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59 Backyard Ideas Big and Small to Make Your Space Beautiful
Give your backyard a renovation and let everyone spread out a little!
Giving some thought to upgrading your backyard? It's a good idea.
While it's easy to focus on remodeling kitchens or decorating living rooms, a well-designed, welcoming backyard can make you feel like you've added square footage to your home. When it becomes a place you want to be, as opposed to a place you have to care for, then your backyard becomes a true delight, with plenty of fresh air, privacy (whether from a fence or hedges) and comfort.
Upgrading your backyard can be as big or small a project as you want to make it, as well. It can be as simple as a few small garden ideas, or as big as building a pergola, a building, or even a pool and then designing around it.
Here, we've listed more than five dozen different backyard ideas big and small to inspire you to make the most of your space. Whether you've got a half dozen acres, a half acre, or less, there are plenty of ways to spruce up your space, large and small. Can't grow in the ground? Consider raised beds or even container gardening! Whatever your space, we can help you make it amazing.
Discover more gardening tips and backyard ideas:
- Step Inside Three Dreamy Backyard Retreats
- See How This Shed Got a Major Update
- 16 Fire Pit Ideas to Cozy Up Your Backyard
Go Natural
While azaleas and daffodils can look lovely, they're not always the best fit for a space. When designer Emily Henderson was considering how to make the most of her half-acre yard, she decided to create an "organic, natural gardenscape" using native plants and trees, and fill it out with a fire pit, a vegetable garden, and a small 7- by 13-foot plunge pool.
Read More: Take a Stroll Around Designer Emily Henderson’s Oregon Farmette
Build a Raised Bed Garden
Raised beds allow the soil to warm faster in the spring, plus it’s the perfect gardening solution if your soil isn’t the greatest. Build it from lumber, bricks, concrete blocks, or purchase an easy-to-assemble kit.
RELATED: The Best Raised Garden Beds to Buy That We’ve Tried and Recommend
Catch a Breeze
Renovating or building a pool house? Turn the bottom floor into a cabana!
A ceiling fan provides some shady breeze so you can relax and get some respite from the heat. Outdoor furniture and weather-resistant materials make it an elegant but sturdy space for relaxing and entertaining by the pool.
Add a Cocktail Hour Spot in the Garden
Author Kate E. Richards of Drinking with chickens built a little patio in front of her decked-out chicken coop. It's perfect for sipping on a cocktail in the evening "when the chickens are actively hunting bugs and the hummingbirds are out."
Chickens or no, a table and chairs tucked into a quiet corner of the garden makes for a lovely place to sit and enjoy yourself after gardening.
Go Big on the Fire Pit
Who doesn't love cool evenings out back, sipping drinks and chatting by the fire? If you're out there a lot, consider upgrading your fire pit to a full-on outdoor fireplace!
Keep Reading: 22 Cozy DIY Outdoor Fireplace Ideas
Build a Backyard Retreat
Why settle for a shed or gardening house piled up with old tools when you could have a luxurious retreat mere steps from your home? If you long to get away from it all on occasion without spending hours planning and packing, then maybe you want to build a cozy getaway a little closer to home.
Want to Find out More? This Fairy-Tale Garden House Is a Nature Lover’s Dream
Skip the Grass
Using pea gravel instead of grass is not only drought-resistant, it also gives your backyard a Mediterranean feel. In this cottage garden, a bistro table surrounded by bee-loving lavender, rosemary, and roses provides a serene and fragrant spot for a quiet breakfast or catching up on work.
Decorate a She Shed
Transform a plain backyard shed into a stunning she shed—complete with a fun barn quilt—in just two days.
To make: Begin your project by hanging checkered fabric on the walls. Install it by securing a rope across the top of the shed and hanging the fabric over the rope. Next, use a staple gun to secure the fabric to the walls (this shed required about 30 yard of fabric). Finish the project by adding a small upholstered couch and accessories that complement your personal style like a rugs, decorative baskets, plants, and a side table. And don’t forget your barn quilt!
Make an Easy Potting Station
Set up a thrifty potting table for all of your gardening needs with extra items in the garage. A repurposed old door and upturned galvanized trash cans transform into a cute and fully functional workstation.
Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden
We promise: It's so worth it! These little gems will make you smile as they zoom by and perform stunning aerial acrobatics! They beat their wings 50 times per minute and need to eat every 10 to 15 minutes, so providing them with a hummingbird feeder helps supplement their diets. You can also up your chances for hummingbird traffic by planting these flowers that hummingbirds adore.
Repurpose a Patio
Marcus and Victoria Ford reenvisioned an unused concrete pad behind their garage into a fun and inviting seating area complete with a movie screen. If you don't already have a concrete pad, you can have one poured or even use pea gravel to create the area.
RELATED: Makeover Takeover! Tour more of this amazing backyard makeover.
Cool Off in a Stock Tank Pool
Repurpose a stock tank to create mini pool haven in your yard. This modestly sized addition will make cooling off a breeze during the summer. Plus, it's budget friendly and less expensive than a traditional in-ground pool installation.
RELATED: Stock Tank Swimming Pool Ideas
Hang a Mason Bee House
Give your garden a natural boost by installing a Mason Bee house to attract these beneficial pollinators. There are a variety of mason bees that pollinate specific plants. Whether you’re growing vegetables, flowers, or herbs these little, but mighty bees will help your garden thrive.
Create a Bird Feeder with Dinnerware
Think twice before donating or tossing old tableware into the trash. Instead, repurpose select pieces to design the cutest bird feeder for your garden.
RELATED: Make a Bird Feeder Out of Dinnerware
Shake Up the Neighborhood with a Lemonade Stand
Your little entrepreneurs will make lots of memories and have plenty of fun with an adorable old-fashioned lemonade stand! You can make a drink stand with a few items (a well-stocked toolbox, wooden crates, and handmade signage) on a weekend afternoon. Add this adorable lemonade stand to your yard and serve our Old-Fashioned Lemonade recipe to have your neighbors lining up for a refreshing drink.
Craft a Watering Can Wreath
Welcome the season by handcrafting a pretty garden wreath. Gather your favorite flowers, put them inside a watering can, loop a sturdy wire around the handle, and hang the finished product on your garden gate or back door.
RELATED: 28 DIY Summer Wreath Ideas
Plant a Starter Herb Garden
If you’re a beginner gardener or find caring for plants challenging, try growing herbs. They’re easy to grow and care for throughout the year. Begin with starter plants in small pots or add them to a garden bed. Look for easy care perennial herbs (which come back every year) such as mint chives, rosemary, tarragon, thyme and chives.
RELATED: How to Plant an Herb Garden, Complete with Garden Markers
Install String Lights
Hang outdoor string lights above your outdoor dining table or seating area to create the ultimate mood lighting. Whether you’re having a glass of wine with your partner or chatting with friends over cocktails, strategically hung lights will add instant sparkle to your evening.
Add a Pergola
Create an inviting space that feels like an outdoor living room—especially when outfitted with comfortable furniture under a pergola.
RELATED: 20+ Pergola Ideas That Will Add Style and Shade to Your Backyard
Plant a Thicket of Shrubs
Are you in need of privacy in your yard? Consider planting a thicket of fast-growing shrubs to buffer your patio, deck, or porch. Try planting a variety of shrubs (types and sizes) in a triangular pattern. This will provide widespread coverage and look more natural rather than adding a single type of plant in a row (which looks odd if a shrub suddenly dies).
RELATED: 20 Fast-Growing Shrubs and Bushes for Privacy in Your Backyard
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