10 Essential Features for Family Backyards

Cozy seating arrangements, safe landscaping, seasonal planting, water features, and garden paths enhance family backyards. Additional features include arbors, recreational areas, outdoor storage, quiet retreats, and strategic lighting for evening enjoyment.

1. Cozy Seating for Family Gatherings

If you want to make a family backyard a comfortable and functional outdoor space, you have to begin with the seating. You can’t hold an outdoor family reunion if a lot of your loved ones can’t find a spot to sit. And if they can’t find a spot to sit that’s also comfortable and private, you might as well have them hang out in the garage! This is why making good decisions about the outdoor seating in a backyard … is just essential.

One common notion is to prefer a multi-purpose outdoor lounger. Its flexible design allows you to go from reclining with a good book to a convivial setup in seconds. Stringing up twinkly lights on the trees in your yard might be one of the taken-for-granted ideas on this list. But there’s a reason for its commonness. It exudes intimacy and even peacefulness. In the right setting, it’s downright enchanting.

Arranging outdoor couches and armchairs around a coffee table can replicate living room layouts, making everyone feel relaxed and at ease in an outdoor “room.” Layering an outdoor rug or two under your feet will also help replicate an indoor vibe. Of course, a truly comfortable outdoor space needs cushions, throws, and not much else.

A seating wall around a fire pit can make your backyard feel like a National Park Lodge. It gives you that same cozy, campfire-in-the-backwoods vibe because it’s so nicely integrated into the landscape. Functionally, it does all of the lodge-like things: It gives off heat, provides light, and serves as the center of a campfire story circle.

Upholding these seating arrangements can enrich a home with levels of comfort and utility. Tom Smith, a landscape designer, encapsulates this notion when he states, “It’s hard to overstate the value of a well-designed seating area.” Drawing from that sentiment, Outdoor Living’s landscape architects design spaces that allow one to “hang out” and enjoy the serenity of their yards.

Selecting and organizing the right kind of outdoor seating can create a space that is an extension of the comfort and joy of family life.

2. Safe Landscaping with EHD Builders

EHD Builders is the expert when it comes to molded family backyards—taking beauty and function to a whole new level. They nosedive into the essentials—safety features that are must-haves for any space where children play. And come on, with these guys at your back, you can hardly miss. They even integrate safety features into the design of the fire pit. That’s no small feat, considering fireplace safety is an issue most backyard designers ignore.

Safety First: Start by eliminating potential hazards. The choice of materials plays a critical role; using non-toxic and child-friendly options makes a significant difference. Secure fencing around the garden prevents unwelcome trespassing and keeps children and pets safe. Secure fencing and gates enhance privacy and add an aesthetic touch when crafted from wood or vinyl. Childproof gates offer extra security, ensuring little ones don’t wander into unwanted spaces.

Play Zones and Cushioned Surfaces: Designate specific areas tailored for various activities. For children, a designated play zone with soft surfaces like rubber mulch or turf minimizes injury risks. Incorporating play equipment that meets safety standards ensures children play without worries.

Water Safety: For those with pools, safety measures like four-sided fencing with self-latching gates are necessary. Additional protections such as pool alarms and safety covers provide peace of mind when water features are involved. As EHD Builders specializes in safety inspections, they incorporate planning in backyard remodels, balancing safety with usability and appeal.

Structural Safety: When incorporating water elements or other structures, non-slip surfaces are essential, especially in wet conditions, to reduce slips and falls. Adequate outdoor lighting enhances visibility and security during evening hours. Motion-sensing lights are beneficial for providing security without constant illumination.

Including a vegetable garden in interactive outdoor spaces for children could be an invaluable part of their education. Such a garden would allow them to experience the complete cycle of a plant’s life and to understand the commitment and care that go into cultivating it. They might even come to appreciate, as a character in a recent novel put it, that “being didn’t always mean just being; it sometimes meant acting, and acting well.”

By enlisting the expertise of professionals such as EHD Builders, families can harmoniously combine safety and creativity, melding both into a backyard that is secure, visually appealing, and customized to meet their needs.

3. Seasonal Planting for Year-Round Beauty

An elaborate garden year-round requires an intelligent seasonal commitment to planting. You can coax the right plants, at the right time in their life cycles, to make your backyard a picturesque refuge in any season.

