30 Backyard Hardscaping Ideas That Will Make Maintaining Your Property a BREEZE
A truly great outdoor space includes much more than the latest seasonal blooms and a lush lawn of grass. While landscaping is key to a well-groomed home, it's time to think beyond greenery. Curb appeal doesn't just set the tone for your property's personality, it also means a lot for your home's value. Backyard hardscaping can be a great way to deal with a stubborn, patchy lawn, or areas where plants refuse to thrive. The best outdoor hardscaping design ideas blend the architecture of your home with its natural surroundings.
From tiered gardening beds for homes on a hill to stone paths leading to your pool, backyard hardscaping ideas can spark your inspiration for materials beyond the flora native to your area. If your house's aesthetic leans more rustic, stick to natural forms such as raw-sided stone pavers and locally found materials. For a more modern style, clean, straight lines and light colors can breathe new life into a neglected outdoor space.
Whether you're looking to outfit a side yard as a new patio, or revamp your sprawling poolside hangout, our 30 backyard hardscaping ideas can help you create the outdoor space of your fantasies. Now that the weather is warming up, there's never been a better time to take your renovation efforts outside. Read on for our round-up of 30 designer-approved backyard hardscaping ideas.
More outdoor landscaping ideas for your spring refresh:
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Keep a Consistent Palette
To ensure your hardscaping blends seamlessly in with your home's architecture (if that's your goal), focus on using stone or materials with similar coloring or tone. Here, the warm wood entrance by designer Nick Olsen flows perfectly onto the taupe-slabbed steps.
Pick Similar Stones
To create a seamless integration between the covered patio and the poolside area of this Palm Beach estate, designer Ashley Sharpe of Sharpe Development and Design used the same type of stone throughout this backyard's hardscaping. Smaller slabs were used between the two spaces to ease the transition.
Cover it in Ivy
The further disguise your hardscaping or privacy walls in your outdoor space, consider planting some trailing ivy or another tall-growing vine. This can blend your space in with the natural surroundings, adding some patina in the process. Just look at the entrance to this guesthouse, a 1770's "kitchen house" in Charleston, South Carolina. Designer Cameron Schwabenton's ivy-adorned update makes it a truly enchanting welcome.
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Fake an Area Rug
In this freestanding covered patio, designer David Godshall uses the tile on the surface to create the appearance of an area rug. This creates a more intentional gathering space without the need for cumbersome maintenance or cleaning routines.
Lead to a Focal Point
Just like interiors, outdoor design needs a grounding element or focal point to make it feel put together. At designer Hadas Dembo's home in New York State, the simple stone poolside hardscaping leads into this shed adorned with antique ceramics.
Create Privacy
If your backyard area is wide open, opt for additional privacy by installing awnings and drapery to break up your hardscaping into zones. At this California home designed by Mark D. Sikes, the dining area remains separate from the pool and lounging areas, without the need for walls.
Suit the Setting
This Southern California pool patio honors the natural setting with terra cotta bricks lining the entertaining-ready area. "Views of the Santa Monica Mountains dominate the horizon," designer Tammy Randall Wood says of her family’s backyard vista. Warm tones complete the design palette, complementing the terra cotta bricks and the earthy tones of the mountains.
Leave Negative Space
This backyard patio of designer Javier Burkle's Dallas home makes use of the lush lawn surrounding it. Rather than break up the grass completely, square stone pavers were placed diagonally, leaving grass in between. This allows a more natural transition between the hardscaping and landscaping.
Make Use of the Space You Have
A patio doesn't have to be sprawling or take up the majority of your outdoor space. If you want to prioritize greenspace, opt for a smaller hardscaping area, like Burkle did with his Dallas backyard.
Break Up the Color
Hardscaping can often lend itself to a very neutral color palette. To offset the grays, beiges, and browns, take inspiration from Burkle's Dallas backyard and paint your pergola. A dramatic black paint is helpful for breaking up the neutral tones.
Create Cohesion
In this Atlanta backyard with multiple entertaining areas, designer Charlotte Lucas used the same stone pavers throughout to help the areas feel united rather than separate. Red stripes add contrast to the cool-toned material.
