Pools

Even with a large property, it can sometimes be challenging to design an outdoor space that everybody in the family loves and can utilize to the fullest. That was certainly the case for this landscape design near Harrisburg, PA, for a family with four active boys.

There’s nothing wrong with having a backyard living area built over the years (as opposed to all at once). In fact, phasing is one of the best ways to incorporate multiple outdoor living zones into one complete space. But that’s all assuming it’s completed in a way that looks like all of the spaces were always meant to be one. When it’s not, it can negatively impact the entire look and functionality of the area. For this particular landscaping project in Strasburg, PA, there were multiple existing spaces that were built and added over the years by different contractors—and every single one looked like it was built as a separate project. The individual areas lacked unification and it was quite obvious that this outdoor living area was designed and developed over time. That’s why the family was looking to redo all of the individual zones to make it look and function as one intentional space.

Sometimes an existing outdoor space just doesn’t work. You may try to make the most of it but there comes a point when you realize it’s just never going to be the backyard that you love. An outdoor living area like this can actually start to have a negative impact on your overall enjoyment of the outdoors—and for that reason (among others), may be worth renovating.

Landscaping can have a tremendous impact on a home’s overall value. In fact, an ROI study by RealEstate.com expressed that landscaping and hardscaping can deliver a return on investment as high as 150 percent. That puts backyard landscaping ROI higher than other home improvement projects like a bathroom or kitchen update. Whether you are certain that you will be selling your home in the future or it’s just a possibility, you might be thinking about the best landscaping to sell a house before having a major project completed. After all, you want to love your backyard—but if you do go to sell, you want potential buyers to love it, too.

Is your outdoor living wishlist growing bigger than your budget? If it is, then you’re not alone. When push comes to shove, most homeowners, regardless of means, have bigger dreams for a space than they actually plan to spend on it. And that’s okay—because it’s great to dream big. We only live once and there’s nothing wrong with putting some thought into what you really want, if your budget would allow for it.

One of the most critical steps in bringing your outdoor living dreams to life is the design phase. This invaluable process is where ideas start to evolve from mere conceptions to reality. Given the value of a great landscape design, it’s important that you fully maximize your first step in this process, the landscape design consultation meeting. If you're considering or have already scheduled a landscape design consultation with us, then this article is perfect for you. In order to get the maximum benefit out of your consultation, here are 6 questions you should ask yourself in advance.

Deciding to have a large landscape project completed at your home is an exciting endeavor. Of course, whether it’s an outdoor kitchen, a patio, a pavilion, or all of the above, you want to be sure that it’s built right. That means hiring a landscape designer to professionally complete your design. But excellent landscape design isn’t exactly cheap and you want to know that investing in it will be worth the cost. You may have been searching for “landscape design near me” online but you’re still not exactly sure what you’re going to get for your expense. The last thing that you want is to invest a lot of money into a “design” that took someone a measly 15 minutes to sketch.

Whether you have children now or you plan to in the future, you want to make sure that your landscape design takes into account safety just as much as it takes into account how your kids will use the space. After all, as a family that likes to spend time outdoors, you want them out there having good, safe fun with you or their friends. Of course, they won’t stay little forever. That means you also want a landscape design that will be appropriate as they grow. You don’t want to worry about making poor design choices now that will end up being a frustration down the road.

Whether you have an outdoor living space that you’re looking to upgrade or you are adding something from scratch, the last thing that you want is an ordinary space that can’t be used for extraordinary events.

Whether you already have (or you’re looking to add) functional outdoor living space, then you might be thinking about outdoor organization ideas. However, you want solutions that are going to be an attractive enhancement—not something that’s going to be an eyesore.

Are your ideas for your outdoor living area bigger than your budget? If they are, you aren’t alone. Oftentimes, homeowners have grand ideas that they’d like to see brought to life but they simply can’t afford to do them all at once. That’s not a problem as landscape design for your Lancaster, PA home can be phased—as long as there is a strong professional design to begin with.

With a daughter in high school, only a year away from graduating, these Lancaster, PA homeowners were eager to turn their backyard into a space where their family could make long-lasting memories. Of course, they also wanted it to be a space that could be used in the years ahead—when their daughter would return home from college or maybe even have a family of her own.

Building a pool is a big investment and you want to be sure that you’re making wise choices about its design. After all, you want the pool patio to enhance your pool’s beauty and value—not detract from it.

