aesthetically if you do it right but making sure you hand-pick each piece can ensure that it is cohesive. Have someone test out each area when you finish making sure that it is functional and safe.
What Is Color Theory In An Aesthetic Landscape?
Color theory is both a science and an art. It is primarily used to convey messages with color. For example, blue will make you calmer while red will make you hungrier. This is what color theory is based on.
Color theory is a great way to play around with an aesthetic landscape. People decide whether or not they like something in 90 seconds or less, and 90% of that decision is based solely on color, according to color psychology.
So color in your yard is very important. Use greens to make people feel healthy, welcome, and young, as well as especially connected to nature. Here are examples of what other positive messages colors might convey.
- Red: passion, love, desire, strength, sincerity
- Pink: compassion, tenderness, friendliness
- Beige: unity, pleasantness, and simplicity
- Yellow: joy, happiness, optimism, imagination
- Blue: integrity, peace, harmony, truth
- Turquoise: sophistication, wisdom, fortune
- Purple: royalty, nobility, spirituality, elegance
- Orange: energy, vibrancy, warmth
- Green: health, luck, youth, generosity
- Brown: stability, reliability, comfort
- Gray: security, intelligence, wisdom
- White: Reverence, purity, simplicity, cleanliness, humility
- Black: formality, elegance, mystery, depth
Choosing A Design Style For Your Aesthetic Landscape
Your design style is important, both to help guide you on your journey to the perfect space and to help you express yourself. The interior design styles are usually something like mid-century modern, shabby chic, farmhouse, or contemporary.
But exterior or outdoor, design styles are different. Exterior design styles are usually plant-focused. Take a look at these types of outdoor design styles you can use to help you get inspired with your outdoor space.
Tuscan
Plaster, stone, warm beiges, courtyards with hedges, and clay jars. These are a few things you’ll find in a Tuscan design outdoors. Everything here is inspired by Tuscany. Not Italy, not the Mediterranean, just Tuscany.
Japanese
A Japanese yard is a yard that is inspired by the style of yards found in traditional Japan. Think Kyoto. These have zen gardens, raised bridges over gravel, koi ponds, and torii gates. If you’ve seen Mr. Miyagi’s yard, you can picture this now.
Rustic
The rustic design style is a vague term used for those who want a feel for the old country. This type of design uses primarily natural materials to create outdoor firepits or fireplaces, wooden fences, and other structures.
Cottage
A cottage design style outdoors makes your house and yard look quaint, inviting, and lush. White picket fences, greenery, and small statues help bring this type of yard together. Think cottage in the woods.
Fantasy
A fantasy yard design draws inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and George R.R. Martin. This type of yard can have mystical waterfalls, dragon decor, and a woodland garden for the greenery.
Tropical
A tropical design style will have tropical plants and palm trees. It will have a water source, good seating, and a lot of plants. Tropical gardens and yards can be found in Florida, South America, and the Caribbean.
Mediterranean
Mediterranean yards can be found in Italy, Spain, Monaco, and more. This type of yard is similar to the Tuscan yard but is a broader term. A Mediterranean yard usually has a tall adobe fence, European plants, and a good sitting area.
Colonial
Colonial homes are still trending today, despite the era being long gone. The design style can be geared towards French colonial, Dutch colonial, or another type of colonial home. Each of them being Americanized.
Hispanic
Hispanic yards are often warm, being made to invite family members over on the weekends. With this type of yard, you can find fire pits, colorful tiles, and adobe structures. They are traditionally found in Latin America.
Coastal
Coastal homes draw inspiration from the beach. They often look like they are touching the beach, but that doesn’t mean they don’t also often feature pools. Other than the water aspect, they have lawn chairs, sandy ground, and tropical plants.
Desert
A lot of people tend to dismiss the desert landscape as dry and hostile. While these can be true, a desert landscape can also be beautiful. A lot of cacti, warm tones, and varying levels can make a desert landscape special.
Aesthetic Landscape Ideas
Now that we’ve learned about color theory and different design styles in the yard, we can move on to aesthetic design ideas for your design inspiration. Here are some tips for creating your aesthetic landscape.
Work With What You Have
If you have a small yard then don’t worry. All you need is a little green to create a pleasing aesthetic landscape. You don’t need a huge yard to show off an array of decor items and plants. Start simple.
Find A Feature Piece
Finding a feature piece is important. This is usually the first piece you find that speaks to you. The piece that you found at the flea market or you built on your own. A good feature piece defines the rest of your yard perfectly.
Use Your Pool
Your pool shouldn’t take away from the yard’s aesthetic but add to it instead. If your pool is bringing your yard down, consider changing the pool or building a deck around it if it’s an above-ground pool.
Make Your Aesthetic Landscape Look Natural
This is an important step for some design styles. But it can work for any design style. Just because it looks natural doesn’t mean you can’t add anything manmade, it just means that you need it to be cohesive.
Don’t Forget Seating
If you plan on inviting people over, and let’s face it, showing your yard off, you need seating. Good seating needs to be relatively comfortable, have a covering for rainy or hot days, and offer enough seating for the entire family and more.
Go Back In Time With An Aesthetic Landscape Portal
If modern-day trends are not your thing, find an era and use that for inspiration. This can be all the design inspiration that you need because even a certain era can be a complete design style. Just remember to pick a region too.
Draw The Eye With Aesthetic Landscape Tricks
Whether you have a small yard or one that is overwhelming, controlling the viewer’s eye movement is key. Because you probably want people to look at certain areas of the yard, and be drawn away from other areas. Master this.
Create Your Fantasy Aesthetic Landscape
Most importantly, create your fantasy. This isn’t reliant on money because the best designers can create the perfect dream yard with nothing but a few bucks and a lot of sipirt. So make your own dreams come true.
Hiring A Professional For An Aesthetic Landscape
I always like to mention that hiring a professional is a good idea. Most of them will walk you through the process and help you create that dream yard. You can get a binding quote if you have a set budget as well which is set in stone.
The point of hiring a professional for your aesthetic landscape is to have them help you create a safe yard without cutting corners. They can ensure that you get the most out of your space and connect you to your aesthetic landscape in every way possible.