2024 Landscape Design Trends to Improve Your Landscape

Now that 2024 is in full swing, many homeowners will be thinking about their landscaping goals and projects for the year. Burkholder offers some 2024 landscape design trends to incorporate into home landscapes. Now is the time to meet with your hardscape and landscape contractor, and these trends for 2024 are versatile and practical enough to be suitable for any property.

Hardscapes

In 2024, hardscape landscape design trends focus on creating luxurious and functional outdoor spaces. One of the standout themes is “Quiet Luxury,” which emphasizes timeless design with a focus on natural and elegant materials. Warm tones are being introduced to offer a cozy and inviting atmosphere in outdoor spaces. The use of natural stone is also prominent, with products like sandstone slabs and granite colors often being chosen to add a touch of sophistication and durability to outdoor designs.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a key trend, with the integration of permeable pavers that add aesthetic value and address environmental concerns by minimizing runoff and pollutants. Creative use of outdoor spaces is encouraged, transforming areas like slopes or outdoor stairways into multi-level edible gardens or incorporating floral-patterned patio slabs to enhance greenery.

Pavers

Trends in paver shapes and colors are aligning with modern architectural designs, incorporating different combinations such as hexagons and diamonds to complement contemporary homes. Patio preferences are adapting to property sizes, with more compact designs using smaller pavers for smaller lots and bigger pavers or slabs for expansive patios with designated areas for entertainment spaces. The incorporation of bold patterns and textures is also on the rise in 2024 landscape design trends. Linear designs and creative curves are making their way into hardscape features, bringing dynamic shapes and movement into outdoor spaces. This trend includes the use of paver mosaics for circular patterns and the strategic placement of pavers to create engaging visual effects. You might see a section of pavers surrounded by darker or lighter pavers to create a space separation or just a pleasing aesthetic.

These trends reflect a shift towards more sustainable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing outdoor living spaces, highlighting the importance of integrating hardscape elements that not only complement the home’s architecture but also enhance the overall outdoor experience.

Outdoor Kitchens and Dining Areas

Outdoor kitchens in 2024 are evolving to cater to contemporary homeowners’ needs for spaces that go beyond cooking to entertaining, relaxing, and connecting with nature. The focus is on modular designs that offer flexibility to match personal lifestyle needs and environmental consciousness with the use of eco-friendly materials. Gas grills continue to dominate due to their convenience, but people seem to have a growing interest in versatile cooking options like pizza ovens and Kamado-style grills. The design of these outdoor spaces is also integrating multipurpose areas that combine cooking with entertainment and relaxation zones.

In addition to these trends, outdoor decks are seeing innovations like fire features for warmth and ambiance, eco-friendly designs utilizing sustainable materials, and modular furniture for adaptable layouts. Smart technology is also making its way outdoors, with AI-powered gadgets, including grills and other appliances enhancing the functionality and convenience of these spaces. Statement lighting in outdoor kitchen areas is key for setting the right mood and ensuring safety after sunset.

Outdoor Lighting

Great lighting for a patio, deck, path, pool, or other focal points in the backyard will always be popular. Outdoor lighting design trends in 2024 are focusing on blending functionality with aesthetic appeal, creating inviting and sophisticated outdoor spaces.

Smart Lighting

One of the key trends is the integration of smart outdoor lighting systems. These systems offer convenience and customizability, allowing homeowners to control lighting through smartphone apps, schedule lighting to match the natural daylight cycle, and choose from hundreds of presets to create the perfect ambiance for any occasion. This trend also includes smart security lighting, which adds an extra layer of security with motion detection and alerts.

Ambient and Invisible Lighting

Both ambient and invisible lighting play essential roles in creating inviting and functional outdoor spaces. Ambient lighting is gaining popularity for its ability to create a warm and inviting outdoor atmosphere. This trend includes diffused wall light fixtures and string lights, utilizing materials like rattan and wicker to provide a soft glow that enhances the coziness of outdoor areas.

Invisible lighting blends the illumination into the landscape. Techniques such as lighting the vital points and junctures of a path and hiding the lights that brighten up the home landscape are elements of invisible lighting landscaping trends. For example, long, linear lights beneath landscape structures create the illusion of floating structures. People are becoming more interested in seeing the light rather than the lighting fixtures, so invisible lighting will continue to gain traction in 2024.

Specific lighting trends such as bistro or string lights, moonlighting from trees, pool area lighting, hardscape lighting around fire pits, and safety lighting for natural stone steps are other popular trends. These trends focus on creating specific moods and enhancing safety in outdoor spaces, transforming them into functional, and attractive areas for various uses.

By embracing these trends, homeowners can create outdoor spaces that are functional and safe and also align with modern aesthetic preferences, making the outdoor areas an extension of their indoor living spaces.

Low-Maintenance Landscape Care

While many people love spending time outdoors, most of them likely prefer spending their time relaxing or playing outdoors instead of working. As a result, homeowners continue looking for ways to keep their landscape beautiful and make lawn care more manageable and convenient.

Native Plants in Landscape Design

While many people love spending time outdoors, most of them likely prefer spending their time relaxing or playing outdoors instead of working. As a result, homeowners continue looking for ways to keep their landscape beautiful and make lawn care more manageable and convenient.

One of the most obvious ways, and one of the 2024 landscape design trends that looks to sustainability, is the addition of native plants. Incorporating native plants and drought-tolerant species into landscape design offers numerous benefits for homeowners. These plants are inherently adaptable to the local climate, requiring minimal maintenance and water once established. Their ability to thrive in challenging conditions makes them ideal for landscapes in the Main Line area, where we get cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers.

By choosing native plants and drought-tolerant species, homeowners can create beautiful, functional outdoor spaces that require less upkeep and contribute to the sustainability of the local environment.

In addition to native plants, natural stone for patios, shrubs, and trees can help create a beautiful, unique landscape while needing minimal care. Using natural elements and intelligent design, you can maintain quality and a low-maintenance landscape more efficiently in 2024 than in previous years. And, of course, many residents choose to have professionals, like Burkholder’s professional maintenance team, take care of lawn mowing, tree and shrub pruning, and bed maintenance. Our sister company, Burkholder PHC, offers comprehensive plant health care to keep valuable landscape plants and trees thriving.

Start Planning Your New Landscaping Design Project Today

Burkholder’s team of landscapers and designers has the skills and passion for creating your ideal landscape. Our landscape professionals have served Main Line communities like Malvern, Villanova, and Bryn Mawr for decades, understanding their needs and providing all landscaping services. Contact us today to learn more about 2024 landscape design trends or our services.

Blog is originally published at: https://www.burkholderlandscape.com/landscaping-design-trends-to-improve-your-landscape/

It is republished with the permission from the author.