How to Refine Your Landscape Design Style
Before starting a landscape renovation, take the time to determine which garden style suits your taste and site
Lauren Dunec Hoang
February 18, 2022
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and in-house designer for Sunset's Editorial Test Garden. Her garden designs have been featured in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping, Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings (cover), Inhabitat, and POPSUGAR.
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and... More
One of the first steps you’ll want to take when planning a landscape redesign is to identify — or clarify — your landscape design style. There are many styles to choose from, and you’ll want to choose what appeals to you and also suits your site and climate.
To get started, browse and save landscape ideas you like and then — this part’s crucial – pare them down. The result will be a much clearer vision of what you’d like your landscape to be and, ultimately, a much more cohesive-looking garden. We’ve divided the process of refining landscape style into three phases: inspiration, editing and design clarification.
To get started, browse and save landscape ideas you like and then — this part’s crucial – pare them down. The result will be a much clearer vision of what you’d like your landscape to be and, ultimately, a much more cohesive-looking garden. We’ve divided the process of refining landscape style into three phases: inspiration, editing and design clarification.
Inspiration Phase
Cast a wide net. Start a Houzz ideabook to save images of outdoor spaces that you like. Don’t worry about sticking to a particular style — save any image that appeals to you. When gathering inspiration, consider how you’d like to use your new landscape — to relax, entertain or eat outdoors, say — and which features you’d like to include, such as a shade structure, fire pit or swimming pool or an outdoor kitchen.
Inside Houzz tip: Share your Houzz ideabook with your designer to communicate your style and to collaborate on your project’s design direction.
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
Cast a wide net. Start a Houzz ideabook to save images of outdoor spaces that you like. Don’t worry about sticking to a particular style — save any image that appeals to you. When gathering inspiration, consider how you’d like to use your new landscape — to relax, entertain or eat outdoors, say — and which features you’d like to include, such as a shade structure, fire pit or swimming pool or an outdoor kitchen.
Inside Houzz tip: Share your Houzz ideabook with your designer to communicate your style and to collaborate on your project’s design direction.
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
Consider your home’s architecture and style. If your home has a clean, modern aesthetic, for example, you may want to let its design vocabulary help guide style choices in the landscape. While your landscape design style doesn’t have to match that of your home, it’s useful to pay attention to the lines, materials and scale of your house to create a site that looks cohesive as a whole.
Assess the challenges of your site. Does your yard feature a steep slope or lack privacy from nearby homes? When saving photos, look for ones that feature design solutions to similar or relevant challenges.
Assess the challenges of your site. Does your yard feature a steep slope or lack privacy from nearby homes? When saving photos, look for ones that feature design solutions to similar or relevant challenges.
Inside Houzz tip: In addition to browsing all outdoor photos or searching for specific garden elements, you can refine your Houzz search even more. Use the facet filters (located in drop-down menus at the top of the photo page) to limit your results by location, size, style, budget and more.
Find more landscape inspiration
Find more landscape inspiration
Editing Phase
Once you’ve collected a broad range of inspirational photos, start to review your saved images with a more critical eye. Home in on the garden styles you saved most, keeping in mind your site and climate. (It’s tough to pull off a water-intensive cottage garden in the desert, for example.) You don’t have to stick to one landscape design style — a simple modern design can pair with traditional-style floral borders, for instance.
Once you’ve collected a broad range of inspirational photos, start to review your saved images with a more critical eye. Home in on the garden styles you saved most, keeping in mind your site and climate. (It’s tough to pull off a water-intensive cottage garden in the desert, for example.) You don’t have to stick to one landscape design style — a simple modern design can pair with traditional-style floral borders, for instance.
In general, plan to pare your inspiration photos down to one or two general garden styles to have a clear vision of what you’d like your landscape to look like. The more specific you can be about what you like and don’t like in different garden styles, the better. A landscape design professional can help identify elements that can bridge those styles and can also tailor designs to your region and site.
Learn more about finding your garden style
Learn more about finding your garden style
Design Clarification Phase
Once you have narrowed down your photos to create a more cohesive general style, it’s time to identify what you specifically like about each photo. Perhaps it’s the architectural quality of a row of plants silhouetted against a wall, a color palette of a meadow garden or the graceful curve of a deck.
You can add a note below the photo in your Houzz ideabook to call out the design idea you like in that particular image. This will be helpful information to communicate with a design professional.
Once you have narrowed down your photos to create a more cohesive general style, it’s time to identify what you specifically like about each photo. Perhaps it’s the architectural quality of a row of plants silhouetted against a wall, a color palette of a meadow garden or the graceful curve of a deck.
You can add a note below the photo in your Houzz ideabook to call out the design idea you like in that particular image. This will be helpful information to communicate with a design professional.
When you look at your edited collection of inspiration images, can you tell if you’ve saved images with similar design principles and elements? For example, have you saved more images that show symmetrical design, or do you prefer asymmetrical layouts? Do you see a lot of straight lines or curves?
Identifying design principles that you’re drawn to can help guide the decision process for certain elements — such as hardscape design, plant selection and material choice — to result in a combination that works well and is aesthetically pleasing.
Ultimately, refining your landscape style is a process that will continue to change and evolve — much like gardens themselves.
Identifying design principles that you’re drawn to can help guide the decision process for certain elements — such as hardscape design, plant selection and material choice — to result in a combination that works well and is aesthetically pleasing.
