How to Create a Cozy Backyard Setting

Make your backyard cozy with outdoor rooms.

Backyards often function as a space for retreat. A cozy backyard gives you spaces to enjoy nature, have a hot or icy cup of your favorite beverage, read, relax, eat dinner or have an intimate party. Small spaces work best for a cozy feeling. Even in a large or open yard, it is possible to create snug spaces. A little creativity and decoration will turn any backyard into a safe, cozy haven whether you want to use it as a sanctuary or a space to entertain.

Things You'll Need

• Outdoor furniture
• Trellis
• Pergola
• Plants
• Screen
• Arbor
• Vine plants
• Cushions
• Curtains
• Rug
• Fire pit
• Water feature

Instructions

1. Divide the backyard into rooms. Include a seating area and outdoor furniture for relaxing, a dining area on a deck or patio, and a play area if you have children or young guests. Incorporate gardens and landscaped beds into these areas or use them to help designate boundaries.

2. Create walls. Trellises, pergolas, plants and screens will all work. Use different materials or a combination of materials for each area. For example, a pergola provides shade and a potential roof for a patio, a trellised rose gives privacy to a corner reading nook, and a hedge of fruiting shrubs defines a play area or garden.

3. Use plants of varying heights in containers to break up large, open areas. Plant vines in a container with a trellis for a living, movable screen. Install arbors with climbing plants to make doorways into different yard sections.

4. Buy or make outdoor cushions, curtains and rugs. Soft surfaces feel more snug and comfortable. Use a rug on a patio or deck, place cushions on seating areas, and hang curtains on porches or pergolas for shade and privacy.

5. Add a firepit and water feature. A fire warms you in chilly weather. A water feature adds soothing sounds.

Tips & Warnings

• Corners make ideal locations for private seating and children's areas, especially if you have an existing fence or barrier.

• Use curves and hide corners with plants to soften square and rectangular yards.

• If you don't have trees, consider planting a few appropriately sized trees for shade and a feeling of enclosure.

References

• Kansas State Extension: Garden Rooms
• University of Kentucky; Planning Space for Outdoor Living; Linda Adler