In the backyard, the lovely flowers of spring—tulips, daffodils, hyacinths—proclaim with vibrant energy the new season full of colorful promise. But these blooms are not just for looks. Their bright hues signal the new beginnings that spring is famous for. For those who prefer their backyard to be a ranch of sorts, spring is the time to plant certain “cool-weather” crops. Lettuce and spinach promise to be the main actors in the salad bowl for this “cool” time of year.

When summer arrives, bringing heat and plenty of sunshine, it’s the season for sun-loving blooms such as marigolds, petunias, and zinnias. Tender herbs like basil and mint also relish the summer sun, adding their freshly potent flavors to your kitchen. As you oversee your garden, make sure to ward off pests and keep everything watered.

As fall settles in, the garden readies itself for the cold months ahead with the planting of pansies and aster blooms. These cheerful flowers may not last until spring, but they—along with the garden’s other resident plants—offer a sunny disposition throughout the dreary, cold days that lie ahead. As the John W. Brown Memorial Garden’s signs mention, you can “experience the beautiful, peaceful place that is our garden and understand its rich meaning and history.” And you can do that in our next chapter as we explore how you can transition your own garden and yourself into fall.

Gardens can still bring vibrancy in the winter months. Select evergreen plants such as holly and winterberry, which retain their liveliness in the cold months. Including cold-hardy vegetables like kale can yield an “aha!” moment when you open the garden gate during winter’s chill. And be sure to protect your plants, even the hardy kinds, from the ravages of winter.

“The best look for your landscape comes from perennials, trees, shrubs, and even annuals that are gorgeous in every season. And while just about any plant can carry beauty in some season, few can command with authority in all four.” This expert perspective comes from landscape designer and author Sherra Vorley.

Your backyard can be an inviting space for your family in any season, with a selection of a few resilient, year-round plants and a mixture of seasonal blooms that offer more color throughout the year.

4. Water Features for Serenity

Adding a water feature to your backyard can transform it into a peaceful retreat. It can be anything from a small fountain to a pond. Water features not only look and sound beautiful, but they also help purify the air and filter out odors. “The aesthetics of a water feature can help accentuate its surroundings and provide a focal point. Also, if you choose a feature with moving water, a fountain or waterfall for example, it can help mask unwanted or distracting noise.”

For those who are pressed for time, there are small, simple choices that can have a big impact, such as bubbling fountains or tabletop water features. These compact installations can be done in a weekend and instantly transform your garden with their tranquility and charm. If you have the space for something bigger and the dynamism of water appeals to you, consider a waterfall or stream. Both are excellent choices for sloped yards and can turn a landscaping challenge into a stunning natural display.

An ecological marvel, a pond teems with life, drawing all manner of wildlife and adding something close to magic to a backyard. The kits that let you put together a pond make the installation easy. The life that abounds in and around a pond—especially the water plants that make the pond’s allure almost beguiling—supports the pond’s ecosystem. “Water features transform ordinary environments into enchanting retreats,” notes landscape designer Heidi Johnson.

Water features enhance the beauty of a home while also providing a tranquil allure that makes people’s hearts slow and their breathing deepen. From basic to spectacular, these backyard advantages come in a variety of forms: a simple, no-frills fountain; a water mosaic; a pond; a pond with fish; a pond with plants; a pond with plants and fish; a pool; a stream; a waterfall; a tiny beach; a big, deep beach; or a combination of any number of these water forms. Not only do these watery backyard features make the heart glad, but they are also proven to be very good for the health of the inhabitants of the home beside the water.

5. Garden Paths for Exploration

Designing enchanting garden trails gives families the perfect mix of beauty and utility, turning their outdoor spaces into mesmerizing areas for both work and play. These trails lead—if not to adventure, then at least to nearby destinations—within the enchanting realms of garden path and garden trail.

Think about strolling through a storybook trellis swathed in flowering beauty. You’d be meandering down an irregular stone pathway, each large stone forming a soft, cottage-style step that effortlessly hugs the curvaceous line of the path—if path it can be called, for it is more like a hanging garden that invites you to whisper sweet nothings of exploration to it.

