Water Features, Natural Landscape & Curb Appeal

Recent economic hurricanes have swept the rental housing market up into a frenzy of rivalry and one-upmanship. Today’s tenants want their vacations to temporarily alter their lifestyles, ease their consciences and bring them serenity. Where property investors are concerned, décor and landscaping are there to hitch up profitability, but tenants are far more concerned with finding a property that adds a fresh dimension to their way of life.

Something resonating with both interests where tenants and owners are concerned in recent trends is the installation of natural-look water features. Offering lessees the countryside feel they’re looking for and improving on the eco-credentials of the property, curb appeals skyrocket and draw their paths toward profitability by satisfying the desires of a demanding rental industry that is willing to pay more for lifestyle than a dwelling.

Landscaping can generate over 100% return on investment—a significant rise in comparison to the loftiest interior project, which boasts returns by 90% at best. Curb side appeal, when flawlessly achieved through high quality water features, boosting housing and rental values, causing buyers to value property 11.3% higher than their base levels. Appraisers are not immune to the impacts of water features either, and the higher your valuation, the higher your monthly rentals can climb.

Today’s consumers expect their homes to offer them a calming oasis away from the hubbub of daily life. In the search for affordable home entertainment, consumers have begun to live as near to the great outdoors as possible by bringing Mother Nature straight into their own yards. Water features attract an entire ecosystem of birds and butterflies to the garden, giving tenants a visual feast they never need to leave home for. Dappled streams and the music of flowing water set a serene mood for outdoor soirées. The calming influence of moving water cuts out the commotion of passing traffic and calms the mood. Today’s trends are leaning towards a more organic looking water feature that makes use of real boulders and pebbles on ornamental arrangements that seem to have been stolen from nature itself. Jagged pools and waterfalls form the core of outdoor entertainment zones, blurring the boundaries between indoors and out.

Another, more rustic trend is turning to rusted copper, stainless steel and minimalist lines, which direct water over artfully placed boulders partially hidden beneath foliage. A flash of drama invites fire pits into splash pools, creating natural lighting effects for atmospheric evenings. Water efficient and low flow fountains recycle precious resources to ensure that consciences are kept clear.

Country rentals are presented to tenants not as brick and mortar dwellings but as a way of life that takes them deep into the wild. Those vacationing to the country are already primed for a sedate, albeit temporary, new existence among nature’s grandest assets. For this reason, country homes have increased in demand when they offer rugged, organic water features that eliminate boundaries between the garden and its surrounding landscape.

Today’s property owners are changing the look of their water features annually by making simple alterations to the flora surrounding them. Aesthetic value is achieved through ornamental sandstone, resin or true rocks surrounding fish ponds and water gardens that attract winged, finned and hopping creatures to a self-sustaining biome.

The move towards the wilderness has introduced an organic aesthetic to water features that is as rugged as it is striking. Boulders surround ponds in a look that shows no signs of design. Bare bones are expertly secreted beneath pebbles and moving streams. Unruly waterfalls are scattered with thickets of reeds and lilies. People adore water and, for country rental property owners, tenant happiness translates directly into elevated profits.

Walter Bucket is a huge advocate of natural and organic water features. Besides their eco-friendliness, they lend an air of authenticity and rustic charm to any property! To read more work by Walter, visit the UK Water Features online blog.

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