Learning how to estimate your landscaping investment before you contact a professional will go a long way toward improving the quality of life and the investment in property you have made.  Generally speaking, a reasonable investment in landscape design represents 10-20 percent of the total home value.  While this may seem like a great deal of money, keep in mind that home value is often maintained or improved by landscaping investment.  Selling the home in the future will be much easier if it is surrounding by an aesthetically pleasing and fully amenable outdoor living space.

There are several things to consider when it comes to knowing exactly how to estimate landscaping costs.

Personal values tend to shape the forms and the aesthetic impressions of new property design.
Different homeowners have different tastes, likes, and dislikes.  Each client looks at the world from varying points of view, and seeks out new forms and experiences that embody these sentiments in a concrete way.  Clients with a preference for calm and serenity tend to favor fountains and Asian-style gardens that suggest repose and calm meditation.  People with a festive attitude on life want their properties to look lively, vibrant, and full of colors.  Nature lovers want structures to appear secondary to trees and other vegetation, and they expect the very best tree preservation strategies be utilized when constructing buildings and hardscapes around their favorite oaks.  People who take a special pride in the physical appearance of their house want outdoor buildings and patios that will compliment and reflect the design and structure of the home. 

Aesthetic preferences also play a major role in how you estimate your landscaping investment.
Some homeowners have a marked and distinctive preference for organic elements.  Traditional and custom garden designs tend to represent the bulk of their landscaping projects.  Gardens, flowers, and trees are developed in proportion to each another and out of respect to home architecture.  Outdoor lights are then installed so these features can be enjoyed throughout the evening as well as during the day.

Others prefer to have a more decorative, or even elegant, landscaping theme that embellishes natural surroundings through ornamentation and structure.  Custom fountains are always popular elements in both traditional and contemporary landscaped design.  Outdoor rooms play a big role in ornamenting the landscape as well.  They create geometric proportion and add functionality to a yard, and they help unite organic settings with characteristic features of the house proper. 

Entertainment is a third factor in estimating your landscape costs.
For persons who intend to host any type of events at their home, then the number of guests and the nature of the events themselves will play major contributing roles in determining how to estimate one’s budget for landscape design.  Formal events will require plenty of seating room, plus a great number of luxurious amenities that will create a quality outdoor living experience.   Less formal gatherings need a pool side space, conversation areas, and a great deal of room to move around the yard.  Such elements as outdoor buildings, pool patios, and special walkways are all designed around these considerations to accommodate both the numbers of people attending and the lifestyles of all parties involved.

Children also play a major role in determining how landscaping estimates total out at the end of the day.
No reputable landscape architect dismisses children as inconsequential to design build consulting.  On the contrary, kids play a vital role in the lives of both parents and landscapers.  Listening to kids to find out where their interests lie helps the design team create safe play areas that captivate the attention of the young and brings more peace of mind for parents attending any event at your home.