In gardens with diverse topographies, flagstone steps can harmonize and flow with the design. For a side garden that might be considered “in the round,” a pathway that moves from the front yard to the backyard can undulate with the terrain and complement any plant forms that might be growing along either side of the pathway.

When laying out a path, you must think about the basic details. Paths are for moving along, after all, and should somehow seem to be in the right place at the right time. In appearance, they should not be overly simple or straightforward, and this is especially true in gardens, where a sense of intrigue and playfulness is often desired. Even in my own garden, where the paths must accommodate the routines of daily life, I have sought to make those paths interesting to traverse—an experience not just for the feet but for the eyes and even the nose as well.

Inviting paths for our guests is what landscape designer Rinne Allen aims for in her work. “I want the paths to be inviting,” she explains, “and for them to elicit curiosity and provide a seamless progression through a space in both a logical and an emotional way.”

Adding beautifully crafted trails makes family experiences richer and their backyard more special.

6. Garden Arbors as Focal Points

Arbors can transform the backyards in which they stand into captivating spaces. The classic design of an arbor and its ease of assembly make the structure appealing for families with a limited budget but high design aspirations. A simple wooden frame supports climbing plants and can even house exquisite vertical gardens. Whether standing alone or adorned with climbing plants, an arbor introduces a striking focal element in the backyard that is sure to boost both style and function.

Picture a charming log arbor as an entrance to your garden, fitting in perfectly with a cottage or woodland setting. This rustic structure would be right at home in a fairytale, lending your garden a storybook quality. For those who favor a more traditional, less storybook style, a wooden arbor made of cedar or redwood would serve just as well in creating an elegant entryway, thanks to the planks, lattices, and curves that make its simple silhouette a little more complex.

For old-style romance, a Victorian-inspired wrought iron arbor adds vintage elegance that can sweep one off their feet. With its intricate details and elaborate scrollwork, the wrought iron arbor makes a worthy and captivating centerpiece for any occasion and can even be used as a stunning backdrop.

Not only do garden arbors enhance the appearance of your backyard, but they also serve practical functions. They provide shade and support climbing plants, leading to added privacy and cooler spaces to enjoy outdoors. With the right arbor, your family can obediently enjoy the well-landscaped backyard.

Peak Patio Life’s Skylar Rivers underscores the dramatic effect garden structures can have: “Garden arbors redefine outdoor spaces with architectural allure. They elevate your garden experience by combining beauty and functionality.” Read Skylar’s full insights.

A garden arbor enhances an outdoor living space and can help make it friendlier and more enjoyable.

7. Recreational Areas for Family Fun

To turn your backyard into a paradise of familial glee, you must think of diversions for every generation—from toddlers to great-grandparents. One way to do this is to sprinkle your landscape with various types of play spaces—interactive areas where the family can congregate and share the happy moments that make a family gathering worthwhile. A bocce ball court is a classic, time-honored choice that is equally accessible to youthful and aged members of the clan. Not only is the setup for the court simple, but so is the game itself—making it a great way to get everyone together for some friendly competition and, hopefully, lots of laughter.

Cornhole, another classic game, is a perennial favorite and is remarkably easy to learn and play for people of all ages and skill levels. There is something about tossing a bag of corn and attempting to get it in a hole—that’s the fun part! But cornhole is also adaptable. It can be played in any space and is remarkably easy to set up and play.

If you have young adventurers at home, think about making natural forts or play structures using elements found in your yard. Such structures can, of course, be quite basic, and that’s the beauty of it—children can really use their imaginations. When my kids and I have made something similar, I’ve watched them and wondered if they weren’t just acting out some prehistoric proto-hominid fantasy—clambering around the structure, growling, and brandishing big sticks.

Adding nature-based activities like cloud watching or rock collecting to your backyard makes it a canvas for creativity and a stage for your kids’ imaginations. These activities help foster a connection between your children and the natural world, and they provide a starry backdrop for some major environmental education.

A thoughtfully designed backyard is a perfect environment for friends and family to come together for quality time. From the bonding moments to the fun shared in the games, the backyard is a great substitute for the upstairs neighbors when it comes to having a private, noise-friendly space.

