Is 2025 your year to start a long-awaited outdoor transformation? Whether the goal is a restful, rustic retreat or a lively hub for entertaining, the right plan can bring the vision to life without breaking the bank. Unlock your backyard’s full potential by following a step-by-step process to keep your project on time and on budget while making the most out of your own version of the great outdoors!
1. Define Your Goals
Backyard makeovers should include features that fit your lifestyle – like a built-in grill station.
First, determine what the purpose of your new outdoor living area will be and establish priorities around that. Will it be a spa-like relaxation spot? An outdoor cooking and eating space to share your backyard BBQ prowess with family and friends? Or maybe an expanded play area for your kids and friends to burn off a little summertime energy?
Determining the intended use for the space lays the groundwork for every decision that follows, from design and layout to the choice of materials, features, and furnishings. Without clear goals, projects can easily lose focus, go over budget, and fall short of expectations.
2. Study Your Property
Once backyard usage priorities are in place, the next step is considering how to best incorporate them into the available space. Observe which areas are naturally sunny and which are shady, keeping in mind that northern exposures tend to get more shade and stay cooler, while south-facing areas get more light and stay warmer.
Pay attention to privacy and noise levels from adjacent properties and nearby streets. Also, review the topography of the area. Where does water tend to drain? How will changes to the slope and grading of the land affect water flow? Are there existing areas where rainwater pools or grass seems to never grow? Now is the time to address any problem areas.
3. Project Blueprint
Professionally installed, seamlessly blended hardscape materials lend a modern, polished look – even to a simple walkway installation.
After the scope of the project has been decided upon, a visual diagram or blueprint is typically created. For the do-it-your-selfer, this may be as simple as sketching out the project elements on scaled graph paper. For landscape and hardscape professionals, a perspective plan is created – by hand or electronically – which illustrates what the final installation will look like. A professional blueprint will usually include notes about demolition, soil prep and grading, types of plantings, irrigation elements, lighting elements, and hardscape elements.
4. Material Selection
Once the visual plan is complete, it’s time to select materials. Heinen’s outdoor designers source hardscape materials from trusted manufacturers like Techo-Bloc and Unilock. Both companies offer an impressive range of top-quality manufactured stone options that are known for their long-term durability and weather resistance. Both companies also offer a wide range of design aesthetics – allowing homeowners and designers to choose from a variety of colors, textures, and sizes to maximize the “wow” factor of the finished installation.
5. Utilize Online Resources
Planning a magazine-cover-worthy outdoor living space can be challenging for the nonprofessional. Fortunately, the outdoor living experts at Heinen have created two helpful online tools that provide homeowners with informative and easy-to-follow guides.
Heinen’s Free Guide to Kansas City Landscaping
Heinen’s Home Landscaping Guide is free and downloadable, and covers everything a homeowner needs to know when considering an outdoor transformation. From project planning to choosing landscape features, materials, plants, and more, the guide is an invaluable resource for anyone tackling an outdoor project, whether it’s a small DIY refresh or a full-scale redesign or renovation. Click here for more.
Explore nearly 200 different plantings best suited to the Kansas City climate in Heinen’s Online Plant Catalog!
Heinen’s Online Plant Catalog
Heinen’s Plant Catalog makes landscaping upgrades easier, smarter, and more likely to succeed. This online tool features planting hand-selected by Heinen’s landscaping specialists for the ability of these plants, trees, flowers, and shrubs to survive and thrive in Kansas City’s specific climate. Landscape planting can be a big investment, so making the right choices from the start helps homeowners avoid costly trial and error. Heinen’s Online Plant Catalog also includes a wealth of helpful details about each planting, including sun preference, blooming season, maturity size, and more. Click here to visit the catalog.
6. Need Assistance? Heinen is here to help!
Planning and executing a new or renovated outdoor living space can be overwhelming. But Heinen can help make your outdoor living dream a reality. Heinen’s team of landscape and hardscape specialists has created extraordinary outdoor spaces for homeowners across the Kansas City Metro for over 35 years. Trust the professionals at Heinen to exceed expectations on your next outdoor project, regardless of size, scale, or complexity.
