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Great Lakes Landscape
Spring Landscaping Trends
Oakland County landscape designer shares what's hot.
utdoor living is a priority as
residents want to create space
they can enjoy with family
and friends. Ivan Katz, founder of
Great Lakes Landscape Design in
Oak Park, said current landscaping
trends are all about relaxation and
socialization.
For those looking for the most
"bang for their buck," the first step
is to identify how you want to use
the space, Katz says. Do you want to
gather around a fire pit with friends?
Is your lifestyle highly active, and
would your family spend endless
hours on a game court? Do your
interests lie in barbecuing and eating
outdoors all summer?
"Spend your money where it makes
the most sense for you?" he said.
Here Ivan Katz shares the latest trends:
1) Open patios vs. enclosed
decks. The 2012 look is open, with
landscaping and patio flowing
together for expansive views and a
seamless connection with nature.
An array of stones and pavers allows
high-impact designs, playing up
color, textures, geometric shapes and
... no maintenance!
2) Green: Recycle, Reuse, Restore.
Residents are planting more trees,
using natural materials like bamboo
fencing and recycling household
materials for use as planters, garden
art, etc. "One family was having
work done in their kitchen when we
first met them. We rescued their old
granite countertop and made it into
an outdoor bar," Katz said. "If your
neighbors are redoing their kitchens,
ask if you can have their old granite?'
4 I Open Door Magazine • May 2012
3) Game courts. It started
materials.
Above: You can get a
with the "staycation."
"Homeowners can
great outdoor kitchen
Today, it's a determination
create a fabulous
starting at around
to spend more time with
outdoor kitchen with
$5,000, says Ivan Katz,
family and friends and
owner of Great Lakes
a budget of $5,000,"
be more active. Attractive
Landscape Design.
Katz said. "They also
backyard basketball
can go well beyond
courts, tennis courts,
that, depending on
even shuffleboard and pickleball
their needs and the look they want.
courts increasingly are part of the
The sky's the limit — a stainless
landscape.
steel grill alone can cost $3,000 to
4) Outdoor kitchens. Husbands like $7,000."
to call them man-grills, but the fact
5) Built-in fire pits. Nothing says
is, built-in grills, wine racks, pizza
"chill" like sitting around a fire,
ovens, refrigerators and outdoor bar
making s'mores, moon-gazing and
areas all support the idea of backyard celebrating the end of a long week.
gatherings.
Permanent fire pits, often made
Outdoor kitchens can be tailored
of stone, pavers and tile, are safer
to available space — large, small or
and enhance your yard more than
in between, and cost varies based on
portable pits. They can be big, small,
size of the space and amount/type of
round or square. CD