Design and planning
Many of us, at some point in time, will find ourselves daydreaming of ways to improve, refresh or change the space we live in.
There are many things you can do to breathe new life into a tired space, some more drastic than others. Your decisions will be influenced by your budget, the value-add to your property and the direct benefit to you. Whatever scale of work you choose to undertake, the process is similar; and the more time you spend initially researching and planning is time and money saved in implementation.
The Source Book – Second Edition is a must-have book for design ideas and selecting plants and materials for your outdoor space. The book covers hundreds of materials and products for outdoor spaces—from traditional timber, brick, stone, cement, metal and tiles, to innovative materials like river stones, ceramics, stainless steel, polished stone and recycled timber.
This section provides an overview of the design and planning stages when renovating or completing a make-over of your outdoor room. These stages will be similar in any design process, the more work you plan to do, the more planning will be required.
Pre-Design
This is the ‘dream’ stage. Here you work through what it is that you are trying to achieve—is it more space, privacy, storage, opening up a space for more light, for entertaining, dining, providing weather protection, creating a secluded haven or a safe place for children to play? What is the best way to achieve this?
Try to identify the unique aspects of your site and take advantage of these—views, light, shade, existing vegetation, neighbours, site lines. The constraints and opportunities of your site will provide inspiration for the design. Budget limitations may further curb the design. Another option could be to break the project down into stages, treat it like a work in progress and tackle it in parts. This will mean you can divide the financial burden and work with any time restrictions you may have, especially if doing the work yourself. The challenge will be to keep the momentum and make sure you complete it.
Whether you will be employing
professional landscape designers or doing it yourself, all these questions and approaches will help you in developing a detailed design brief. This brief will be invaluable in terms of maintaining your vision throughout the project, assisting with decision making along the way and subsequently ensuring all the boxes are ticked at the end of the project.
Useful Checklists
— Site Survey and Council Regulations
— What You Want
— Environmental Considerations
Design
Once you have identified what it is that you want, how is it all going to come together? You may find yourself with too many ideas. It is always a good idea to take a break, remove yourself from your brainstorming and come back to it with fresh eyes. Try to keep things simple—sometimes less is more. For inspiration or to get a design quote check out
Patio residential designs.
Depending on the scale of work, it is important to understand that there may be many elements to manage at one time—council regulations need to be adhered to, there may be structural and site surveys required, engineering reports etc; so do your research, take note of your skills and limitations and know when to call in the experts.
Materials and finishes will determine the style and feel of your garden or outdoor room. See also
seasonal inspirations for how you can work seasonal considerations into your design. Budget will again factor in here but you may be able to research using recycled or repurposed products. Also consider how your selection will weather over time—what kind of maintenance will be required? These are important questions to consider as the answers will influence your choices. Timber decking feels great underfoot, however, timber does require maintenance and if you are not prepared for that, there will be other options more suitable for you.
Useful Checklists
— Making A Plan
Site Preparation
The site will need to be prepared before construction can begin. Again, the scale of work will determine the extent of the site preparation. This can include clearing the site of vegetation (council approval will be needed for tree removal), excavation and leveling of the earth, structural footings, retaining walls and drainage. All the things that happen below the surface to allow for your lifestyle above.
Also bear in mind how the site will be accessed during construction. If there are contractors coming in to assist or any machinery or equipment required to complete the job, how will they access the area and at what stage of the work?
Before any digging commences make sure you check with the Dial Before You Dig service on 1100, or visit
www.1100.com.au to avoid any underground wiring or plumbing.
Useful Checklists
— Before You Start Building
Construction
Now the fun begins when you will start to see all your planning coming together. Project management can be quite a stressful stage, depending on the scale of work, as there may be many elements to manage all at once.
This is where you can rely on all your initial planning and decision making, refer back to your design brief, project plans or contractor reports. Remember, there is a whole industry out there doing this every day—so don’t be afraid to ask for help.