Imagine lounging by your pool, reading a great book or even watching your kids swim. You’re listening to the sound of your water feature churning and feeling totally relaxed when a scream cuts into the picture-perfect scene. Your child was just stung by a bee or scratched by the thorny shrub that shouldn’t have been planted so close to your pool patio. And now that you’re looking closer, you’re noticing that your pool is filled with fallen flower petals and your patio is stained with berries. This isn’t a dream at all—it’s more like a nightmare! And it’s all because of making poor choices in trees and shrubs.

You’re outside, cooking up a delicious meal on the grill, and you’re enjoying your Friday night—that is, until the fighting over what’s playing on your outdoor audio speakers begins. The kids want to listen to the newest hits while they’re swimming in the pool, but you’d like to have your favorite tunes playing in the outdoor kitchen area. And besides the fact that you can’t all seem to agree on the same music, you may be frustrated by your complicated set-up. You either have cords running from inside the house or have to remember to charge your bluetooth speakers, all to just to enjoy a little music. It’s far from ideal and you may have decided you need a better solution.

Your home is the place you go to escape the busyness of life. After a hard week, you’d love to just go in your backyard, close your eyes and let the stresses melt away. Ahh... The idea of soaking in warm, bubbling water after a long day or even gathering with your family or friends on the weekend may lead you to start thinking about adding a hot tub in your backyard. However, you may worry that choosing the wrong solution or company to do the work, may result in your relaxing spa turning into an additional source of stress, an ugly backyard.

You’ve been thinking about a pool for a long time and have finally made the decision to have it built. It will be a great way to encourage the kids to spend more time at home this summer, to entertain family or friends, or even just to cool off after a long day. And it will be so much more enjoyable dining al fresco now that you can dine pool-side. As you begin the process of thinking about it, you want to know how long does it take to build a pool. You may have decided that you simply don’t want to go another summer without a pool. That’s why you want to know when you should start the planning process in order for it to be ready-to-go come swim season.

When tackling a project as important as a backyard renovation complete with a new pool, you want to work with the best company for the job. It’s a big investment and a space that you plan to enjoy for many years to come. Knowing that your decision in hiring a contractor will impact all of this, you should be determined to choose wisely. Of course, the most typical pattern of thought when having a pool built is to hire a pool company. It sounds logical, after all. There are some amazing pool builders in York, PA and surrounding areas like Lancaster, Reading, and Hershey. But the truth is that we’ve seen some pool companies fail to think of some of the pool design essentials that would make your space truly complete.

Exceptional vs. Typical: Landscape Design in Lancaster, York, Hershey, and Reading, PA Imagine stepping outside in your dream backyard—the yard that you’ve been thinking about for quite some time. Your favorite colors are reflected in the plant material. That idea for a unique water feature is in just the right spot where you can enjoy the sound of the water while reading a book on the nearby bench. And your patio was designed in a way that it’s not only gorgeous, but it’s extremely functional and you aren’t quite sure how you ever lived without it.

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably experienced what it’s like to have workers come to your home that you’re not exactly comfortable around. You hire a contractor to complete a job and suddenly you feel as though you have to cover your children’s ears because of bad language or you can’t even step out for a quick errand because you don’t trust them alone on your property.

When it comes to creating privacy screening for our clients, we’ve had almost every request in the book. From screening out an objectionable view (such as a neighbor’s unmaintained backyard), to buffering some noise from a nearby highway, to even preventing the neighbor’s boys from watching the girls swim in the pool. We’ve worked with all of these scenarios and then some. We know there are a lot of reasons why you want to create privacy in your backyard—and you deserve it. You’ve invested in an outdoor living space and now you want to enjoy it without prying eyes or unsightly views.

Every project we do at Earth, Turf, & Wood is exciting for us since it means we get to help bring our clients backyard dreams to life. But some projects certainly stand out. This project, completed just outside of Reading, PA is one such endeavor. In addition to providing beauty and functional use to this client's backyard, this project received two significant recognitions on the national stage.

Nothing quite extends your outdoor living space like a pavilion. Incorporating a pavilion gives you some shelter and allows you to find respite from the heat or even from inclement weather. One of the first questions we ask when designing a pool and landscape pavilion is: How do you plan to use it? The answer to that question will then dictate everything that goes into the project. While some may just want a space to sit and eat others may also want to be able to cook in the space, so we’ll design a pavilion with outdoor kitchen. As you think about what you might want to incorporate in your landscape pavilion design, consider these popular must-have design elements.

Once pool building season begins the pool companies in Lancaster, PA and its surrounding areas are looking to get as many jobs done as they can. The sad reality of this way of doing things is that (in most cases) they just want to build a pool, pour a concrete patio, and move on to the next job. Unless you hire them for any ongoing maintenance of your pool, their relationship is pretty much over after it's built.