9 Ways to Create “Uniquely You” Outdoor Living Spaces

Creating beautiful outdoor living spaces for gathering and retreating can help us all savor life in a more profound way. Over our years of experience with customers, we’ve found that many folks dream of the perfect outdoor space, but they just can’t wrap their heads around how to do it.

Picture this scenario. You stop into the patio store and buy furniture and plants to create your new backyard oasis. You get home and set up the furniture, only to be disappointed because it doesn’t quite look like what you envisioned. Then, you attempt to plant a garden only to discover that it’s way more work than you wanted to do that day. You still want your oasis, so you call in someone to help. It turns out they have less experience than you thought, and they create something that doesn’t capture the true vision of what you wanted. Frustrated, you retreat indoors with hopes you’ll come back to this project…. someday.

Sound familiar? It doesn’t have to go that way! Spaces can be created outdoors for how you live now or how you desire to live. Do you want a space where the family can enjoy an outdoor marshmallow roast? A space that’s perfect for Sunday bbq dinners? A space that beckons guests to play outdoor yard games? How about a garden that can provide spaces for reflecting AND grow fresh veggies and herbs for your table?

It’s all possible if you take what you have in your property and maximize its potential.

Here are a few tips we use to create spaces people love:

1. How do you want to use the space you have? Consider the views; is there more privacy in certain parts of the yard? Does a better view need to be created with gardens or trees?
2. If you want a veggie garden, consider the amount of sunlight for the veggies to thrive. Consider container veggie areas or vertical herb gardens for easier care. (More to come on this exciting topic!)
3. If you want a fire pit area, decide first how many people you might have gathered around it, and consider their ages.
4. Yard games are great family activities. If you want to set your yard up for yard game success, think about the types of games you may play. Cornhole, bocce ball, football, croquet, or even on a water balloon battles hot days are all viable options but will take consideration as to how to layout your new and improved yard!
5. Outdoor kitchens and bbq spaces are a great idea for expanding your living areas to the outdoors. Carefully considering the location of tables and cooking spaces is the secret to a well designed outdoor kitchen.
6. A consideration many forget is the concept of bringing the indoors outside and the outside indoors. Views from inside to the outside matter, and you’ll want to make sure your space doesn’t block a view you enjoy from the inside while tying together the styles you enjoy. For example, a farmhouse-styled space should flow from furniture selections all the way to the potted plants you might select.
7. A fun thing to do is to match the colors in your patio furniture to the colors of plantings in your garden area. If you enjoy blues, corals, and a beach feel, add plantings such as blue plumbago, pink salvia, or coral drift roses accented with darker shades of blues such as salvia duehlberg or indigo spires.
8. Including a touch of fragrance and taste with lavender, mint varieties, thyme, or star jasmine is always a great idea.
9. Using plants that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and songbirds will add hours of entertainment and might even bring some new “friends” to your outdoor living area.

Your outdoor space should be uniquely you while being customized to your needs and desires. It’s an adventure worth the effort and is sure to reward you each day!