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Landscaping in Akron, OH, might sound a little challenging at first, given the amount of snow it receives in the winter. But there are many options for outdoor designs that allow you to enjoy your outside space all year round. Creating a landscape involves two very different steps that in the end have to come together in order to create harmony. One is deciding on what sort of vegetation you will cultivate, from flowers to trees, to even types of grass. This is known as softscaping. Hardscaping refers to all the man-made structures in your landscape architecture. From a simple patio to a fully equipped outdoor kitchen, hardscaping enables you to create elegant and comfortable outside spaces as extensions of your home.
Sitting Patio
A patio is an essential outdoor living space that serves as a gathering point and outdoor family room. Create beautiful focal points by building your patio with seating walls, fire features or other vertical elements. Estate Wall is the perfect wallstone if you are going for a relaxed rustic or understated manorial elegance, given its antique-textured finish. Another option for incorporating an air of comfort and elegance into your patio seating or vertical structures is Rivercrest Wall.
Retaining Walls
Many people believe retaining walls only serve a practical purpose. But while that may be their primary function, these walls can be used as accent points to create small flower beds or a sophisticated way to build different levels in a steep yard. Pisa2 is a wall system with a design that works perfectly for correcting slopes and creating curved walls.
Fire Pit / Fireplace
The cold of Akron winters makes a fire pit an essential element. A fire pit can be a great option to ensure you can still enjoy your landscape with friends and family on dry winter days. Brussels Dimensional System and Rivercrest Wall have the look and structure for building stylish fire pits that contribute understated beauty and the heat resistance needed for a fire feature. Depending on the size of your backyard, you can even go for a patio with a built-in fireplace. In this case, you can opt for pre-built fireplaces such as Tuscany or Bella from Unilock. Both are built with the wall stones mentioned above and contribute warmth and ambience to your patio. Complete the space with comfortable sofas and chairs for maximum coziness.
Related Read: Fire Pit vs Fireplace: Which Outdoor Feature is Right for your OH Patio?
Outdoor Kitchen
If you think an outdoor kitchen means a massive construction project, you don’t need to go that far – although nothing is stopping you. The level of complexity depends on how much you enjoy cooking outside, but you can just go for a simple, elegant design equipped with a grill and wet bar. An outdoor kitchen makes entertaining guests that much easier. Lineo Dimensional Stone, Estate Wall and Rivercrest Wall all offer the durability and class needed for building grill islands and other outdoor kitchen accessories.
Swimming Pool
Akron has an average of 165 days of sun and heat. That is almost half of the year, so considering a backyard pool is not a bad idea. Create a lounge around your pool using natural looking paving stones such as Treo Classic or Avante Ashlar. For coping around the pool, consider Brussels Fullnose coping. Its round, smooth edge is comfortable for feet and hands, while still providing a safe non-slip surface.
The title image features an outdoor fireplace built from Brussels Dimensional System, the surrounding patio paved with Umbriano.
