Thoughtful Patio And Garden Design Ideas
Thoughtful patio and garden design ideas generally don’t come overnight. Unless you are fortunate enough to be able to hire a landscape architect or your home is landscaped when purchased, it takes time. It’s similar to interior design in that decorating should have a plan. I’m sharing some ideas today after 28 years of living in our home with a large amount of garden and patio that needs constant care and love.
If you’re here for the Seasonal Simplicity Series, then welcome and props to our hostess Krista from The Happy Housie! I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone is sharing today. Back to designing your special oasis…get out a pad of paper and a pen and start writing down what you hope to achieve.
Thoughtful Patio And Garden Design Ideas
Some questions that you might ask yourself:
- If I can only improve one area of the outdoor portion of my home, which one would it be? Do you have a front porch that would be amazing with some curb appeal or a back patio that you enjoy relaxing on with the family?
- What is my budget going to be for the outdoor improvements? That’s key of course, once you figure out which area to tackle.
- If your project is a hardscape improvement, can you do any of the work yourself or do you need to hire out?
- Can you get creative and repurpose what you already have?
- How much time am I really going to spend out in the area? If you live in a cold climate for example, would money spent on a swimming pool installation be better spent elsewhere?
So many things to consider and it’s all part of thoughtful patio and garden design ideas that should be firmly decided on first.
Define your focus
Long ago we decided to concentrate on the back of our home and not the front. Truth be told our house has really poor curb appeal! Built in the early 60’s it’s typical of many in Miami with local coral rock on the columns, no front porch and nothing architecturally lovely at all. Thankfully we do have a long circular driveway, but it’s black asphalt like most around here. You can see an image of the front as shot by BETTER HOMES & GARDENS magazine years ago (not much has changed;-). My husband had a good point to keep it blending in to the neighborhood and not make it stand out by updating. Let’s just say it’s safer for keeping intruders away. So the interior and the almost an acre out back became our focus. Decide on a focus…that would be my biggest exterior design tip!
Select your areas
The back patio is lovely, although I should say it’s NOW lovely but it’s taken a lot of work to get here. We sit out here as often as we can and it’s covered to keep the rain off.
Define your style
We had a lot of work done recently before we hosted our daughter’s wedding reception on the patio. You can see more about that beautiful event HERE. Having the pool resurfaced was something that we had been saving for and it was beyond in need. We are so happy and using it almost every day now for an evening swim! My style is definitely romantic and we are all good with that here.
Define your areas
Recently we expanded the other side of the patio with some new furniture for lounging. If you have a large expanse, break up the patio (or porch) into rooms. Consider placing some true indoor/outdoor that can be hosed down when dirty. These help to ground each space!
Out in the back by the water we enlarged our pea gravel patio and got some new furniture. It’s much more of a “room” now and with twinkle lights we hang out there at night.
A little bit of romance and a French country inspired style.
Add decorative objects
Finishing out our garden we added a few decorative objects such as this old concrete birdbath. With some floating candles it adds a glow at night and during the day it attracts birds.
Tomorrow I’m sharing my KITCHEN REVEAL, so stay tuned for that!
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The Seasonal Simplicity Summer series is back today; and this time we’re all about simple summer decor in our outdoor spaces! Patios, decks, backyards… bring them on! I can’t wait to take in all the gorgeous outdoor inspiration being shared today…
The Happy Housie / Inspiration for Moms / Rooms for Rent / Bless’er House
Shabbyfufu / Summer Adams / Making it in the Moutains / Tidbits
Confessions of a Serial DIYer / Clean and Scentsible / Just a Girl and Her Blog / Stacy Risenmay
Zevy Joy / Finding Silver Pennies / Deeply Southern Home / A Pretty Life
Southern State of Mind /Amber Tysl Newly Woodwards
Love your website. Read it every day!?
It’s absolutely gorgeous, Janet!!
Thank you so much Denise! xo
Love your patio and backyard oasis Janet!..Miss that tropical paradise! In the midst of packing up the house to move to a rental house while our “right-sized” home is being built..my hubby has plans for a lap pool…his “right sized” pool…Happy Summer Janet!
Since my hubby is a contractor I have always had building a home from scratch on my bucket list. At this point, not sure if that will ever be a reality, so I’m looking forward to seeing what you do. I know it will be amazing!
You have such a gorgeous outdoor space, Janet, and I absolutely love your tips for planning your outdoor areas. Brilliant post! So glad you could be part of this hop!
Thank you so much for this series Krista. One of the best that I’ve had the opportunity to participate in! xoxo
All those roses! It is so dreamy. What a beautiful yard you have!
Thanks Stacy…I wish that I could grow them here, but not the case. I’ll be visiting the tour over the weekend and looking forward to your post!
This is a beautiful outdoor space – I can imagine it made a gorgeous backdrop for your daughter’s wedding!
Thank you Kim…it was a great event and luckily the weather held out! I’ll be visiting the tour over the weekend!
So much wonderful info you are giving here, Janet! Someday… someday???? LOL!
What a perfect spot for a wedding reception! I’m sure your daughter loved it! Everything looks so gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing, Janet!
~Abby =)
Thanks Abby…it was a fun event having the wedding at the home where my daughter grew up ;-)) I’ll be visiting the tour over the weekend and can’t wait to see what you’ve shared! xo
Wow your outdoor space is gorgeous and I bet they are so lovely to see in person. What a perfect place to host a wedding reception! XO
Thank you so much Christy! I’ll be visiting the tour over the weekend and can’t wait to see what you’ve created! xo
Goodness Janet, this is just the dreamiest backyard I think I’ve ever seen! SO lovely!
You’re so sweet, thank you Kristi! I’ll be visiting the tour over the weekend…enjoy your day!
Janet, I always find so much inspiration in your backyard! It’s always stunning!!! Xoxo
Thanks Summer! I’ll be visiting the tour over the weekend and can’t wait to see your lemony post! xo
If entertaining is your goal perhaps access through a family room would be ideal. Include a pass-through (or additional access) to the kitchen so drinks and snacks can be acquired easily.
You have such a beautiful yard! And you are right, it takes time to create spaces we love in and outside of our homes…tackling one area at a time is the best way to do it!
What a gorgeous space you have created. I love your table settings. Just stunning!
What a gorgeous backyard space! It’s like your own private resort! I love the furniture on your pea gravel patio – especially those chairs!! I hope you enjoy your space this summer.
Beautiful backyard! This is the kind of place I would love to have my daughter’s wedding reception at. Everything is so gorgeous and very detailed. The memories here would definitely last a lifetime. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, I can understand why you don’t want anybody to notice what a wonderful sight your house has inside and behind. Burglars are a pest! Luckily we have a really big, black dog who does a very good job ; – )
I am working in our garden for more than 20 years and it will never end to be changed. First we needed a lot of free space for the kids and their friends and now we enjoy our pool and the terraces around the house. Now where we get older it has to be easy going.
Best wishes from rainy Germany,
Heike
Sounds like your garden area is beautiful Heike!