Big Ideas For Small Back Yards

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Buying any property, and making it nice and homey, comes with a certain degree of compromise. One of the most common that homeowners find themselves dealing with is making the most of a small garden, rather than huge, sprawling grounds. If you’re working with a postage stamp of a yard, you can still make it look beautiful with a little forethought and planning. Here are some handy tips to bear in mind.

Give the Space Some Function

One of the best ways to make a given space look more welcoming and cohesive is defining a function. Start off thinking about the things you’d ideally like to use your exterior for. A dining table is key for dining alfresco in the summer, for instance. Maybe you’d like a more plush seating area that surrounds a fire pit. Depending on the space you have available, you might want to base it around one central function, or break it up into separate, distinct areas.

Use Vertical Landscaping to Cheat Height

It’s pretty unlikely that you’ll be able to expand the actual space of your back yard, but you can still create an illusion of more space by thinking vertically. This can require the touch of a professional, which you can read more about here:

https://www.chapelvalley.com/blog-news/281-three-reasons-you-may-need-a-landscape-architect. However, if you’re dead-set on making the most of your small space, this can certainly be worth it. By applying the right vertical landscaping, it will encourage people to take height into account when looking at your garden, and make the whole area feel much more spacious, even though it isn’t. when you’re opting for vertical landscaping, be sure to source a range of plants of varying heights to maximize the effect.

Liven It Up with Bold Colors

Obviously, smaller back yards provide limited opportunities to add interesting, eye-catching details that make an outdoor space pop. However, you can still use splashes of bold color, in the form of furniture and plants, to achieve this effect. Just as you’d throw splashes of color into a worn-out interior, look for brightly colored garden furniture to make the space more varied and visually interesting. Flowers, even low-maintenance ones, can also be an easy way to make a small space come alive with color. You can read more on this at http://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/color/color-in-the-garden/. Just stick to a maximum of four different shades, so that your garden doesn’t become too oversaturated.

Keep it Simple

That old saying “less is more” certainly applies when it comes to sprucing up a small garden. If the space is cramped and squashed together, it can be easy to confuse and overwhelm the eyes of anyone looking at your back yard. Try to make a point of keeping things a little more minimalist to streamline your outdoor space, and keep a cap on the number of different décor pieces you’re using, as this can make the garden appear cluttered, and feel even more cramped than it is already. Try and keep storage as efficient as possible, especially if you’ve got kids who love their outdoor toys!