Retaining walls can be more than functional features of a landscape in Person County and Granville County, NC. In addition to holding back soil, they can actually provide a certain aesthetic value that also provides a property with character. In fact, well-made, carefully designed and constructed retaining walls can add to a landscape’s beauty. Here are some considerations when considering materials and design options for retaining walls.
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Here we’ll cover how retaining walls can be made in a way that combines beauty and functionality for an altogether pleasing, property-enhancing result. You’ll want to consider other features around your landscape, such as a prominent outdoor fireplace and your patio, when choosing whether the wall blocks should be highly textured or a subtle coloring. Retaining walls can be created to be focal points in their own right or more of a background feature.
Front Yard Beauty
Especially for hillside properties, a front-facing retaining wall may represent the first feature a person sees when viewing your house. Is it conveying a sense of privacy or is it helping to make your home look inviting? A retaining wall that doubles as a seating wall could exude a welcoming effect, if that’s your preference. If the wall is on the back of the property, that doesn’t mean it is without artistic value; you’ll be the one looking at it when relaxing in the backyard.
A Neoclassical Style
The neoclassical period hit Rome around the 1700s, and its influences on architecture have persisted and are often reflected in some of the expert block work seen in modern houses in the U.S. This type of retaining wall retains the look and feel of the ancients, yet is built with modern precision for a long-lasting structure.
Integrated Stairs
Some retaining walls simply stop where stairs are necessary, but a good way to lend artistry and grace to your retaining wall is an in-set stairway. So, if the front yard of your property were a hundred feet wide, maybe at the 45 foot mark there’s a 10 foot wide stairway that leads visitors upward, toward the front door.
The wall could appear to curve inward, and it could even taper to a point if you like; there are a lot of ways to approach this option. If stairs were made of a similar material, and properly integrated, this design would be quite pleasing to the eye and simultaneously functional.
The Layered Approach: A Tiered Wall
Sometimes what makes sense is tiering the retaining wall. Maybe the highly textured structure begins with a 3 foot tier that’s topped with beautiful flowers. Perhaps at the back of that tier, you’ve got another 3 foot retaining wall that is likewise covered in foliage. This approach can solve a sloping issue while providing you with access to flowers that you can easily cut to enjoy inside.
An Angled Approach
Retaining walls typically feature wall blocks stacked atop one another in an alternating pattern for strength. The top of the wall could have its own tiered effect, purely for aesthetic reasons, such as the look of stairs. A mild slope could look quite beautiful in the right setting, like a long row of miniature steps.
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