Ultimately, refining your landscape style is a process that will continue to change and evolve — much like gardens themselves.
Working With a Professional
While a landscape architect or designer can help guide the process of refining your design style (and point out what’s feasible for your site), doing some prep work ahead of time will give you a clearer idea of where you’d like to steer your landscape. Plus, you’ll come into the first meeting well prepared, saving both you and the pro time (which could cut down on design fees).
While a landscape architect or designer can help guide the process of refining your design style (and point out what’s feasible for your site), doing some prep work ahead of time will give you a clearer idea of where you’d like to steer your landscape. Plus, you’ll come into the first meeting well prepared, saving both you and the pro time (which could cut down on design fees).
Tell us: How did you refine your landscape design style? Share or post photos in the Comments.
More on Houzz
How to Get Started on a Landscape Redesign
Work with a landscape designer in your area
Shop for outdoor products
More on Houzz
How to Get Started on a Landscape Redesign
Work with a landscape designer in your area
Shop for outdoor products
What are you working on?
Related Products
As a full-service, family-owned remodeling company in New Albany, OH, we strive to bring our clients incredible... Read More
Related Stories
Porches
Porch of the Week: Catching a Breeze in Austin, Texas
By Becky Harris
The new screened-in space has a beautiful fireplace as a focal point and includes lounging and dining spaces
Full Story
Before and Afters
Before and After: 4 Landscapes That Bring Resort Style Home
Stunning fire pits, luxurious pools, elegant entertaining zones and other relaxing spots give these yards vacation vibes
Full Story
Before and Afters
Before and After: 3 Exuberant, Wildlife-Friendly Landscapes
By Elena Vega
Ho-hum expanses give way to colorful meadow-inspired gardens that encourage butterflies, birds and bees to stay awhile
Full Story
Landscape Design
7 Key Features to Include in Your New Landscape Design
By Kate Burt
Looking to create a gorgeous outdoor space that suits your home and lifestyle? Start by considering these options
Full Story
Events
Outdoor Flooring, Turf and Tile Products for 2024
By Julie Sheer
See the latest materials for patios, decks and yards displayed at the recent Surfaces trade show
Full Story
Saving Water
10 Gardens That Capture and Drain Water With Style
Landscape pros design beautiful and hardworking gardens that effectively drain and manage rainwater and runoff
Full Story
Before and Afters
Yard of the Week: Ranch Home Opens Up to Indoor-Outdoor Living
A home and landscape makeover near Denver creates harmony and connection between interior and exterior spaces
Full Story
Patios
15 Outdoor Spaces That Rock Permeable Paving
These patios, paths and driveways showcase beautiful and integrated drainage solutions
Full Story
Outbuildings
Family Gatherings in Argentina Inspire a Pavilion and Guesthouse
By Becky Harris
A new yard adds room for hosting, swimming and bringing part of one homeowner’s culture to her family’s Seattle home
Full Story
Gardening Guides
What Will We Want in Our Landscapes in 2024?
Discover seven trends that landscape designers predict homeowners will be bringing into their outdoor spaces this year
Full Story
They're all very nice, however, I prefer landscaping that is more spaced out with plants not growing so close together. Personal preference of course.
I looked at our warming climate in Melbourne which is now becoming more like that of Sydney with climate change and thought about the level of maintenance that we could do. We also thought about limiting the overall initial expense and building our gardens in stages. We also thought about the uses our garden would have now and over time. My favourite gardener/garden was Mike McCoy who designed a gravel garden in the country for his first home for himself and his then very young children. McCoy used lots of bright pinks and acid greens in a very natural garden with some miscanthus grasses. We also looked at the colour of our brick home. All these considerations went into our garden which was designed by Stephen Read and featured Mediterranean plants such as lavenders, echiums, rosemary, sage, grapevine, olive and cypress trees and espaliered citrus of various varieties. We also used low water need plants such as euphorbia and succulents. We made spaces for quiet reflection away from the busyness of the house, a terrace under the canopy of a large loquat tree with a bbq, table and chairs and we added a roof on our pergola for alfresco dining, clear cafe blinds and heating and a fan on our patio at the start of covid to give us another ‘room’. The garden has evolved since we first started as the plants filled out the spaces and we have since removed the large echiums, some overgrown euphorbias, the tall miscanthus, one of the olive trees (for pool compliance reasons) and the grapevine (grapes are toxic for dogs) and we have added a climbing bougainvillea that blends with the colour of our brickwork on a warm northern wall at the front of the house and a couple of orange trees and two apples for eating in our side garden. We also added some bright pink salvias to continue the pink and acid green theme in the back gardens. We also continued the acid green and pink theme from the back garden into our renovated kitchen/family room which looks out into and now reflects those colors in the garden. Our current project is to lay a winding flagstone path bordered by plants and the espaliered citrus through our side garden. It’s has been and continues to be a lot of fun.
I'm planning a sort of garden just a few large tree specimens, shrubs and a natural pool. Another item to consider is how much time do you want to spend working in your garden or do you have the budget to employ a garden service? I'm going for simple and easy, house is 2 years old as I do not want to spend my weekends gardening. Cutting the grass is more than enough for me. The second pic is truly gorgeous. Thats my style. I hate weeding too and using anykind of weed killer is not an option.