It’s more than just a water feature.
Contractors and homeowners take great pride in transforming a backyard into a well-crafted landscape or hardscape. However, Reinders is seeing more families and friends gathering in hand-picked outdoor living spaces festooned with everything from smokeless fire pits, to classy mosquito repellent fixtures to custom water features.
A backyard barbecue can be made or broken by the food you prepare and the vibe you create. But it’s the cozy bonfires and tranquil times that have become, oftentimes, a weekly occurrence.
Everyone wants their backyard to be warm and inviting to guests and a place that visitors are impressed by. Luckily, there are several ways to enhance your outdoor space and make it your very own!
Water features are increasingly included in the design of Wisconsin and Illinois landscapes. By adding a water feature, your property will be beautified, your property value will rise and so will your level of satisfaction.
Here are 5 reasons why water features have become so popular and suggestions for specific water feature ideas.
1. Increases Curb Appeal
First things first: adding an outdoor water feature increases the overall value of your home. According to Plant Care Today, research shows that a well-designed landscape has the chance to increase the value of your home by 12-14 percent. Water features are eye-pleasing and provide a unique, calming quality to your property. A water feature serves as a focal point, creating a cohesive and harmonious outdoor landscape. Another benefit? A water feature can be enjoyed beyond the summer season – water still flows in other seasons (well, except for those frigid Wisconsin Winters).
Consider the Aquascape 3 Semi-Polished Stone Basalt Columns to add to your backyard for that increased value and charm. The three-column piece is the perfect focal point. Each piece is handcrafted from natural stone with a water stream that bubbles over.
2. Creates a Relaxing Environment
It’s been a long day at work, filled with deadlines, unhappy customers, projects – the list goes on. You finally arrive after a traffic-filled commute home and head straight for your backyard and take a seat in a comfy chair. Ahhh! The soothing sound of water trickling from your new outdoor water feature instantly melts away the stress. And then you get a text. That’s because you forgot to put your phone on Do Not Disturb (<–Pro Tip).
With the phone switched off, the kids fed, and your work taken care of, it’s time to chillax in the tranquility of a water feature.
Besides being a beautiful backyard attribute, water features have several psychological benefits that commonly go unnoticed. Water foundations have been used in yoga and meditation studios for years because the gentle sound of flowing water is extremely relaxing. With your water feature’s natural, soothing sounds, a very peaceful environment is created.
Add Aquascape’s Amphora Vase to your landscape! With its natural beauty of real rock, this water feature could be placed anywhere in your backyard to create a peaceful getaway.
3. Little Maintenance
Compared to other added backyard features like swimming pools and hot tubs, water features require very little maintenance. Most water features can be installed in a few hours and up and running in less than a day! At first, it takes a decent amount of water (well, depending on size) to fill a water feature, but water in these features recirculate so they don’t use much water in the scheme of things. This means that you will have more time dedicated to relaxing while aiding water conservation!
And if you are worried about not having a space for a water feature – don’t be! There are so many different shapes and sizes of water features, chances are there’s a feature that can be easily incorporated into your space.
Need a water feature idea? Take the Atlantic Water Gardens Color Changing Colorfalls as a perfect example. With its innovative modular design, install is a breeze because you can connect any number of falls with a snap. Plus, your backyard will be extra cool with the Colorfalls 48 vibrant color options and 18 preset models.
4. Helps Find Inner Peace
One of the most overlooked benefits of an outdoor water feature is their effect on air quality. Unlike air conditioners and electronics, flowing water releases negative ions. According to Denise Mann of WebMD, this means that there is an increase in air moisture, thus better air quality. These negative ions lead to an increase of serotonin levels that promote tranquility.
Water features also help with finding a “Zen” feeling because the water can block out noises, like traffic or your noisy neighbors. Before you know it, you will want to do some meditation right in your backyard with the calming background music of your water feature
5. Bring Nature to You
Wildlife and nature are sometimes forgotten between the busy day-to-day routines and the push for cities instead of nature preserves. With a water feature, you can support wildlife right in your backyard. The feature attracts lots of different animals like birds and frogs. Plus, the steady influx of wildlife provides entertainment and educational opportunities for you and your family.
If you are in the market for a bigger water feature, consider housing fish right in your backyard.
The Aquascape Mircopond Kit is perfect for your first water garden. The kit includes all the parts for a water garden to ensure a relatively easy install. Once set up, all you need to add is some decorative features like rocks and plants, and maybe some wildlife!
If a water feature is not incorporated in your landscape in some way, now is a great time to consider adding one to your property. The addition of Aquascape or Atlantic Water Garden’s wonderful products has potential to add value to properties by creating a tranquil escape from reality. Consider the four water feature ideas mentioned above. This escape isn’t difficult to install or maintain, and brings nothing but good things, like beneficial ions and nature right to your backyard!
For more information or a free water feature quote, contact Joel Reinders (jpr@reinders.com)
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