Not all retaining walls are built to solve erosion problems—some can serve a more expansive purpose of adding beauty and improving the functionality of a landscape. These ideas for retaining walls can prove useful in outdoor entertainment and for more visual interest in a New Lenox and Manhattan, IL, area yard.
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To Border a Fire Feature
A fireplace or firepit can be just what your landscape needs to add ambiance and a focal point but it typically doesn’t just stand alone. This can be where a retaining wall can increase the application of a stone wall feature to be something more than just pretty.
A low brick or stone retaining wall can fan out from both sides of a fireplace to hold nooks for extra dry firewood so that you don’t have to go searching for more as the fire burns down. You can also add storage space there for throws, pillows, and other items you might need when sitting near the fire. As the retaining wall surrounds the fireplace, it is low enough to serve as additional seating for guests or a serving space for the smores ingredients.
A firepit is similar in that the surrounding wall can be more seats, especially when your landscape specialist incorporates landscape lighting tucked underneath the flat cap on top of the wall.
To Define Outdoor Spaces
When you love to entertain but don’t want everything crammed together, a retaining wall has a unique way of bringing distinct outdoor spaces to your yard. Even if your landscape space is relatively flat, a skilled landscaper can design an elevated dining area for meals al fresco or if there is a slight slope, gorgeous and wide stone steps can transition between the patio and the dining area.
Whether the dining space is elevated or headed down the hill, the land between can be the ideal place to install a retaining wall to remedy the awkward shift of height. This retaining wall space can become a spot to plant your favorite blooming flowers or to nestle herbs for cooking there. In this way, a retaining wall creates distinct entertainment spaces while also giving you customized planting space.
To Expand for a Pergola or Pavilion
If you already have a patio but would love to create a private room for lounging with friends, a retaining wall can be added to complement this space, too. Expanding your patio to include a pergola or pavilion can be the exact spot you come to love for entertaining guests.
In this case, the retaining wall can encircle the area where the pergola or pavilion is built to identify this as a special spot in the landscape and to add more privacy if you need it. Because a pergola can be as large as you want, having the retaining wall will also add more seating for those who want to join in the conversation but the couches are full.
However a retaining wall is incorporated into your New Lenox and Manhattan, IL, area yard, it can serve multiple functions to increase the available entertaining space and to add more intimacy for your events. Your landscape specialist can assess your landscape space to plan the retaining wall to make any outdoor space better.
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