The Ultimate Guide
Minnesota homeowners love their outdoor spaces.
We marvel at the raw beauty of a typical Minnesota winter. The rest of the year we take full advantage of everything our region has to offer, pristine lakes, majestic forests, and flowing meadows.
It’s no wonder the modern features that make the outdoor environment special are often a home’s most exciting features, and many of them are made possible only with the hands of master landscape carpenters.
Hand-crafted decks and fences were once considered passe, but no more. New materials and construction methods have made them must-have features for a new generation of homeowners. Pergolas, arbors, and three-season rooms are sought after outdoor living features.
When their relationship with the primary residence and the property is just right, the outcomes can be magical. Well-designed outdoor spaces are intentional, designed from the beginning with the home to make the combination greater than the sum of its parts.
It turns out most home budgets are first dedicated to indoor spaces. This is not such a bad thing, because it gives the family time to discover how they want to live with it. This leads to a greater understanding for doing the same outdoors.
This is accomplished with the consultation of landscape architects and designers, and of course, the craftsmen and women who skillfully interpret their ideas to make them a reality.
As with any other practice or discipline, the more you know about it the easier it is to make optimal choices and decisions to make your project successful. We’ve organized this guide into categories that align with the typical process of imagining, building, and enjoying an outdoor living lifestyle with help of professional landscape designers and builders.
Scroll down to find the full table of contents.
Creative Decks and Terraces for Every Activity
No different than their stone and brick cousins, wooden and composite decks and terraces work best when they look, feel, and function as if they are part of the home.
Landscape carpentry is in great demand here in Minnesota because many homes are built on sites that require the use of carpentry methods to adapt to the inevitable elevation changes.
Wood, composite, and now aluminum decks and terraces are often used to transition from the home to desired elevations where hardscape structures are more appropriate. They each have distinct advantages, and the resulting outcomes can capture the best of both.
Imagine waking up in the morning and stepping out onto your deck to breathe in Nature’s freshness and aliveness. Now imagine going further out into the landscape to your gazebo where you will enjoy another breathtaking moment as the sun rises.
Hand-crafted landscape structures such as gazebos and pergolas punctuate, transition, and facilitate the dance among people and Nature. Therefore, they are instantly noticed and recognized as signature features in exceptional landscapes.
Seasonal Outdoor Rooms for Work and Play
As working at home becomes the norm, families are adapting to these lifestyle changes by reimagining how they can use their available spaces.
The first step to boosting your home office productivity is choosing a space that you can make functional. If time or the budget is limited, you can repurpose a spare bedroom, set up a makeshift corner basement, or move out to the garage.
That last one may be a little tricky here in Minnesota, but it can be accomplished with a little help from a creative carpenter or remodeling contractor.
The most popular trend is moving past the walls, out into your own backyard.
One of the challenges of working from home is eliminating day to day distractions. Physically leaving the house helps many people get into a work mindset.
Forget about work for a moment and consider building your happy place. It can serve as your office or studio or a unique place to enjoy the company of friends.
As real estate prices continue to escalate, there may be no better time than now.
Functional Outdoor Storage That Knows Its Place
When you spend more time outside you discover your need and wants are much the same as those for your indoor spaces.
Outdoor grilling sparks the idea that it would be nice to enjoy the meal outdoors too. Soon your thoughts turn to seating, then protection from sun and unwanted pests, and so on. Before you know it, a screened porch is born.
As families spend more time outdoors, they soon realize they need convenient and weather-proof storage. If you want to readily enjoy your favorite activities and keep your spaces tidy, you will need accessible storage. After all, your outdoor spaces are in full view to everyone.
The best solution is planning to build storage that is part of the design, making it either invisible or an intentional feature. You can build into and under decks or build benches on them with storage underneath. This storage solution doubles as seating or workspace for outdoor entertaining.
A skilled landscape carpenter can be a valuable resource for storage alternatives. They know how to work with the materials of their trade and can most likely build what you can imagine.
Resist the temptation to live with the clutter when the right storage is what you really need.
Architectural Elements and Structures to Elevate Your Style
Introducing architectural landscape elements into a residential environment instantly distinguishes it. The investment may be moderate, but the uncommon talent required to design and construct these unique features is highly valued.
These elements span the spectrum from utilitarian fences, gates, and walls to elegant pergolas, arbors, and trellis. All of them serve their purpose, and that can be accomplished with elegance and style.
When choosing building materials for many of these elements, the purists will insist that wood is the gold standard. There’s nothing that adds warmth and natural beauty like wood, not to mention the character and charm that it acquires with time.
There are alternative materials that can prove to be more durable. For a natural, rustic appearance, unfinished iron can be a stunning alternative if that nod to industry is appropriate. If low maintenance is the priority, there are numerous man-made composites that carpenters know how to use in place of natural lumber.