Spending time outdoors is one of the joys of homeownership. Your outdoor space is an extension of the home and hosts many of your favorite activities. Its customization is up to you, in order for your patio to become an ideal expression of your outdoor lifestyle. If your outdoor living space needs a new look to achieve this goal, consider the following landscape design ideas for your backyard in Manhasset and Setauket, NY.
A Home-Like Feel with Several Fire Features
Nothing quite brings people together like a warm fire on a chilly night. While many outdoor living spaces contain a fire feature, there’s no reason to limit the fun and cozy ambience to just one area within your patio and landscape—while the rest of the space remains cold and less inviting.
An outdoor fireplace constructed from beautiful masonry can stand as a proud structure at the center, figuratively or literally, at the center of your outdoor living space. Outdoor fireplaces can be fueled with either wood or gas, and you have many styles to choose from for the design. Fantastic at holding heat in a space, outdoor fireplaces become the natural gathering places for many backyards.
A fire table is the perfect combination of a fire pit and a dining table. This type of fire feature can be coffee table height, dining table height, or bar height, and can take the place of a traditional outdoor dining table. Since fire tables are fueled with gas or propane, they can safely be located under a pavilion to create an appealing multi-season outdoor space.
As for a fire pit, this option can become a fun destination anywhere in the landscape, or a prominent feature on your patio. Whether you prefer a round or square fire pit, you can be sure that a large crowd can gather around to share in the warmth.
Step It Up
A multidimensional outdoor space is a clear solution to maximize the space of a sloped lot. However, even a perfectly flat backyard can be made more interesting by using elevation changes between activity zones. For example, your outdoor kitchen could be located on the “main” level convenient to the home. Setting an outdoor dining area one or two steps up would elevate it in importance. Dropping a fire pit seating area down one step creates a “conversation pit” feel that makes the space feel cozier.
This is also an opportunity to change up the materials between these areas. Your outdoor kitchen area could feature patio pavers underfoot, well-sealed for easy cleanup from inevitable food and beverage spills. The elevated dining space could be set on a composite deck in colors that contrast the colors of the main patio. And the fire pit-centered “living room” could feature classic brick pavers in a timeless herringbone pattern.
A tiered living space could be an opportunity to use multiple flooring materials if you’re having a hard time deciding on just one.
A Room-Like Approach
If your backyard patio feels too big and impersonal, consider a design change to a series of smaller interconnected patios. Whether they’re separated by a short walkway or a step up or down, each mini-patio would have its own character. This approach lets every family member enjoy the backyard in the way they want. It’s also a way to bring your landscaping closer in for a more natural feel. Surrounding each mini-patio with native vegetation helps the space feel cozy —more like a room as opposed to an undefined section of a patio.
