Hardscaping is a trend in itself. There’s more to outdoor living than a patio, especially here in the Bay Area where the weather beckons almost all year long. Hardscapes add both functionality and visual interest that make your home and surroundings unique. So what happens when the hardscaping trend meets the holidays?
Trend: Decoration is more popular than ever
It’s time to celebrate! What better backdrop for your lights, holiday-themed motifs and even entire scenes than the structural elements of your home and yard? Walkways, patios and decks, porches, fences, walls, and of course your front lawn all call to your inner decorator this time of year.
One of the many benefits of artificial grass is its winter-friendliness. No mud or puddles to get in the way of your holiday decorations, just a pretty, even expanse in one of the season’s trendiest colors – green!
Before you get started, we recommend reading our recent blog on the dos and don’ts of decorating on your artificial grass, if you haven’t seen it already. That way, you’ll be able to maximize your display creativity without worrying about damage to your lawn.
Then go wild decorating your hardscaping:
- Put some holiday throw pillows on your outdoor furniture.
- Line your walkway or patio with luminarias.
- Hang wreaths and candy canes on upright surfaces.
- Wrap railings, fences, furniture, and your mailbox with garland.
- Turn last summer’s tomato cages upside down (pointed tips up) and wrap with white or colored lights to make decorative “trees.”
- Fill festive containers with pine cones, boughs of greens and holly, or weather-proof ornaments. Evergreens will last for weeks, even without water.
- Spruce up your summer pots with cold-weather pansies or tiny evergreens and herbs, add some ribbon or ornaments and arrange them on your front porch, along your front walkway or around the back patio.
And don’t forget to decorate your trees. They’re not exactly “hardscape” items, but they are permanent, foundational landscape elements. Why not start a tradition this year, by purchasing a living tree to plant outside, where you can enjoy (and decorate) it every year as it grows.
Trend: More lights
Whether you plan to light up your house like a, well, Christmas tree, or you’re designing a more subtle display, odds are you’ll be using more lights than in the past. It’s easy to go crazy and create unique looks using all your hardscapes.
Whenever you’re using electrical power, safety is paramount, so this article from Gardenista is another must-read. It explains everything you should consider as you’re planning your electrical display. Remember to run the cords where they will be least visible but, most importantly, unlikely to trip someone. Using battery-operated lights will reduce the number of extension cords and make it easier to create lighted “islands” on your lawn and upright surfaces.
Trend: Outdoor gatherings
Outdoor kitchens are one of the hottest hardscaping trends, and they’re perfect for holiday entertaining. Move your entire open house or holiday dinner outdoors, including the cooking. Or set up the bar outdoors, to relieve indoor congestion.
No full kitchen (yet) in your backyard? Bring your TV outside and pull up some chairs around your fire pit, to stay toasty watching the game, enjoying a hot beverage, or roasting marshmallows for your pumpkin pie.
And grab a pad of paper and a pencil to start sketching. If you plan now, you can have a built-in outdoor kitchen ready for next year. Just imagine all the ways it can augment your faux lawn for outdoor entertaining, for any holiday and all those spur-of-the-moment get-togethers in between.
