Home & Garden

From a full kitchen renovation to routine lawn care, home and garden businesses cover an enormous range of projects and services for every type of property. This category includes contractors, landscapers, interior designers, and home improvement specialists handling everything from a single repair to a complete overhaul.

What's included in this category

General contractors for renovations and additions, landscaping and lawn care services, interior designers and decorators, specialty trades like flooring, painting, and roofing when not listed separately, garden centers and nursery services, and handyman-adjacent home improvement specialists focused on larger projects.

Choosing a contractor for a renovation

For any significant renovation, get quotes from at least three contractors and compare not just price but the detail level of each quote — a vague estimate often signals a less thorough understanding of the project ahead. Ask to see examples of similar past projects, ideally ones you can view in person or through detailed photos, and ask for references you can actually contact rather than accepting a generic testimonial with no way to verify it independently for yourself.

Landscaping and lawn care considerations

Landscaping ranges from one-time design and installation projects to recurring maintenance like mowing and seasonal cleanup. For design projects, ask to see a portfolio and discuss your specific climate and soil considerations, since not every plant or design works well in every region. For recurring lawn care, ask about the specific services included in a standard visit versus what's billed as an add-on, like fertilization or pest treatment, so you can budget accurately for the full season.

Permits and inspections

Many renovation projects — additions, structural changes, significant electrical or plumbing work — require permits from your local building authority, and skipping this step can create serious problems later, including difficulty selling your home or issues with insurance claims down the road. Ask a contractor directly whether your specific project requires permits and, if so, whether they handle the permitting process themselves or expect you to.

Sustainable and eco-friendly options

Interest in energy-efficient and environmentally conscious home improvements has grown considerably — better insulation, energy-efficient windows, drought-tolerant landscaping, and sustainable building materials are increasingly common requests among homeowners today. If this matters to you, ask contractors and landscapers directly about their experience with these specific approaches. In some areas, energy-efficient upgrades may also qualify for local rebates or tax incentives, which a knowledgeable contractor may be able to point you toward, potentially offsetting a meaningful portion of the upfront cost.

Working with an interior designer

Interior designers can work on anything from a single room to a full home, and services range from design consultation only to full project management including sourcing and installation. Ask upfront how they charge — some charge a flat design fee, others a percentage of the total project cost, and some a combination of both. Ask whether they have existing relationships with contractors and vendors, which can streamline a larger project and sometimes secure better pricing on materials than you'd find sourcing them independently.

Seasonal exterior maintenance

Beyond one-time projects, homes benefit from regular seasonal maintenance — gutter cleaning, roof inspections, exterior painting touch-ups, and similar upkeep that prevents small issues from becoming expensive repairs later. Many contractors and specialty maintenance companies offer seasonal packages bundling these tasks together, often at a better combined rate than booking each separately throughout the year. Setting a recurring annual or biannual maintenance schedule, rather than waiting for a visible problem to prompt action, tends to save meaningful money over the long run.

Managing a multi-trade project

Larger renovations often involve coordinating multiple trades — electricians, plumbers, carpenters, painters — and someone needs to manage that sequencing so each trade's work happens in the right order without unnecessary delays or gaps between stages. Ask whether a general contractor manages all subcontractors directly under one contract, or whether you'll need to coordinate and hire separate trades yourself, since the latter requires considerably more of your own time and project management effort even if it can sometimes save money on markup and overhead costs.

Garden centers and plant selection

Beyond contractors and landscapers, garden centers and nurseries offer a more hands-on, self-directed option for anyone comfortable doing their own planting and yard work themselves. Staff at a good local garden center often provide genuinely useful, region-specific advice on what plants thrive in your particular climate and soil, sometimes more current and locally relevant than generic information found online. Ask about plant warranties, since many nurseries guarantee plants for a period after purchase provided you follow their basic care instructions, which is worth confirming before you buy anything significant for your yard.

Outdoor living and hardscaping projects

Beyond planting and lawn care, landscaping often includes hardscaping — patios, retaining walls, outdoor kitchens, and similar structural additions to outdoor living space that blend design with real construction work. These projects blend landscaping and construction skills, so ask specifically about a contractor's experience with hardscaping rather than assuming general landscaping expertise automatically covers it. Ask about material options and their tradeoffs in your specific climate, since some materials handle freeze-thaw cycles or heavy rain considerably better than others, and a contractor experienced in your local conditions will steer you toward materials that hold up over time rather than needing early repair.

Timing and planning

Many home improvement projects, especially larger ones, book out weeks or months in advance, particularly during peak seasons like spring for landscaping or before major holidays for interior projects. Start researching and getting quotes earlier than you think you need to, especially for projects tied to a specific deadline like hosting an event or preparing a home for sale.