To Retain or Not to Retain

More than ever, retaining walls are being seen, not just as a functional requirement, but also as an opportunity to add interest to the overall property or project.The available styles and colors allow designers to create just about any look within their imagination.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) surveyed 1 million of its landscaping professionals to predict the 2019 hot trends that will influence the design and maintenance of backyards across the country. One of the biggest trends is using retaining wall blocks to build freestanding walls that create courtyard sides, seating walls, benches, and fire pits.

Landscaping walls can add dimension and definition to outdoor living spaces. Whether utilizing a retaining wall to control the slope of your yard, or simply to add dimensional embellishments to an outdoor living space, landscape wall products represent an important element of outdoor living design.

There are endless design options when working with retaining wall products. We will focus on the top design options for 2019.

Multiple Living Layers or Tier Design

Retaining walls present a way to convert a sloped yard into usable space through the creation of terraces. Terraced design can also be used to create a raised or sunken outdoor room.

Outdoor Rooms

Landscaping and seating walls can help define an outdoor living area or create a transition from one outdoor room to the next.

Built-In Seating

According to the American Society of Landscape Architects, built-in seating has been one of the top 10 trends for the last few years. In addition to providing permanent seating, a seat wall can also help to define an outdoor living space.

Fire and Water Features

Retaining walls can be used to incorporate the elements of fire or water into an outdoor design in a variety of creative ways. These types of features become a visual anchor point and add to the ambiance of any design.

Embellishments

Retaining walls can be used to add any number of coordinating embellishments to an outdoor design — including columns, planters, mailboxes and more — which can help tie an outdoor design together.