Does your outdoor living area seem cramped, uninviting, or too plain tiny to offer a pleasant experience? Don’t let enjoyment be limited by your yard’s dimensions! Use these 5 ways to make the most of small outdoor living spaces and reclaim your landscape.
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Extend your home’s interior.
The transition between an indoor room and a home’s exterior is a perfect opportunity to increase the size and functional scope of an outdoor living space. Make the most of your property by erasing the inside-outside barrier. Lay a paver patio flush against your main home and install glass sliding doors for visual continuity between spaces. Define your outdoor area with a clear border, which is suggestive of room-like structure.
Make the most of small spaces between exterior walls and stretches of grass, fencing, or other homes by filling them with unexpected, yet practical elements. Plush loungers in a bold hue enhance this front entryway, while a low wall and strategically placed plantings enclose the outdoor living space.
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Think vertically.
Want to decorate your small outdoor living space, but don’t think you have enough room? Think again. Tall, sculptural shrubs bring fullness to a patio or garden. Use visually interesting pots to further lift plants up. Stack candles, baskets, and flowering plants atop existing features, such as a compact outdoor waterfall or stone wall.
For a nifty visual trick, employ floor-to-ceiling columns and walls to make a small space appear larger. Repeated vertical lines draw the eye upward, creating an impression of spaciousness. Tall-growing plants with narrow stems add a natural touch.
Spatial constraints can hinder an outdoor living area’s functionality and aesthetic. Look to ceilings, fences, and walls for places to hang alternative furniture and décor. A funky suspended chair boldly defines this small outdoor living area, making the most of its vertical dimensions.
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Create intimacy.
Play up the tininess of your outdoor living space by converting it into a cozy haven. Towering wooden fencing and an interior stone wall encompass this lounge area, providing a sense of intimacy. Use your small outdoor space to get some well-deserved relaxation and privacy after a long day.
A petite patio nestled within lush, cool greenery doesn’t require much else to offer an incredible experience. Make the most of small potted plants, medium-height shrubs, and your landscape’s tallest trees for a layered look. Let nature do the work. All you’ll need to add is a bistro table and two chairs.
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Furnish smartly.
A limited outdoor space can be maximized by filling it with functional, multi-purpose features. Situate sofas and chairs in a layout which invites engagement, rather than faces people away from one another. Low walls strategically break up this small outdoor living space while doubling as overflow seating. A warm hearth encourages compact gatherings.
Be mindful of scale when furnishing your outdoor living space. Make the most of a small area with appropriately sized tables and chairs, opting for condensed, yet pleasantly practical options. Striped cushions and accent pillows maintain visual excitement in this tiny patio, fortifying each piece of furniture’s importance.
On the opposite end, some landscape designers suggest using large-scale furniture in limited doses to make an area appear more spacious. Bulky outdoor furniture and a wide-brimmed umbrella provide a sense of stateliness to this patio. Leaving just enough room to navigate around the rectangular fire pit makes the most of this small outdoor living space.
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Focal points for visual grounding.
Detract from the small size of an outdoor living space by incorporating a unique focal point. The smooth flow of this rustic waterfall provides simple serenity fitting for a tiny space. Moreover, its resounding sound produces a magnifying effect.
Placing a focal point in the center of a small outdoor living space will lead the eye away from walls, hedges, or other features used to distinguish property lines. The modern appeal of this three-tiered water feature is enhanced by uplights. An overall lighting scheme creates a phenomenal result that diminishes the necessity for a larger visual field.
Nothing attracts the senses like the brilliant light and warmth of flickering flames. A gorgeous outdoor fireplace makes the most of this small sitting area, clearly claiming its role as the center of attention. Needing to cozy up won’t be perceived as a pitfall of this outdoor living space.
