Luxury means different things to different people, but this concept within a luxury landscape design can be communicated in many ways. For instance, a sense of luxury shows in the materials you choose and the way they complement your home.

A luxury landscape design can also be revealed in simple details such as an antique ornamental iron gate. It is conveyed with your plant choices, the combination of form, texture and colors. Design pros suggest striving for just the right balance between appropriate and lush.
 
In the design process, the spatial layout should be directed by how you plan to use the different areas. You can use strong geometric lines to create interesting spaces. Perhaps, create a spine across the yard with a pathway. It will divide the space and also direct the traffic from one area to another.

The design should also join together, as seamlessly as possible, the expansive spaces such as driveways and lawns with more intimate spaces. And speaking of expansive, if these ideas are sounding too grandiose for your pocketbook, you might consider landscape phasing—doing the different elements in incremental steps over a long period of time—in order to ease your outflow of cash.

Other elements to add to your luxury landscape design:
• Custom swimming pools. Pools are magnets for fun activities and for simple viewing pleasure. The pool area should be integrated with the surroundings by creating smooth transitions with the yard and background sceneries. Spas, waterfalls and slides add to the fun. You can even put several waterfalls in your pool design. The waterfalls add interest and also give swimmers another place to relax and play.

• Outdoor kitchens. Outdoor kitchens are the heart of a luxury landscape design. In the same way that company likes to hang out in the indoor kitchen, you will find that it’s true for the outdoor kitchen as well. Therefore, be sure to think through seating arrangements, including built-in seating. Lighting, which is a fundamental design element in any setting, serves a functional purpose in kitchens. Plan for plenty of coverage in the work areas.

• Lounge areas. These delightful outdoor spaces become another room on your home. By enlarging your living area, they give you an opportunity to enjoy the out-of-doors year round, especially Houston’s mild winters. Outdoor rooms are ideal places to build a fire element, such as an outdoor fireplace.

• Staycations and worry-free maintenance. The concept of staycation and cocooning has been used in shelter magazines for about a decade now. It refers to turning your home into your very own vacation resort. One pitfall, however, of this ideal is that you never escape the sense of responsibility for your home. You never achieve that carefree vacation feeling. A comprehensive residential maintenance contract with a high quality lawn and garden service company addresses that drawback nicely. Let them do the work while you take a nap, or read a best-seller, or have friends over for a gourmet meal—or however you define your “stay at home vacation.”