Garden
Lauren Schott
As the star of HGTV’s newest hit series, “Home in a Heartbeat,” DIY content creator turned home renovation guru Galey Alix works to transform lackluster spaces into viral-worthy, one-of-a-kind homes in the incredible timespan of just one weekend.
In a recent episode titled “Dan Cave,” Alix helps Dan, a single dad who is looking to reclaim his space as his twin daughters prepare to leave for college. Though he is looking forward to his newfound freedom and alone time, he is also hoping Alix can help transform his existing space into a cozy place that his daughters will be excited to return to for visits and hang out at with their own families someday. The problem? Dan’s main outdoor living space is in his front yard, which faces a street that sees a lot of traffic. A lot of traffic equals a lot of extra noise, which threatens to interfere with all the relaxation he is hoping to get as an empty nester. While working to create a quiet, peaceful outdoor living area for Dan, Alix reveals how she uses strategic landscaping and the sound of running water to block noisy street traffic.
Replace the sound of traffic with the sound of running water
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Upon visiting Dan’s home, Alix notices that he has a great outdoor space with lots of potential and seeks to help him maximize his quaint outdoor area by transforming it into a private outdoor hangout and entertainment area with plenty of seating. Alix, a finance-savvy real estate executive when she’s not working on homes, reclaims the space for the newfound bachelor with a small portion of the total $40,000 budget — proving it’s possible to transform your outdoor space without breaking the bank.
To quiet the noise pollution from passing traffic and create a more relaxing environment, Alix looks to build a physical barrier around the seating area using plants that will help naturally deflect some of the unwanted noise. Planting a wall of foliage around your front yard is an excellent way to distance yourself from the sound and commotion on the other side. “I’m going to create almost like a sound barrier by putting in these really dense, tall plants right around his courtyard and block the traffic noise from the street,” says Alix (per Realtor.com).
If you live on a particularly busy street and your outdoor living area experiences a lot of noise from passing cars, Alix recommends installing a fountain or another similar outdoor feature like a waterfall to drown out the background noise even further. The sound of running water may be enough to make you forget that the traffic exists outside your oasis.
Establish a sense of peaceful privacy with your outdoor oasis
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Prior to Alix’s arrival, Dan’s noisy courtyard was also the source of a lot of wasted space and potential, even being used to store a trampoline that his daughters no longer used. “I’ll start by taking out the trampoline, adding cozy outdoor seating, and surrounding it with all-new landscaping,” she says (per Realtor.com). “We should make over this whole outdoor area. If he’s all about wanting to entertain, this space is going to be empty. So why don’t we go ahead and fill it for him? Updating this space will have an immediate effect on Dan’s life. This area is the first space his guests walk through. We have to make it pretty.”
By bringing in new plants and redoing the yard’s landscaping, Alix helps not only absorb some of the noise from passing cars but also helps establish more clearly defined boundaries of the outdoor space, which can help it to feel more private. Creating a physical barrier through the use of trees, shrubs, and other means of landscaping can help your outdoor oasis feel more private and zen — even if you live on a street that is anything but.
