Thoughtful and purposeful landscape design for outdoor spaces encompasses light, warmth, and comfort, making the space feel like a natural, connected extension of interior design and architecture. To maximise your outdoor space, it is also important to consider how you want to use the space and how often.
Do you enjoy hosting barbeques and entertaining? Do you prefer quiet mornings with a cup of coffee and fresh air? Is meditating in a serene, tranquil space a priority practice for you? Or do gardening and farm-to-table meals bring you joy?
Whether you have a sprawling countryside garden, a petite, contemporary patio, or a classic backyard with fencing, we have created a stunning list of inspiring landscape and outdoor space ideas to take your setting from basic to beautiful.
Pick A Theme
Your outdoor space should reflect your personality, design style, and lifestyle. To hone in on your design options, pick a theme that you want your outdoor space to encapsulate. Whether you draw inspiration from the English countryside, a Japanese garden, a Mediterranean oasis, or a tropical getaway, a sound theme draws a single thread through the surrounding area, furnishings, and motifs – regardless of size and scale.
Carve Out Zones Or Sections
To maximise the space, use the theme as a base to draw the activities most important to you and carve out zones for them in your outdoor space. Different flooring materials, greenery, fabric, and even pavers can create distinguishable hangout spots with natural transitions.
Invest In An In-Ground Swimming Pool
If swimming is a part of your lifestyle or you like a nice day at a pool, consider an in-ground swimming pool as your focal point for the outdoor space. It can also wave in plenty of personalities, from eclectic tiles that line the pool to relaxed seating and even whimsical blooms and umbrellas.
Build An Outdoor Bar
For a more stylish outdoor space, a bar instantly ushers in fantastic vibes. Go for an eye-catching design that embodies your dream bar space in your backyard.
Native Planting
To capture the essence of the land and start a low-maintenance garden, consider planting native flowers, herbs, and plants that originate locally from the wild where you live. Not only will they thrive beautifully in the space, but they also create wonderful opportunities for close-to-home foraging and handpicked wildflowers.
Create a Tropical Oasis
For a smaller patio, blending tropical motifs with stylish wooden and wicker furniture and rattan lights can create a wonderfully unique entertaining space with a small bar and high stools to ground the space.
Standalone Canopy
An overhead canopy can help provide a bit of respite from harsh sunny weather, encapsulate the ambience you want, as well as delineate the zones you want in your outdoor space.
Connect the outdoors with the indoors
To easily access your brand new outdoor space, consider opening up a wall or adding a large sliding door or French doors to create a seamless indoor-outdoor transition and give you a stunning view of the space from your living room as well.
Strategically Create Your Own Oasis
Latticework or fencing can be easily used to add drama and texture and create a sense of privacy to make your patio space feel like your own personal secret garden.
Add A Fire Pit
If campsite fires are your style, build it into your perfect outdoor space design to create a cosy, elegant statement piece that speaks to your lifestyle and love for the outdoors.
Spruce Up The Porch Steps
There is no reason why the seemingly simple porch should go unnoticed in your outdoor space. Play around with whimsical tiles, potted plants, and even hanging plants that accentuate the direction and shape of the setting.
Set Up A Greenhouse
A delightful A-frame greenhouse garden will allow you to extend your gardening season and bring in warmer-climate plants and blooms. It also gives you some more space to add a bit of extra character, such as art, ceramics, or even darling furniture.
Wooden Deck And Decor
Pair a wooden patio or deck with simple dark furnishings, cool neutral cushions and fabric, and plenty of greenery, string lights, and candles to strike that perfect balance of cool and warm.
Outdoor Cooking Space
Extend the functionality of your outdoor space with an outdoor cooking space. Mix stone, wood, and metal elements to add texture and avoid a monotone aesthetic. You can also add a dining element for live cooking and seamless entertaining.
Vertical Gardening
For space-conscious outdoor settings, a vertical garden will add depth and colour without taking up valuable square footage.
Plant A English Garden
English gardens have long inspired landscaping and interior designs across the globe. Rich with lush textures, colourful perennials, ornamental shapes, and sizes, as well as a herbaceous border, the classic English garden aesthetic is not impossible with preparation and inspiration from horticulture and design.
Add A Water Feature
To carve out a tranquil, calming space for yourself, water elements like fountains and waterfalls are soothing pieces that add movement and sound to your setting. Adding a small or a big fountain really adds charm and beauty to an outdoor space.
Urban Patio
Introducing greenery to a space, regardless of size, can make for a lush backdrop and transform a simple patio into a French-inspired urban cafe.
Upgrade Your Pergola
To add movement and texture to a pergola, incorporating trailing Fig ivy, wisteria, or even bougainvillaea provides both shade and romance to complete a romantic outdoor space aesthetically.
Outdoor Game Room
Add a playful element to your outdoor space by creating zones for fun activities and games such as chess, billiards, table tennis, or even bocce ball to get everyone outside and active.
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Outdoor Dining Area
For hosting those elegant dinner parties, a rustic yet refined, long table makes for a stunning centrepiece. If you have a thriving vegetable garden to pair with, a beautiful outdoor dining space brings another layer for your farm-to-table meals.
Perked Up Pavers
Stone and wood pavers can seamlessly complement a home’s exterior while providing structure and interest in creating shapes or directions.
Shaded Patio
Strategically use natural light and shade to allow for intricate textures of shadows and brightness that create the illusion of space.
Add Finesse To the Fence
To add a bit of flair to your fence, consider pairing a darker shade with built-in planter boxes or shelves for container gardens to create a modern, chic fence with additional privacy.
Potted Citrus
To add a pop of natural colour to the metal, wood, and stone outdoor space design, the bright hues of a potted citrus fruit provide an air of freshness to the landscape and give you an extra opportunity for a farm-to-table kitchen.
Blooming Flower Border
Pretty up your fencing and add a natural layer of privacy with a beautiful wall of flowers. Rows of flowering shrubs like salvias and hydrangeas bring in an air of romance and enchantment whilst creating your own personal oasis.
Creating A Dreamy Outdoor Space
Every outdoor space is unique and comes with its own set of opportunities and challenges. For a purposeful outdoor space design, professional landscaping and interior design can help you dream up that perfect balance of structure and style. Take inspiration from your favourite period eras, culture, movies, and aesthetic vibes to create an outdoor space that is truly you.
Want some more unique and beautiful landscaping ideas to make your outdoor space stunning? Get in touch with our experts at the Interior Company, creating gorgeous spaces that epitomise style, elegance, form and function.
*Images used are for illustration purposes only. Interior Company does not hold any copyright to the images unless mentioned explicitly