25 outdoor living room ideas

These outdoor living room ideas will help you transform your backyard into an extension of your home. All it takes is a little planning, design know-how and expert advice.

Until we turned our gardens and yards into extensions of our homes, we may have ventured to sit outside only when entertaining guests or for a relaxing hour at the weekend. Now we want to use our outdoor living space year-round and every day, if weather allows.

‘Your garden should always be thought of as an extension of your home, so it’s important to bring the comfort of indoors outside. One way to do this is to divide your outdoor space up by ‘rooms’, with one area for dining and another for relaxing,' says OKA’s co-founder and creative director, Sue Jones.

Any change, big or small, can be transformative, so we asked the experts to share their backyard ideas, insider tips and advice on where to start.

'Our clients are re-evaluating their open-air domains, opting for expanded footprints and year-round bandwidth for entertaining,' says interior designer Marshall Erb, founder of Marshall Erb Design. 'They are now requesting perennial outdoor architecture and design so they can take things outside whenever the mood strikes.'

To make the most of this ‘extra room’, we must think creatively about how to plan, design and decorate. An outdoor living area should offer all the comforts and style of an indoor living room but also be designed with the weather, privacy and surrounding features such as patios, planting and lawns in mind.