8. Outdoor Storage Solutions

It is vital to keep the backyard clean so that families can enjoy the outdoors. Efficient storage solutions make the most of the space and the barely-there structure of the “shed” is a perfect example. Using it as a jumping-off point to solve various storage needs—everything from supplies for growing vegetables to tools for ponding to items essential for keeping kids busy—makes this “not quite a shed” a practical solution for a growing family.

Think about converting a bookcase into an outdoor storage bench. This serves a dual purpose; it offers enough room for neighborhood seating and provides outdoor storage. If you’re a garden enthusiast, consider installing shelving within your potting shed. It will allow you quick and easy access to your tools and other garden necessities.

For the do-it-yourself types, there are enlightening articles that lead you step-by-step through the process of creating one-of-a-kind storage spaces. They typically provide free plans and take you through the rationale of why each is necessary, whether it is for concealing outdoor cushions, corraling cooking utensils, taming gardening tools, or organizing toys.

Home design specialist Jenny Terry observes: “Having a place for everything and everything in its place keeps your outdoor living space from feeling like a catch-all—if it looks messy and disorganized, it can be hard to feel relaxed and at home.” Terry says that smart, stylish storage can also enhance the overall functionality of the space, making it a viable room for family living that adds property value.

9. Quiet Retreats for Relaxation

Transforming your backyard into a calm retreat provides families with an increasingly necessary escape. If you imagine a nearly perfect trifecta of features for such a retreat, it might be a shaded pergola, a swinging bench, and the presence of nature. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better location for such a swinging bench than the serene corner we’ve depicted in the above rendering.

Think about adding a pond with a small waterfall to your backyard. The soft sound of trickling water amplifies the atmosphere as you meditate. If you take a leisurely read outside, the pond could provide a peaceful backdrop.

To add a homespun element to the backyard, consider a simple wooden bench among the greenery as a place to pause with tea. And if you don’t have the space for a bench, swinging is the next best thing. Hanging chairs are nice, too. They provide shady perches for cocooning and whispering sweet nothings with a friend.

Consider incorporating a pergola into your outdoor space as a versatile structure. A pergola can be adorned with vines or simply dressed with fabric to create a space that is comfortable, visually appealing, and good for any number of outdoor activities—from dining to just hanging out.

Picture turning your living area into a haven, a cocoon of sorts that makes you feel as if you’ve taken a mini-vacation at home. You can achieve this illusion with any number of design strategies—some of which involve pretty traditional elements, like a fireplace that lends a little bit of campfire coziness to your setup or lighting that sets just the right “mood.”

10. Backyard Lighting for Evening Enjoyment

Achieving a warm and safe backyard evening atmosphere is possible through the simple placement of outdoor lights. Turning up the ambiance and visibility makes the outdoor spaces you have into nighttime venues you treasure for getting together with family.

Outdoor lighting has practical benefits, such as providing safe illumination for walkways and patios and extending their usability beyond daylight. But when it comes to the actual looks of outdoor spaces, fixtures can do so much more.

Think about using string or fairy lights for versatile touches. When draped across patios or wrapped around trees, they provide soft, ambient glows that enrich evening environments. String and fairy lights add charm to both parties and quiet nights under the stars.

Ensuring safety in family environments is paramount. Essential to that is the provision of light on all vertical surfaces and on all horizontal transitions. This includes risers, treads, the fronts and tops of handrails, and walls adjacent to stairs. Stair lighting increases safety and adds warmth to backyard design. Vertical transitions occur when you move from one level to another in any direction, such as walking up a ramp. Horizontal transitions occur when you change directions while moving across a surface, such as going up or down stairs or moving across a deck.

Top-notch exterior painting makes for an enhanced aesthetic. When viewed not only in the daytime but also in the special illumination of night, a house looks its best when it is freshly painted.

If you are seeking extensive changes to your backyard or deck, consider how the professionals at EHD Builders can assist you. They can work with you to ensure that those two areas of your home meet both your family’s needs and essential safety standards. When it comes to making the backyard a “more lit and lovely place to spend time,” as they put it, a focus on innovations like artificial turf can help cut down on maintenance and help you spend more time with your family.

Words of praise from satisfied clients demonstrate the kind of difference our work can make: “We had no idea how much joy we could derive from our backyard until we added lighting. The children play contentedly after dark, and we’ve hosted more get-togethers than ever!”

