With a glowing fire and fairy lights overhead, this backyard living room epitomizes the magic of summer nights. From New Landscaping Ideas That Work by Julie Moir Messervy (The Taunton Press, 2018); design by JMMDS, photo by Susan Teare.
“Right in your own backyard…”
This phrase suggests the delight we all feel in having access to a bit of land to call our own. In fact, the same activities that you can do inside a house can happen outside in your backyard as well. With a bit of ingenuity, you can cook, dine, lounge, and even sleep under the stars. Home Outside designers are expert at getting the relationships between all the elements to flow, both inside to outside and within the backyard area.
We like to ensure that our clients have spaces to enjoy with family and friends in large and small groupings and also places to get away by oneself. Gathering spaces include areas that hug the house and intersect with the landscape such as decks, screened porches, terraces, and patios. They can also include play spaces for children and adult games.
Without spending a lot of money, a suburban family installed this Home Outside design for a backyard with play lawn, a reading nook, flower and vegetable beds, and a little dining terrace. From Landscaping Ideas That Work by Julie Moir Messervy (Taunton Press, 2013); design by Home Outside, photo by Susan Teare.
Backyard privacy can be achieved with a fence or wall—or with lush plantings.
This spacious terrace retreat is enclosed by flowering dogwood, mounding azaleas, and red Japanese threadleaf maple. From New Landscaping Ideas That Work; design by Brooks Kolb LLC; photo by Ken Gutmaker.
A private getaway space could be a bench that overlooks a view, a hammock strung between trees, or bistro chairs nestled into a corner of the lot…or even your own private meditation hut.
In this urban backyard meditation hut, one can listen to water flowing into a weathered steel basin and continuing through the landscape in a curving rill. From New Landscaping Ideas That Work; design by JMMDS; photo by Susan Teare.
Where else but in our own backyards can we enjoy the privacy of home and the freedom of the outdoors? Any backyard space, no matter the size, is a treasure!
A small urban courtyard can host a surprising abundance of activities: children’s gatherings, family dining, lounging and conversation…there’s even storage under the deck for toys and gardening tools. From Landscaping Ideas That Work; photo by Mark Lohman.
Of course, there are so many other possibilities to consider for your yard: a swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, outdoor kitchen, firepit, and of course, edible, ornamental, and pollinator gardens, to name a few.
Our Home Outside design experts listen to your needs and create beautiful spaces that people love to live in. Let us help you plan your backyard landscape.
