New Ideas for Your Outdoor Living Space

From a small patio to a tree-surrounded yard, your backyard is more than just space behind your house — it’s an extension of your home.

 While your front yard is what everyone sees, your backyard is all yours. It’s easy to spruce up your yard to make it more welcoming for you and your family.

Add Foliage

One of the simplest ways to add color and life to your backyard is to add more plants and trees. Flowers provide lots of colors — and they can be used to decorate the inside of your house as well!

Butterfly bushes come in many colors and are good during the summer months, while daffodils bloom at the beginning of springtime and are the first signs of color.

Attract Wildlife

While this suggestion may not be for those of the most serious vegetable gardeners among us, the casual gardener will certainly enjoy the addition of some furred and feathered visitors to an outdoor living space.

Just be sure that you aren’t attracting any wildlife that might be dangerous to you or your family.

Consider starting by incorporating birdhouses and feeders to create your own aviary.

Birdbaths are, of course, the quintessential yard decoration — they serve as a great decorative accent to your yard and also attract birds of all kinds.

Gather Around the Fire

There’s nothing quite like being with a group of friends and gathering around a fire while enjoying a cool night outside.

There are many options for buying a fire pit or even a fire pit table, but often the fire pits that you create yourself are more rewarding — and they tend to last longer.

Just be sure to follow any specific fire codes in your area if you decide to set up a fire pit in your backyard.

Add Wall Decorations

Why shouldn’t you be able to focus on the outside wall of your house? You have plenty of options for wall decorations.

Signs can be a fun way to decorate, or you can buy giant letters at a craft store and paint them to go along with your color scheme to spell out a saying or your last name.

The thrift store often has many interesting items that can be displayed — your options are only limited by your imagination.

Incorporate a water feature

A wonderful way to add peace and calm to your yardscape is by choosing a simple water feature.

A small fountain or trickling stone wall can breathe in tranquility to your garden or deck area. The sound of water can set the mood and tone of your design.

Running water can also help cool down hot air and make the temperature more comfortable in your outdoor living space.

Other ideas include constructing a small pond in which you might even keep Koi or other fish.

You don’t have to have acres of land to be able to have a fish pond. If you only want a couple of fish, a small pond can fit in almost any backyard. Make sure you do your research first on backyard ponds if you plan to do it yourself.

Koi are a good choice for ponds because their size is relative to size of the pond they are in — if they’re in a small pond, they will stay small, whereas they will grow bigger in larger ponds. There are plenty of koi pond plants that you can grow and design the pond with.

Just make sure you don’t have any pets that like to go fishing.

Add Tabletop Accents

Even the little details can make a world of difference. Something as simple as a tablecloth can transform your outdoor patio.

You can also get small potted plants to decorate your table or little knick-knacks that add a little personality to your backyard.

Candles can be great, especially if you’re outside in the evening, as they serve as a good light source without being too overpowering.

Provide Outdoor Games

While it can be fun to just sit and chat outside, having other options can make your backyard less of a lounge and more of a backyard.

Horseshoe Pits can take up a fair amount of space, but it’s worth it for anyone who enjoys the game.

Other less permanent options that many people enjoy playing include croquet, bocce ball and badminton.

Make a Walkway

A stone walkway can create a good flow for your backyard while still being relatively easy to install. Plot out how you want the path to go before digging up your yard.

Make sure you look into the right kind of stones for your climate — people in hotter areas can go for softer, more porous stones while people colder climate should stick with harder, denser stones for their building materials.

Loosen Up Your Lawn

Just like your own hair, your lawn needs a regular trim to clip off dead ends and stimulate new growth.

Mowing or cutting the grass can help remove dead grass which might be packed underneath suffocating the roots.

This will pull out the old and allow the new to grow strong and healthy in its place for a full fresh lawn.

Railing and Style

A simple way to present your own unique style is by choosing your deck railing.

While a subtle touch, the countless railing styles out there can really finish the theme of your deck and represent your personal taste.

The type of railing you choose is only limited by your imagination. So many different ideas exist, including:

•modern horizontal slats

•simple metal rails

•strung cable

•painted lattice

•sleek glass panels

•detailed cutouts in wood railing

Build a second story deck

A fantastic way to expand your space for outdoor living and patio entertaining is by constructing or expanding a second story deck.

Whether it is a wrap around porch or a covered balcony, extending floor space out from your house is a great way to take advantage of patio living.

To connect second story decks with patio space on the first story, install a Mylen spiral staircase kit to seamlessly join both spaces.

Summer parties can range between floors enjoying the added space. Second story porch space can provide wonderful room especially in urban areas where there isn’t a lot of yard space already.

Redecorate Your Furniture

The final key piece for the ultimate outdoor hang out space is selecting patio furniture.

Outdoor lounge set, comfortable thicker arm chairs or even a massage chair can complete an awesome lounging area set nearby a outdoor gas patio heater. 

If you can’t justify buying numerous cushions, you can always sew your own covers to suit your mood.

Having two or three sets of various colors can help accommodate for each season — soft pastels for spring, bright colors for summer and warm colors for autumn. 

Other common backyard additions include a swinging hammock or a porch swing.

And of course no outdoor entertaining area is totally complete without a dining set for barbecue party nights.

Enjoy Your Outdoor Living Space

Transforming your backyard from an area behind your house to another part of your home can be achieved in a few pretty easy steps.

With these building and decorating ideas, you can transform your yard into a comfortable and elegant living space that totally reflects your style. 

You should be able to enjoy all aspects of your home — including your backyard.