GUIDE
Local businesses o er home improvement tips
2023 HOME EDITION
COMPILED BY PEYTON MACKENZIE & LIZZY SPANGLER HOME IMPROVEMENT AND MAINTENANCE
Gary Ho man, owner of Absolutely Outdoors, a Tomball-based company that focuses on outdoor amenities and landscaping, spoke about outdoor trends and tips for homeowners. ASK AN OUTDOOR EXPERT
ASK A LIGHTING SPECIALIST
WHEN IT COMES TO LANDSCAPING, WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST MISTAKES YOU SEE HOMEOWNERS MAKING? I would say 50% of the work that we do is redo, and these are people that have spent a lot of money already on their yard. Things like planting plants too deep, su ocating the plant material, improper drainage—[these are] critical to a garden. WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR HOMEOWNERS MAINTAINING THEIR LANDSCAPING? The biggest thing is to monitor the garden [and] use plant material that grows and thrives on the proper sides of the house, whether it’s facing north, west, east, south. WHAT TYPES OF PLANTS DO WELL IN OUR CLIMATE? We’re in a zone that allows us to plant a lot of di erent things. Using di erent types of succulents that require virtually little water and thrive in the heat. Then there’s the traditional gardens of azaleas and boxwoods—as long as they’re in the right lighting and soil conditions and watering conditions, they’re going to do great. You have a very, very large palette of what you can do. It’s knowing where to put it and how to install it. I think that’s critical to the homeowner.
WHAT ARE THE TRENDS WHEN IT COMES TO OUTDOOR AMENITIES? I think something that’s trending right now is we’re seeing a lot more traditional pools that don’t have raised elevations on them. We’re seeing more contemporary metal structures being desired. [There’s] still a lot of interest on outdoor kitchens, replaces and repits, whether they’re integrated into the structure or they’re freestanding. WHAT IS AN OUTDOOR AMENITY’S EFFECT ON A HOME, PARTICULARLY ITS VALUE? You don’t want the most expensive house in the neighborhood; you want something that is going to take your initial investment and raise the value of it. And if [an outdoor amenity is] done properly, with the real estate market the way that it is in Houston, you usually can regain most of your investment and many times increase the value greatly of the house. I think another thing that we tend to tell people is—think about the next person that buys that house. You want that project to appeal to the masses, have a wow factor. WHAT ARE MORE SIMPLE THINGS HOMEOWNERS CAN DO TO ENHANCE THEIR BACKYARDS? Landscaping is the rst thing. Just a garden that’s pleasing to the eye and additional patio space, covered or uncovered. Fountains and waterfalls can certainly bring peace.
Trimlight Tomball co-owner Dawn Piat shared lighting tips for homeowners.
HOW CAN LIGHTING INCREASE SECURITY AT A HOME?
WHAT ARE SOME COMMON LIGHTING MISTAKES HOMEOWNERS MAKE IN YOUR EXPERIENCE? Some of the lighting looks really beautiful that people put on their homes, and then others not so much. Some of the old traditional lighting, you didn’t have the option to change the coloring, but I guess maybe [a lot of lighting] can be overkill. We’ve had a few people that wanted us to put the permanent lighting up; they wanted down lighting—I mean, it’s a lot, a lot of lighting. I don’t know that it’s always necessary to overdo it. OUT OF BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS, WHY SHOULD LIGHTING On your home, you can’t change the color of your home or the wood on your home. You’re not going to do that frequently because it’s expensive, and [lighting] is a nice way to be able to do some di erent things [with your home]. You keep things fresh and interesting with your home that way. CAN EVERY HOUSE UTILIZE EXTERIOR LIGHTING? Pretty much any house can utilize it. We have di erent types of channels because you have di erent architecture styles on homes. So what may work on one home won’t necessarily work on a di erent home. BE PRIORITIZED FOR HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS?
When you think about it, if you don’t have any exterior lighting around your home, it makes it easier for someone to kind of sneak around and walk around your property and potentially get into your home. But if you have the exterior lighting, whether it’s on the top of the home shining down or the lower part of the home shining up, it makes it a little bit less enticing for someone that shouldn’t come around to be there. WHAT AREA OF THE HOUSE SHOULD HOMEOWNERS INVEST IN LIGHTING? I would say for most people it’s su cient to put the permanent lighting just on the front. Some like it on the back because they have back patios. We oftentimes just tell people we are happy to put the lighting around the entire home, and it’s great, but the way our subdivisions are, homes are so close together oftentimes you can’t really notice the lighting on the side of the homes unless you’re right in front of the home. We’ll tell people, “We’ll spend your money if you want us to,” but the reality is if they have neighbors that are really close to them on each side, it’s really a personal preference whether to put the lights there. Most of the time it’s just the front or the front and the back.
Dawn Piat Co-owner Trimlight Tomball 22603 Barnwood Court, Tomball 346-588-4889 www.trimlighttomball.com
Gary Ho man Owner Absolutely Outdoors 23902 FM 2978, Ste. A, Tomball 281-686-5296 www.absolutelyoutdoors.net
WINFREY LN.
WALDEN WAY
DEMENTRD.
2978
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TOMBALL MAGNOLIA EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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