Sometimes you need a retaining wall for purely practical reasons, but did you know that a retaining wall can rejuvenate a tired landscape by adding more usable space as well as beauty and value? Read on to find out about seven ways masonry contractors use retaining walls in Macomb and Canton, MI.
Most retaining walls aren’t installed with the idea of creating a focal point. But they can easily become one. Whether you are choosing natural stone or concrete alternatives, your new wall can add an eye-catching presence.
Aside from their chief purpose in holding back soil and controlling erosion, retaining walls are highly functional landscape elements. Retaining walls are the unsung heroes of landscaping for both sloped and flat terrains. Here’s how:
1. Defining Space
Define spaces with a retaining wall along the driveway or between the foundation plantings and a walkway. If your patio feels too exposed, a wall could give it a more intimate look without blocking the view.
Retaining walls can serve as backdrops for water features, an outdoor fireplace, or outdoor kitchen. They can also break up a large patio into more intimate spaces. Raised bed masonry planters filled with ornamental grasses provide a soft “wall” between activity zones. A sunken fire pit area with a built-in masonry seating wall becomes a memorable gathering space.
2. Visual Interest
To help make a sloped yard usable and beautiful, a series of terraces bring texture and visual interest as well as practical places to easily access edible gardens or dramatic outdoor living spaces.
Multi-level living provides a natural feel to optimizing the space according to views, privacy, proximity, and use. And what better way to tie these spaces together than with masonry walls. On a flat lot, retaining walls create much-needed vertical elements to prevent the landscape from being two-dimensional (flat grass and tall trees).
3. Overflow Seating
Low retaining walls provide overflow seating for large gatherings. You can also incorporate seating into functional retaining walls, which will help keep your outdoor space clutter-free.
4. Optical Illusions
Curved walls help to draw the eye to the walls themselves (as focal points) instead of to the size of the yard, to make a small area feel more spacious.
5. Old-World Charm
On a sloped lot, add a distinctive Mediterranean look with a series of narrow terraced areas for gardening and wide terraced outdoor living spaces. Then, consider a pergola covered in flowering climbing vines to finish the look.
On a flat lot, raised bed masonry planters can add a “been there forever” aesthetic. A reflecting pool is an elegant addition to your outdoor living space. If you prefer the sound of running water, a retaining wall with a Roman fountain can transport you back to a favorite vacation memory.
6. Unobtrusive Landscape Lighting
Incorporate landscape lighting into retaining walls to minimize the visual clutter of free-standing light fixtures. As a bonus, the play of downward- or upward-facing lights will bring attention to the wall textures. Your walls could become focal points after dark.
7. A Warm Welcome
An inward-curving retaining wall at your driveway entrance gives your home an elegant feel. A seat wall along the front entryway creates a warm embrace that welcomes visitors and prevents short-cutting through the lawn or plant beds.
