Building a lifestyle
Houses are built for living, but homes are built for life. Dean McGuigan from Golden Homes Canterbury tells us how thoughtful landscaping around your new home can help you build a dream lifestyle.
A big part of our life as Kiwis is spending time outdoors, particularly in our backyards at home.
When building a new home, you should be conscious of how the house will let you interact with your outdoor living space. I strongly suggest this is taken into consideration at the time you are designing your home – how it will sit on the site and how it will align with your outdoor space.
Where the sun rises and sets are crucial factors; remember to think about the time of day that you and your family spend most of your time outside.
If summer evening barbecues are your thing, then you’ll likely want to make sure you have good space close to your entertainment areas inside the home and with good flow to the outside barbecue area. Position the home and construct your landscaping to best utilise the way you live.
Don’t get me wrong, you don’t need to have an exact and complete landscaping plan for the rear of your property during the start of the building process; however, it is worth considering how the home you are building will impact the outdoor spaces you have left over after your home build is complete.
In order to obtain full developer’s approval on a build in a new subdivision, it is not uncommon for developers to require you to have a landscaping plan for the front of the property. This ensures the aesthetics of the subdivision are maintained and represent a consistent vision for the subdivision. A transparent building company will know that there are covenants for the section and can easily include a landscaping plan in your fixed price house and land package.
You will end up spending more time inside your home than outside; landscaping can be changed and worked on much easier than changing the layout of your house. However, great landscaping can make all the difference both to the enjoyment of your home and the value of your house.
0800 22 22 36 | goldenhomes.co.nz
