Are you ready to create the “Ultimate Staycation” right in your own backyard? In order to execute your vision, the design team at Gallivan Corporation suggests several tips in preparing for your initial design consultation. They include:
1. Planning is Essential
When planning the layout of your outdoor design enhancements, it is important to discuss how the property will be used. By planning ahead, and in phases, all the projects that are executed year after year will fit nicely together into your overall vision. This will avoid having to backtrack or overspend on future adjustments. For example, if we clearly layout the patio area, fire pit, outdoor kitchen, pool, etc. ahead of time, there will be no need to demo past work to fit future projects.
2. Gather Ideas/Do Your Homework
In this day and age, there are a variety of social media sites that allow you to collect ideas and inspiration. Pinterest being one of the top, will allow you to create boards for each outdoor enhancement. For example, you can create a board for stonework, outdoor kitchens, landscape, etc. and add images to the boards that reflect your taste and style. Based on these inspirational photos, we will personalize a plan in phases that suites your budget and outdoor space. Houzz.com is another great social media site to gather your favorite ideas. If you prefer, you can always pull pages out of magazines as well to create your own book of design concepts. The old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” holds true when it comes to outdoor design enhancements. Being able to clearly relay to our design team what your “Ultimate Staycation” looks like makes the design process much easier.
3. Visit our Online Portfolio
Over the years, we’ve gathered many photos of past projects to show off our work and capabilities. We suggest visiting our online gallery and pinning (to your Pinterest boards) the projects that are visually appealing to you. It can be the whole project or part of a project, perhaps it is the shape of the patio or more specifically the stonework that you like. By piecing together highlights of a variety of projects, we can work alongside you to create a unique design that fits your style.
4. Determine Your Entertaining Needs
Whether your extending your outdoor space to just your close friends and family or you plan on entertaining for the masses, determining how you plan on using the space is key to the planning process. Do you want to incorporate a swimming pool for your kids and their friends? To keep the activities outside, do you want to create an outdoor kitchen area or pool house? Or is your vision to create a quiet, peaceful area that includes beautiful stonework, a patio and water features highlighted with outdoor lighting? Take the time to explore all your wants and needs for your outdoor space to get the most out of the planning process.
5. Be Open Minded
There are so many design ideas out there that it can become overwhelming. Therefore, our job is to guide you through the process by piecing together all your hopes and dreams into the ultimate outdoor design plan. With that being said, what you want to put in your backyard and what your space will allow can be two different things. That is where our creativity comes in. We’ll make design suggestions, based on your ideas and custom to your outdoor space, that fits your budget. During this process, your outdoor space will come alive while becoming unique to you and your family’s needs.
Be sure to contact the team at Gallivan Corporation to schedule an initial consultation with our custom landscape designers. And remember to follow these tips to prepare for your meeting with us!