7 Awesome Backyard Design Ideas for Your Home

Spending time in the sunshine and the fresh air is an essential ingredient for strong mental and physical health. Getting outside reduces stress, boosts vitamin D production, and often leads to a greater amount of physical activity.

But between work, school, and the countless other obligations that come with day-to-day life, making time for the great outdoors can feel impossible. That’s why it’s so important to take advantage of the outdoor space in your own home!

With a few backyard design ideas, you can make your backyard more inviting than ever before. When you have a backyard that you and your family can’t get enough of, you’ll be able to reap all the benefits of spending time outdoors without leaving the comfort of your own home.

Read on to learn how to design a backyard that you’ll never want to leave.

1. Attract Wildlife With a Pollinator Garden

Is there anything more magical than a garden filled with butterflies, bumblebees, and hummingbirds? Attracting these beautiful critters isn’t as difficult as you might think.

The first step to building a pollinator garden is to research the variety of butterflies and other wildlife native to your area. Then choose the type of milkweed and wildflowers that attract them. 

2. Build a Fire Pit

Imagine yourself sitting around a warm fire with your friends and family on a cool autumn evening, roasting marshmallows and having a great conversation. You can make that dream come true with a fire pit in your backyard!

The best thing about fire pits is that they’re attainable no matter what budget you’re working with. You can go the DIY route by building a circular fire pit made of stone or brick, or you can purchase a premade fire pit constructed with steel or aluminum. 

3. Create an Outdoor Living Space

Whether you have a sprawling property to work with or you’re in need of small backyard ideas, creating an outdoor living space is a must. All you need is a couch (or a few chairs) and a table on which to place drinks and snacks and you have a versatile, welcoming area to spend quality time with those you love.

If you want to take it a step further, you could place a pergola over your seating area, mount a television, or install an outdoor kitchen to boost your home backyard design.

4. Customize Your Fence

Those of us lucky enough to have a fenced-in backyard should take full advantage of the fixture and customize it to suit our style! This is one of the best backyard ideas, as it can be done in an afternoon at little to no cost but will completely change the look and feel of your outdoor space.

There are a few options here. You can seek help from professional fence companies such as Cedar Mountain Fence for fence design and style ideas perfect for your needs. If you have a wooden fence, you can re-stain it with a different natural tone or get more adventurous and paint it a vibrant color.

Those with metal fences don’t have quite as many options, but you can still add trellises or vertical planters, as well as fence decor, to give your fence personality.

5. Add Plenty of Lighting

To get the most out of your hard work designing a backyard, you need to be able to enjoy it at any time of day or night. And by hiring Abulous Lighting to install landscape outdoor lighting, you can do just that.

There are several different types of outdoor lighting to choose from. At a minimum, it’s a good idea to add flood lighting, which will illuminate the entire space. If there are any areas you want to highlight, add downlighting or a spotlight.

Finally, hanging some fairy lights around a pergola, patio, or fire pit will give the space a touch of magic while enabling you to use it after dark.

6. Make a Few Fun Spaces

When you envision yourself and your family having fun in your backyard, what are you doing? Add these activities to your outdoor space. This could be a set of cornhole boards, an outdoor “theater” using a projector, or a backyard campsite.

Get creative! Maybe you want to make tea parties in the garden a weekly event or design an enchanting reading nook surrounded by flowers. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can’t go wrong with a rope swing or a minibar stocked with your favorite drinks and snacks.

7. Grow Your Own Produce 

One of the best ways to enhance your home’s landscaping is to grow your own produce with a mini-farm. You’ll add beauty to your backyard while building a new skill and benefitting from homegrown fruits and vegetables.

If you’re a beginner, don’t try to go too big too fast. Start with a few plants suited to your backyard’s environment and go from there. Some of the easiest fruits and veggies for beginners include strawberries, bell peppers, blackberries, cucumbers, and cabbage.

Become the Envy of the Neighborhood With These Backyard Design Ideas

For many of us, our homes are where we spend the majority of our free time. By using some of these backyard design ideas in your own space, you can enjoy that time even more.

And if you make all your neighbors jealous with your breathtaking outdoor space? Just another perk of investing a little time and energy into your yard!

Looking for more inspiration for improving your home inside and out? Be sure to check out our blog for tips on everything from wall decor to garden design.