The Backyard Design Trends You Need To Know About

A backyard design setting with a black and white striped sun umbrella, white outdoor setting and fence, plus greenery in white pots

Interior design may capture the headlines, but the backyard shouldn’t be overlooked. Be across the latest outdoor trends.

The latest trends in backyard design are a far cry from the sprawling lawns of yesteryear. They tend to be smaller, thanks to our demand for large homes on reduced lot sizes. Engaging with the outdoors benefits our mental health, and home designs are increasingly adept at making the most of available space, connecting to the outside with doors that can be pushed back to blur the boundary between internal and external.

Tip: Always wear the appropriate safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves and a mask, for example) when required on the job. Always follow the instructions for the product or equipment.

Key backyard design trends

● Connecting the indoors to the outdoors, and vice versa: Treating these spaces as extensions of each other to maximise spaces.

● Outdoor kitchens: Connecting the indoor and outdoor living with dining areas, fridges and bars set-ups in outdoor spaces.

● Wellness pockets in the backyard: Creating cozy and relaxing atmospheres in the garden and outdoor spaces for cold plunge pools, saunas and wellness havens.

● Outdoor automation: Lighting, irrigation systems and outdoor audio set-ups are gaining popularity with technological advances, and as we spend more time in our outdoor spaces.

● Sustainable vegetable and fruit gardens: Living in the paddock to plate philosophy – which means growing produce to save time and money.

● Less structure to gardens and outdoor spaces: Embracing ‘cottage-style’ or the parkland garden feel, without too much structure and a more relaxed vibe.

● Composite decking: This low-maintenance alternative to timber (which needs to be oiled regularly) is becoming a popular choice in outdoor spaces.

A lush green garden setting with pavers and raised steps showing a layered backyard design trend

Creating layered outdoor wellness spaces

We want areas within the garden to explore and experience, but the challenge is to make a lot happen within a smaller footprint. “In today’s compact backyards it’s essential to create layered spaces that engage the senses and evoke emotion,” NSW South Coast-based interior and garden designer Trisha Owens of Breeze Design says. “By thoughtfully integrating elements, like built-in seating around a fire pit, elevated plunge pools and pergolas for shade, we can craft distinct interconnected zones. This layering not only maximises functionality, but also fosters a seamless flow throughout the garden, encouraging exploration and a deeper connection with the outdoor environment.”

Outdoor kitchens

We’ve used the backyard for entertaining for forever and a day, but it’s now goodbye to the lone barbecue. “It’s an inbuilt, indoor-outdoor kitchen area now,” landscaper Jake Tonkin of Adelaide-based Bearfoot Landscape Co says. “You could pretty much live outside with some of the set-ups we’ve seen!” Think kitchen benchtop materials extended into the outdoor covered area; a built-in barbecue, bar fridge and sink as a minimum; and possibly a pizza oven, if that’s what floats your culinary boat.

A landscaped yard with a black fire pit sitting on pebbles, with a cement corner bench seat and hedging

Fire pits and bench seating

Fire pit areas have become a backyard drawcard – Jake says it’s one of the spaces he is being asked to deliver most often. “The fire pit is generally located somewhere in the back corner of the garden, so you’ve got a separation between the undercover seated area and your outdoor seated area,” he says. Bench seats, he adds, are his clients’ current go-to, “Whether it be a nice curved brick bench seat or ones with steel frames and timber batten tops.”

Growing your own

The other must-have for his clients, Jake says, is the dedicated veggie patch. “Since COVID, I’ve noticed a massive uptick in that area,” Jake says. “We’ve been doing a fenced off, dedicated spot just for the veggie patch itself. Those and the fire pit areas are the two main things we get asked to do.” Beyond growing produce, backyards are also taking self-sustainability to the next level. “I have clients that have beehives on their verandahs,” says Trisha. “They’re integrating the plants that feed those bees into the garden design – flowers to create pollen.”

A landscaped area with various plants, stonework, sleepers and gravel

The natural approach

Formal design still has its place, but increasingly we’re embracing a more relaxed look. “We’re finding that a lot of our customers are into cottage-style gardens,” Jake says. “The structure isn’t there so much anymore; it’s more random sort of placements, a little bit messy, more natural looking. Something you’d find walking in the parklands or going out in nature.” This approach extends to the materials used. “Corten steel edging, following the trend of the cottage garden, just gives that real rustic sort of look and creates all those curvatures and different shapes for your garden,” Jake says. “Probably about 70 per cent of our jobs involve corten steel edging.”

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Welcome to wellness

An improved focus on wellness is a takeaway from the pandemic that has also influenced what’s going on outdoors. “Now people are wanting saunas in their backyard because it’s a wellness connection that they’re wanting to tap into,” Trisha says, who also points to the little plunge pool or the outdoor shower, which doesn’t take up much space. Manufacturers, she adds, are coming to the party. “There are stand-up showers that can be plugged into the garden hose – they can be easy to install,” she says. “Those things are really quite new. When you look back, say, maybe 10 years in design, you wouldn’t have had that effortless application.”

Two tradies wearing sunglasses are crouching over a deck they have built using composite decking materials

Low-maintenance decking and gardens

We might love our backyard, but we don’t necessarily want to be a slave to it. Low maintenance in general is a priority for clients, explains Jake, who says that composite decking, like the Ekodeck range, is becoming ever more popular. “There’s zero maintenance compared to a timber deck, where you have to oil it every six to 12 months,” he says. “I think that’s one of the main trends I’ve noticed. Low maintenance can also go the way of planting, choosing hardy plants that don’t require too much water or trimming.”