Keep it Minimal
Sometimes the hardscaping can distract from the beauty of your natural surroundings. At the Hamptons home of Maxwell Ryan, the founder of Apartment Therapy, the simple pool framing allows the backyard to shine while still staying functional for warm weather enjoyment.
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Try a Mosaic
For a rustic take on traditional hardscaping, opt for a mosaic style with naturally-cut stone. This one fits in perfectly with designer Amanda Reynal's historic home in the Catskills.
Add an Arch
To mimic more natural forms and shapes, this doorway isn't your typical rectangle. In designer Brooke Davenport's Los Angeles home, an outdoor arch added a more streamlined feeling.
Stay Close to Home
If proximity to your living room or kitchen is paramount to your entertaining methods, keep your hardscaping attached to the side of your home. Here, a simple concrete patio is made cozy by designer Madeline Stuart's addition of a slatted shade covering.
Attach Your Garden to a Wall
If you prefer a garden bursting with plants, but need the privacy or stability of a retaining wall, consider installing your trellises directly to the stone like landscape architect Janice Parker did here.
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Carve a Path
For a transition that's as easy on your eyes as it is underfoot, border your stone pavers with shrubs and more grass. That's what Parker did here, and it ensures no sticky mulch or gravel will impede on your walkway.
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Add Warmth
Take inspiration from Parker, who built out this area of gravel hardscaping with a stone fireplace. Now, this outdoor space is suitable for nearly all seasons!
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Incorporate Water
Adding a water feature, like this spa terrace by Parker, can imbue your hardscaping with a serene and soothing energy that is beneficial for both you and your backyard's wildlife (birds and bugs). Just be sure that the water doesn't stay stagnant to avoid any seasonal pests.
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Frame with Grasses
Rather than leave this stone stairwell bare, rows of ornamental grasses in this garden by Parker incorporate it more naturally into the existing landscape. The raw stair edges also assist in ensuring the stones never look out of place.
Break Up the Greenery
In a lush backyard by Parker, hardscaping can help to break up the large swaths of green, especially during the prime growing months. Here, beige stone steps and walls add an air of modernity to the traditional grasses and hydrangea flowers.
Incorporate Grow Boxes
You don't have to choose between hardscaping and garden beds. Here, at the farm owned by gardener Gerard Pampalone, the two are seamlessly woven together. Planter boxes are placed throughout this gravel area to incorporate the yard's natural elements in an otherwise paved zone.
Create a Centerpiece
Every garden needs a focal point. Rather than have a large tree or swimming pool, this space at Pampalone's Beanacre Farm features a compass-like sculpture in the center of its brick hardscaping.
Try Tiers
Hardscaping the various levels of terrain can create a more functional outdoor space, especially for homes on a hill. Various seating areas, ponds, and garden beds, all encased in rock retaining walls, adorn this landscaped garden in Vancouver.
Use Multiple Materials
Hardscaping is traditionally done with stone, but wood can help combat the monotony that all-stone, all-the-time can bring. Here, a stone pool frame is broken up with a horizontal wooden deck, ideal for sunbathing.
Add Linens
Gauzy linen curtains soften the stone patio and walls at this poolside lounge area, with a bamboo pergola ensuring sun protection and vacation-like relaxation for all.
Build a Firepit
Firepits can transform a summer-only hardscaped area into a three-season gathering space. For a seamless look, use the same materials as the rest of your outdoor living space, like the dual-stone area here.
Create a Border
A stone border between your grass lawn and other landscaping is ideal for areas with heavy water fall or uneven terrain. Not just pretty, it's practical, too; a stone border can help direct water flow and prevent puddles.
Add a Pergola
Often placed in direct sunlight, hardscaped patios can be uncomfortably hot in the peak summer months. To combat the harsh rays, consider adding a slatted pergola above your patio or walkway to bring in some much-needed shade.
Follow Your Yard's Curvature
Rather than opt for square patios and rectangular hardscaping, follow your lawn's natural flow by curving your stone slabs and walkways around the topography that is already there.
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