Light up your nights and improve your home’s aesthetics through bedtime and daytime with handiwork from EHD Builders. We’re here to provide you with a free estimate (no sales pressure—promise!) for a lighting remodel, whether it’s indoors, outdoors, or both.

FAQ

What are some key features for creating cozy seating in a family backyard?

The family backyard becomes a more welcoming and relaxing space when there are outdoor rooms with comfortable furniture. Transform your backyard into a cozy hangout spot with versatile outdoor seating, a string-light canopy, and a backyard fireplace. The outdoor fireplace can be a focal point for a cozy “room” divided by an upholstered bench, while the versatile seating adds function even while the fireplace is not in use. Whether gathered around the fire or enjoying the space on your own, you will have an atmosphere that is as good as it gets outside.

How does EHD Builders ensure safety in backyard landscaping?

EHD Builders concentrates on modifying the backyards of families with children into safe spaces by incorporating vital safety features. These include non-toxic materials, safe fencing and childproof gates, and secure play zones with cushioned surfaces. EHD Builders guarantees thorough water safety with secure pool fencing and alarms, and ensures thorough structural safety with non-slip surfaces and adequate lighting in both the pool and the play area.

What are seasonal planting tips for maintaining a beautiful garden all year?

Planting for the seasons means selecting just the right plants for a month-to-month beauty that will hold a visitor’s attention any time of year.

Spring brings vivid colors and forms from flowers like the tulip. The garden compliment plantings with such cool-season beauties as pansies and violas, then fill out with the colors and forms of cool-season vegetables.

How can water features enhance a family backyard?

Installations such as fountains, ponds, or small waterfalls can make a space feel calm and beautiful. Complimenting a space with water can take many forms, from the entry-level bird bath to the intermediate-level water table. And from there, you’ve got options: Free-standing fountains. Wall fountains. Tabletop fountains. Ponds. Streams. Puddles. Waterfalls. All of them can bring a certain kind of wildlife–and a certain kind of peace–into the space they inhabit.

How do garden paths contribute to backyard exploration?

Garden paths offer both utility and charm, directing loved ones through lush plantings. Stone and flagstone paths beckon the young and the old to tread upon them. They might direct someone to a vegetable garden or to a tool shed. And they might well do it in pairs, for these paths are often at least two people wide, perhaps because narrow paths tempt the explorer to squeeze sideways through obstructions, which many people would rather not do, especially when they might be carrying something or using the hands for balance.

What role do garden arbors play in backyard design?

There are many varieties of garden arbors that adorn stairways leading to the front door of homes. Sharp contrasts abound as the basic function of arbors is to provide structural support for climbing plants. While some may associate arbors predominantly with rustic log cabins, many types of wooden, vine, and iron arbors exist that unfurl leafy green henchmen “security plants” in front of private gardens.

Indeed, the arching form of some arbors could almost be described as plant-security “certificates,” inasmuch as they seem to certify that any “plants” inside are secure, as if “plant” burglars with climbing gear and ascent skills are a real threat.

What recreational options can be included for family fun?

Places to play, like bocce courts or cornhole games, welcome people of all ages and encourage them to interact. Natural play structures and simple acts, like watching clouds or collecting rocks, enrich the back-and-yard experience, making it a gathering space and an enviable playground.

What are some effective outdoor storage solutions?

Transforming bookcases into seating and the use of potting sheds as shelving are just two of the creative ways outdoor storage maximizes space and provides organization in my backyard. Add to that some DIY ingenuity, and I have unique storage solutions for everything from which to garden to what to do with all the outdoor toys in that other room I call my backyard.

How can quiet retreats be created for backyard relaxation?

Backyard getaways are places to find peace and unwind, and they can have features such as pergolas, shaded swings, and even ponds that aren’t too small to make a splash. Fire features or lighting push the looks and usefulness of these spaces even further. And that partly is why I chose the backyard of my parents’ retreat to illustrate this story.

How does outdoor lighting extend backyard usability?

Enhancing enjoyment and safety during the nighttime hours, outdoor lights illuminate paths and porches. If you want a little something extra, consider hanging string or fairy lights. For serious improvements to walkability and aesthetics, you probably want to consult to an outdoor lighting designer or architect.