16 Garden Design Ideas To Make The Most Of Your Outdoor Space

Home is where the heart is, so why not transform your outdoor spaces into something spectacular that is a salve for the heart and the soul? So many homeowners invest a lot of time and money into creating the perfect indoor spaces but often neglect the outdoors. What a waste! There are so many interesting garden design ideas out there, and we can guarantee you’ll find one that you can’t resist. If you’re lucky enough to own a home with a bit of land, you have an entire area of your property to create the perfect outdoor oasis. 

We’ve found 16 excellent garden design ideas to extend the comfort of your home from inside to outside so you can make the most of all the space you have.

1. Add A BBQ Area

Who doesn’t love a good BBQ? If you love cooking outdoors, create an area in your garden for a BBQ. There are many different designs you can choose from when it comes to choosing a BBQ. You can have one constructed to be a focal feature in your garden or opt for a fire pit or portable BBQ. Position the BBQ close to your outdoor dining area, and you have a winner. 

2. Build A Bar

Nothing is more relaxing than having a nice drink at the end of a long, tiring day at work. An outdoor bar or portable drinks station can add a fun touch to your garden.

A bar will also create the perfect place for entertaining outdoors, and your friends will love having drinks under the stars with you. Discover more beer garden ideas.

3. Try Container Planting

Whether you have a lot of outdoor space or a little, container planting can help create a stunning garden. Container planting is more manageable than actual gardens, with fewer weeds to pull.

Create groups of containers in different sizes and arrange them with larger ones at the back or in the middle of a group of containers and smaller ones around. Groups of three work well, especially if all three containers are different sizes[i]. 

4. Create Living Walls

Add life to a dull section of fence or a wall with a living or green wall. All you need to create a living wall is a structure that can hold small pots or something like hydroculture felt.

Cover this structure with plants and varieties of small ferns, or create an edible living wall and plant strawberries. 

5. Introduce Colour

The obvious way to add colour to your garden is to plant various flowering plants. However, you can enhance the look of an outdoor space with a pop of colour using things like plant containers, a mosaic or bright cushions on your outdoor furniture.

You can also paint a bland-looking courtyard wall in a single bright colour to add some life to a dull area. 

6. Landscape For Wildlife

The presence of wildlife is always a welcome sight and, depending on the size of your garden, you can keep a corner or two of your garden au naturel to entice local wildlife. For example, plant some trees and shrubs to give birds and squirrels a place to hide and add some feeders to really attract them.

You can also add a rustic-looking woodpile to a corner of your yard which looks charming and adds more shelter for little critters to seek shelter. Of course, if you would prefer keep animals away from your garden and enjoy the tranquility and plants in piece, try these guides:

• Bird deterrent methods
• Plants to deter cats
• Wasp repellent plants

7. Use Lights To Create Atmosphere

Watching the sun go down from the comfort of your Adirondack Chair is a great way to unwind, but very few people want to stay outdoors in complete darkness. The right lighting can create the perfect atmosphere for relaxing and entertaining, and it’s easy to add lighting. You can add solar lights with spikes, which you can place along pathways, Tikki torches or lanterns around dining and sitting areas or a string of outdoor lights hung from your house to an outdoor sitting area. You can also use a few different lights for a stunning light scene. 

Learn how to hang festoon lights for more info.

8. Extend Your Living Space

There are quite a few ways you can extend your outdoor living space. Adding a garden or sunroom that extends from your back door is one way, but you can also add a gazebo as a focal point in your garden or even convert a garden shed into an outdoor dining area using compact 2 seater garden benches as the seating. Look at the space you have to work with and decide on what works best with what you have. The best thing about a covered outdoor living space is that you can use it on rainy days or simply have a nice shady area to enjoy when the sun is too hot and bright. 

9. Add Subtle Touches

We use various ornaments to enhance our indoor spaces, so why not add a few decorations to your outdoor space? Garden ornaments can be as simple or as elaborate as you choose, and you can choose from stunning planters to hanging baskets or ornaments that resemble animals. If this isn’t your style, you can always add stone features or picture frames to walls and fences.

All you need to do is decide on the theme you want and choose ornaments to work with this theme. If you have kids, you can even create a magical fairy garden which will get the kids outside and away from digital screens. 

10. Zone Your Garden

Why not divide your garden into different sections or zones if you have enough space? Create different garden boxes or sectioned flower beds. For example, you can plant taller shrubs along the borders of your garden space with smaller flowering plants at a slightly lower level.

You can also have special sections just for kids, a nice quiet corner for sipping tea and perhaps even raised boxes for growing some vegetables. Zoning your garden is a great way to utilize large spaces, and it sounds much better to say, “let’s have tea by the pond” than “let’s have tea outside”. Have a clear idea of the different sections you want and start creating them one at a time. 

11. Decorate Your Boundary Walls

Walls and fences in suburban gardens can look very dull. However, you can spruce them up a bit with a little creativity and imagination. For example, you can incorporate a mosaic scene, a mirrored section on the wall or a terracotta feature.

You can also choose an area or two to paint a mural for something extra special. If you get really creative, you can even have a mural as an extension of your flower gardens and tie both scenes together. 

12. Invest In Furniture

One area of garden design you don’t want to cut corners on is garden furniture. Sure, there are “affordable” plastic pieces you can get, but they are not very comfortable and won’t last long. A good outdoor dining set with wooden garden chairs is the way to go if you love entertaining. Add some comfy cushions, and everyone will be comfortable. You can also add a wooden garden bench or lounge chairs to create the perfect place to unwind at the end of a tiring day. 

13. Integrate Levels

If you have a sloping garden, you can create different levels for a truly stunning look that is also functional. For example, a wooden deck with steps can create a space that separates one section of the garden from another, but if you don’t want stone or wooden steps, you can dig steps into the ground and let the grass grow over for authentic “green steps”. If your inclines are not steep, you can create gently sloping paths that can take you from one garden area to another with charm and purpose. 

14. Filter Noise With Trees

Not everyone can have a house in the countryside, and if your home is beside a busy road, you may find it hard to relax in your outdoor space. Trees can create a buffer for you to block out some noise from a busy road. Look at tall hedges and shrubs as a solution.

You can plant these close together, so you don’t see the road. Not only will this keep the noise levels down, but it also give you privacy from the prying eyes of passers-by. 

15. Plan Your Flower Beds

Before you rush to your local nursery to buy up plants to add to your garden, plan where you want your flower beds to be. Most people opt for the flowerbeds along the property’s boundary, but this should not be your only option. Flowerbeds along pathways can also look stunning, or you can create circular garden beds strategically around your garden.

Once you decide where your flowerbeds will be, choose plants of different sizes that will flower at different times of the year so you can always have a pop of colour in your garden. 

16. Try A Water Feature

What’s a simple way to bring a touch of tranquil elegance to your backyard? Consider installing a water feature!

No matter if your area is expansive or more on the compact side, adding a water feature is easy to do and immediately transforms your outdoor environment into a more calming and soothing space, perfect for attracting birds.

Try Our Garden Design Ideas

Don’t let your outdoor space go to waste with nothing but a large expanse of lawn. Lawns may look pretty, but they also require a lot of maintenance and care. You can do so much more with your outdoor space and create something extra special with a collection of fabulous garden design ideas that will add value to your home and give you a space you will love spending time in. 

What are your favourite garden design ideas? Let us know!

FAQs

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Sources

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RHS. (2021) Growing plants in containers. [online] Available at: https://www.rhs.org.uk/container-gardening/planting-up [accessed 08/04/2025]