Luxury Outdoor Design: Creating High-End Landscape Retreats

Trees, bushes, and flowers are all beautiful gifts by nature.

But it’s not always easy to create something luxurious with them. After all, greens and flowers are naturally beautiful, but they’re not exactly luxurious or sophisticated.

With the right hardscapes and materials though, and a careful selection of plants, you’ll have yourself a stunning luxurious outdoor space in no time.

Here’s how.

Get A Professional

The easiest and most effortless way to achieve a luxurious landscape is of course to get a reliable landscaper like Boise Landscaping Company to carry out the project.

Luxury landscaping often involves expensive materials, hardscapes, and a keen eye for design.

When you’re working with expensive materials and hardscapes, not only can landscape companies help you get better deals as they’re buying in bulk, but they also make sure installation is done right and none of the materials will be wasted.

Landscaping companies will naturally also have a keen eye for design, and will know how to make all the pieces fit together to achieve the result that you want.

So while you would be paying for the expertise and labor, consider that you’re also getting some savings on the materials, and preventing any wasted costs on failed installations.

You’d also likely get a better result overall than if you were to carry out the project on your own.

Still, for those on a budget, DIYing is also a viable option as long as you know what you’re doing. And that’s exactly what we’re going to cover.

1. Luxury Materials And Finishes

Needless to say, high-end materials and finishes are a key element of luxury landscapes.

Your patio, your paths and walkways, your water features, everything should feature high-end materials and finishes.

You’re not paying for expensive materials to show how expensive your landscape is, but rather because high-end materials and finishes often have an exquisite beauty that lower-end materials just can’t imitate.

Higher-end materials don’t just look better either, they also tend to last longer and are more durable.

Natural Stones

Natural stone is one of the most popular materials for luxury landscaping. It’s also one of the most expensive materials, and for good reason.

Natural stones like granite, marble, and limestone each have unique textures and aesthetics that lower-end materials can’t mimic.

There are versatile materials like concrete that can be manufactured to mimic the look of natural stones, but they can’t fully imitate them, as their natural beauty is just that exquisite.

Natural stones are also very tough and have long lifespans, something that lower-end alternatives don’t always have.

Premium Hardwoods

Higher-end hardwoods like teak and ipe are popular for decks.

Same as with natural stone, lower-end alternatives like pine can be made to look like them, but they can’t fully mimic their rich beauty.

Again, lower-end alternatives also lack the longevity and durability of higher-end hardwoods.

Premium Composites

Composites are man-made materials that combine two or more recycled materials.

While it may not sound like the most luxurious material, premium composites can actually cost as much as or even more than natural stones.

This is because they can be manufactured to be very durable and long-lasting, even more so than natural stone. And given that they’re made almost from scratch, they can be highly customized to look as good as natural stones.

They’re also more environmentally friendly, so premium composites are a great choice for keeping up with the times and being eco-friendly while still getting the aesthetics you want.

Finishing Techniques

Finishing techniques like polishing, staining, stamping, and sealing can make lower-end materials almost as good as higher-end materials, and can make higher-end materials even better.

These techniques can enhance aesthetics to a large extent, giving lower-end materials a higher-end look and giving high-end materials an even higher-end look. They can also enhance the longevity of any material.

2. Choosing The Right Plants

Generally, you want your plants to be mostly greens so that they don’t take away from the exquisite hardscapes.

There can be some color here and there, but too much will end up making your outdoor space seem less luxurious. While plants have a natural beauty, and they can look absolutely breathtaking, it’s hard to achieve that luxurious look, especially ones that grow more wildly.

As such, it’s usually best to go with greens so that the attention will go to your hardscapes.

Make sure to choose greens that can be cut into neat shapes, as messy growth will spoil the refined, elegant look of your luxury landscape.

3. Water Features

Water features are a must-have for any landscape, not least a luxury landscape.

Water features introduce tranquility and serenity to an outdoor space, and those are things that any landscape could use, whether it’s a luxury landscape, a minimalist landscape, a cottage garden, or even an indoor garden.

When done right, a water feature will elevate the look of any outdoor space, including luxury landscapes.

For luxury landscapes, water features like infinity pools, grand waterfalls, or exquisite fountains will take your landscape to the next level.

4. Advanced Technology

When you see a home with a smart TV, a robot vacuum, and a smart lock, what do you think?

Luxury, right?

Because luxury isn’t just about what the eye sees. It’s about better quality of life. Silk robes, massage chairs, air conditioning, these are all things that are pricey, but improve our quality of life.

Technology, especially advanced ones, are often costly because they make our lives so much better.

So when you feature advanced technology in your outdoor area, not only does it show how much you’ve invested into your space, but it improves the functionality and enjoyment of your outdoor space, which signals luxury.

It signals that you’re able and willing to spend more to live a better life.

Some great pieces of technology to have are smart lighting systems that can automatically adjust to light levels, temperature control in your swimming pool, outdoor audio systems, temperature control, and so on.

Ending Off

So now that you know what it takes to create a luxury landscape, here’s a final tip. Budget, budget, budget.

You may have noticed that every one of the elements mentioned here are going to be quite taxing on your wallet. That’s just what it takes to create a luxury landscape. You can’t fake it with lower-end materials or features.

So before you embark on your luxury landscaping project, make sure to plan everything out in advance and be doubly sure that you’re ready to make the investment. This way, you won’t end up with a half-completed luxury landscape that is neither here nor there.