The top design trends dominating our backyards

design

From Hamptons to Balinese, Landscape Designer, Jason Hodges, shows us how to recreate an outdoor space that reflects your personal style.

Outdoor spaces have never been more in the spotlight. As we head into the warmer months, improving your outdoor space can be an affordable and achievable way to improve your lifestyle, and show your creative flair. Small outdoor projects and DIY-friendly tasks are an investment in your homes’ ‘kerb appeal’ and can increase the value of your home.

When we think of signature style, we usually think about fashion and home décor as expressions of personality, however, your outdoor space is another opportunity to showcase your personal style. Here Jason Hodges, award-winning landscape design expert and Adbri Masonry brand ambassador, shares his design tips for recreating the top five trending outdoor themes that can be personalised to suit your own style.

Hamptons Garden

Renowned for its coastal-chic styling, brought to life with a colour palette of whites with ocean blues, neutrals and stripes, the Hamptons style has inspired renovation projects across the globe. Australians have had a love affair with the Hamptons style for over a decade and this trend has only increased through the recent renovation boom. “The incredibly popular Hamptons styling trend is not limited to indoor decorating. Key design themes for a Hamptons garden include; lush green lawns, privacy hedging, and paved patio areas with styled outdoor settings,” says Jason.

Starting with paving as the foundation for your backyard renovation is a simple yet effective way to transform the space. “Paving may only take up 20% of your yard, but it draws most of your attention,” says Jason. When choosing the best product, the most important thing you will need to consider is the type of traffic your pavers will be exposed to, the heavier the traffic the thicker the paver selected should be.

To achieve the Hamptons look, consider colour and texture. Light-coloured pavers will complement greenery. Jason recommends a neat, square, large format paver like Adbri Masonry’s Euro Classic or Euro Stone in the 400x400mm profile. Opt for the vibrancy of the light Cyprus colour or the mid-grey tone or the Zurich colour as a striking base for your paved area.

Balinese Sanctuary

“The essence of Bali starts with a villa experience, a personal sanctuary away from your typically busy life,” says Jason. Homeowners can create a dream Bali- inspired oasis by following some simple design inspirations, colour schemes and clever planting that will make your outdoor space look lush and enjoyable all year round.

Think textured charcoal stepping stone pavers, a collection of greens through the planting scheme, bamboo screens and smooth pebbles to complete the look. Choose agaves, and frangipanis or bird of paradise plants to keep the tropical theme,” recommends Jason.

To perfect this theme, Adbri Masonry Natural Impressions Duostone offers a contrast of a natural stone-like texture and a contemporary, smooth surface are ideal for retaining walls to create varying levels of interest, and Adbri Masonry Euro Stone is the best choice for courtyards and garden paths. These pavers have been lightly shotblast, to exfoliate the surface and expose the natural aggregates found within. Additionally, they’re slip resistant, making them a perfect option for use around pools and water features.

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Palm Springs Modern

Palm Springs boasts one of the world’s most recognisable residential ‘looks’ and right now, it’s one of the biggest style inspirations for Australian homeowners. Made famous by mid-century modern designs featuring overhanging flat roofs, the iconic dry climate landscaping and accentuated furnishings. “Palm Springs is a design theme that perfectly suits the style of our homes with a focus on the outdoor areas and making the most of the climate,” says Jason.

The Palm Springs look starts with a contemporary coastal chic design infused with a touch of glamour that presents in a soft pastel colour palette and features décor pieces for a resort-style feel. Create the look with three to five iconic Californian fan palms, space agaves through the garden bed and plant out a feature cactus garden.

“Choose hard-wearing pavers over harder-to-maintain turf, use gravel in your garden beds and stay true to the pastel colour scheme. Embrace empty space, this is not a garden design to clutter,” adds Jason. “Adbri Masonry’s Verastone block features an architecturally inspired shot blast surface texture that exposes the natural aggregate stones in each block. They can be used for garden steps, straight garden walls or retaining walls.”

The essence of Palm Springs style is a seamless indoor-outdoor transition that leads to generous outdoor spaces where clean lines are prominent. Create privacy in the space with Adbri Masonry’s Breeze Blocks. This contemporary block marks the return of a unique series of screening, privacy and ventilation masonry units. With a stylish diamond profile, use in designs to achieve airflow and natural light infiltration while retaining a sense of permanency and security.

Japanese Zen Style

Australians’ love affair with Japan has been on the rise for years. Fortunately, Aussie homeowners can now bring the best of Japan into their backyards with a low-cost Zen-style garden. “Now more than ever, people want their backyards to be safe and private,” says Jason. Zen gardens are low maintenance, relaxing and enjoyable to be in.

“Create the look with varied textural elements and contrast between hard and soft landscapes; gravels and grass, feature stones of varying sizes and practical step stone pavers in greys or charcoals will set the mood. A Zen garden is designed to be a place to relax so by design, it should be low maintenance. Pot some feature plants, select a water feature for ambience and plant out some mini mondo grass,” says Jason.

Australian Rural

Australia is blessed with a year-round climate and an incredible natural environment. For homeowners with a larger outdoor area, an Aussie- inspired backyard is a great design choice because they’re as practical as they are visually pleasing. “The key to designing a good rural-inspired garden is to treasure your space and have discipline around how you fill it. I recommend taking full advantage of the space by creating an alfresco dining area. In adding a fire pit, you can make this area the central entertaining spot. Install some casual seating in the way of log stools and make maintenance easy by bordering the garden with a simple concrete Lawn Edge paver. Create some shade with a eucalyptus tree which will give you a special spot to enjoy throughout the day,” advises Jason.

Building the firepit is an easy DIY project using Adbri’s Miniwall blocks. For the patio areas and footpaths try using Adbri’s Havenbrick, a versatile concrete brick paver that’s easy to lay and offers a modern look with bevel on all four edges.

For more information on backyard DIY projects, visit www.adbrimasonry.com.au

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