Landscaping for Love and Laughter: Designs and Ideas

For many people, the thought behind garden landscaping is about as extensive as choosing some plants on the basis of how nice they look, and arranging things so the space is functional and attractive. Although this is a reasonable way to decorate the outdoor areas of your property, it's a shame when there's a tendency for people to put a lot more effort into designing their interiors. An interesting way to increase the thought behind your landscaping is to take direct influence from your interior design. By following a few simple guidelines, you can take the indoors outdoors and create a visually-pleasing flow between your home and garden.

Colours

This is the simplest way to make your garden complement one or more interior rooms, but it's also effective enough that you could use it on its own. You don't need to find flowers in every colour you use in your home, but try to pick out what the main ones are and echo them in your plant choices. If you use wallpaper, you might find there are some even more direct ways to take influence from your decor, especially if it has a floral design. Even if it doesn't, the patterns are sometimes reflected in the shape of flowers or plant stems.

Style

There's a good chance your personal tastes have dictated a particular style within your home, which is usually quite easy to expand outside. If, for example, you prefer a rustic, country style, pack your garden with simple, colourful plants and herbs. Often, the style of a home is based on that of a particular country or region, with some people having Mediterranean, Oriental, or Middle-Eastern styles. If you fall into this category, there are endless ways to take influence from it in your garden landscaping.

Textures

Using textures is not as straightforward as using colours, since the materials typically used inside and out are very different. However, with a bit of care, it can be a subtle but effective way to take your interior design into your outside landscape. Look for similar patterns and indentations in stone pavers and ornaments as you find in your textiles and art, and you're off to a good start.

Extra touches

Elements as subtle as the shapes of doorways can be mimicked outdoors with archways and structures for growing climbing plants. You could also experiment with growing some of the same plants indoors and out, as long as they're able to survive in both environments. Don't be afraid to experiment and find new ways to achieve the effect you're after.