Landscapes are powerful visual cues that reflect a building’s accessibility and openness. When a potential tenant comes to visit a home or apartment for the first time, the exterior landscape will be their first impression. Having an inviting landscape will help people envision what it would be like to live in the building and can create a powerful incentive for them when it comes to whether they wish to buy or rent the apartment.
Paying attention to a condo or apartment’s exterior is just as important as ensuring the interior is move-in ready and inviting. Here are a few ways to boost your curb appeal in a sustainable way.
Make the Entrance Inviting
The entrance to an apartment or condo is the front door for everyone in the complex. Make sure it’s inviting, appealing, and safe. Soften an imposing entrance with trees and shrubs. They also buffer sound in noisier neighbourhoods or buildings set close to streets. Flowerbeds and flowering shrubs add colour, visual interest, and natural beauty. Consider adding large containers of colourful annuals that can flank the doors and welcome visitors.
If there is a walkway leading up to the entrance, make sure it is well designed and well-lit to add security and visual appeal. Use the lighting to do double duty as an element of safety and to highlight the building’s best features.
Add Colour and Visual Interest with Plants
Often, a large apartment complex will naturally have long expanses of brick or wood. Use flowering shrubs to break up the landscape. They will grow larger and more eye-catching as years pass. Look for native plants that will take to the environment easily and will be hardier and less susceptible to the elements.
Plant trees and flower beds as well to break up the monotony in the space. If there are parking lots, use natural elements as a means to direct traffic. Place shrubs or trees in areas in or around parking lots and flower beds around walls or near the sides of buildings. These elements won’t just add visual interest, they’ll also encourage native wildlife such as birds and butterflies to move into the neighbourhood.
Encourage Community with Common Areas
While apartment dwellers give up the notion of having a backyard, offering a common area might be the next best thing. Shared outdoor areas can be anything from an expanse of lawn to a hardscape with seating areas for communal gathering and relaxing. You could even consider adding recreational elements such as tennis courts or basketball courts if space allows for it.
Communal areas are also natural places for water features such as ponds or fountains that can bring a sense of calm to the landscape and break up the monotony of concrete or manicured lawns.
Ensure that your landscaping dollars are well spent with landscape design services from Okanagan Yard Works. Give us a call today to see how we can turn your dream property into a reality!
