Small Backyard Ideas: How to Make Yours Stand Out

If you have a kitchen, a bathroom, a bedroom, or even a living area in your home that’s too small, there are ways to make it larger. You can remodel your home to make different parts of it bigger than they are now.

But unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot you can do if you have a small backyard. Unless you’re willing to buy some of the lands that surround it, you can’t make it bigger than it is.

You can, however, make it feel larger by incorporating the right small backyard ideas into it. There are things that you can do to make it appear more spacious.

Check out some of the best small backyard ideas below.

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Downsize Everything

Do you have an oversized dining table, a gigantic grill, and an above-ground pool in your small backyard? That would explain why it feels so cramped!

If you haven’t done this already, you should begin reworking your small backyard by downsizing everything so that it fits the space better. That might mean:

• Buying a (much!) smaller dining table than the one you have now and limiting the number of chairs you put around it
• Trading your fancy grill in for a small charcoal grill
• Replacing your above-ground pool with a spa or doing away with the pool altogether

Once you’ve downsized the items in your backyard, you might be surprised by how much extra space that you’ll have. It’ll give you lots of room to rework your backyard.

Set Up a Cozy Seating Area

While you do want to downsize everything that you have in your backyard, you don’t want to get rid of everything and not leave yourself anywhere to relax.

Instead, create a seating area in a corner of your backyard that’s cozy and comfortable. You might want to buy a small L-shaped outdoor couch that wraps right around the corner and provides plenty of seating without wasting space.

You can also add things like throw pillows to the mix and even stick a fire pit in the middle of everything. This will give you and your family all the room you need to sit down and enjoy your backyard space.

It might also encourage you to get outside more often. One recent survey suggested that almost 70% of homeowners start going outside more often when they take on a project like this one.

Make Your Backyard More Than One Level

Does your backyard slope down every so slightly? This could provide you with an opportunity to create two separate levels in your backyard space.

On the upper level, you can have your dining table and everything that you need to serve and eat meals outside. On the lower level, you can have grass, plants, and maybe a nice bench that you can sit on when you make your way down there.

Turning your backyard into two levels will give it a larger appearance. It’ll also define the space for you and your family.

Avoid Allowing Trees and Plants to Overtake the Space

Just because you have a small backyard doesn’t mean you can’t have trees and plants in it. But those trees and plants shouldn’t consume people when they walk into the backyard.

When you first come up with a landscape design for your backyard, it should include trees and plants that won’t grow up to be too large. You should also strategically place trees and plants throughout the yard rather than clumping them all in one area.

You may want to have your trees and plants serve a purpose, too. A tree, for example, could be the perfect place to put a swing that can add some seating to your backyard. Plants, meanwhile, can be used to decorate an empty wall or adorn a fence.

Use Lighting to Highlight Interesting Features

When you have a small backyard, you don’t need to have big floodlights and other large exterior lighting fixtures to light it up. You can use much smaller outdoor solar lights to provide you and your family with all the light you’ll ever need.

You can also use these lights to set the tone for your backyard once the sun goes down. Point them at any interesting features that you have set up in your backyard so that people’s eyes are automatically drawn to them. These features might include things like small fountains and decorative plants and flowers.

With the proper lighting, you can make a small backyard feel so much cozier than it does now.

Turn Your Backyard Into an Extension of the Back of Your Home

Of all the small backyard ideas mentioned here, this one might be the most expensive. But it might also motivate you and your family to use your small backyard like never before.

Find a way to turn your backyard space into an extension of the back of your home, especially if there’s a living area that leads out to it. You can do this by installing a sliding glass door or even bi-fold doors that open up into the backyard.

You can also do it by making your interior furniture coordinate with your exterior furniture. People will be able to come in and out of your backyard on nice nights and feel like they’re in the same space.

Put These Small Backyard Ideas to the Test Today

The only way that you can get a backyard that’s physically bigger than the one you have now is by moving. But you shouldn’t let that stop you from making the most of your current backyard by using these small backyard ideas.

By making a few small adjustments, you can give yourself the room you need in your backyard. You can also make it more fun for you and your family to spend long days and nights enjoying your outdoor space.

Would you like to find out about some of the other things you can do to improve your backyard? Check out our other articles for additional tips.