The big cities have a lot, but they miss the spatial backyards of the villages. Designers who work with compact apartment owners in highly populated areas such as San Francisco and New York specialize in transforming smaller, narrow or awkwardly organized spaces into comfortable and functional extensions of the living area and enhancing the small backyard.
The ideas for small backyards developed by architects
The small backyard ideas apply to all cases where you want to functionally expand your outdoor space and create a place to relax. Try these 26 ideas.
Make the yard functional
1. Divide the small backyard into smaller zones or rooms. Create a strategic division of functions using built-in facilities andFurnitureuse that delineate different corners for eating, resting and cooking. This backyard in Brooklyn, New York has all four zones.
2. Implement a small lighting design
This space in a small backyard has diverse lighting scheme. The wall sconces serve many functions, such as illuminating the grill, landscape and planting, as well as general ambient lighting. At the same time, pendant lights are placed above the dining area.
3. Extend the interior space
Architect Carson Arthur may ask clients which indoor area seems too small to them and then establishes the majority of that area in the backyard. Is your kitchen too small? Or do you need a larger family room? With the development of outdoor technologies, everything can be done indoors.
Here a small rug helps establish an extra living space in a small backyard in Detroit.
4. Complete the interior
Use the same colors and style you already have inside for the small backyard to make it look more like your own living room. "Stylistically, you want to grab colors and textures that connect the two spaces," says Amber Freda, a landscape architect in New York. 'Make more than a pair of chairs and table. A simple dining table with wooden chairs won't entice you to use it, but it will make a really comfortable lounge.
5. Play with the angles
If you have a small square, small backyard, landscape architect Rich Radford suggests turning the flooring sideways toward the home to create more landscape space. In the backyard with dimensions of 8-9 meters, he moved the surface to 45 degrees to achieve more surface area.
6. Be careful with scale
If you have a small yard, the last thing you want to do is clutter it up with a ten-person dining table. Instead of something like this, consider the options for something built-in or pull-out. Likewise, you don't want a plant that grows 30 meters high and completely takes over the room. Here Radford has cleverly worked with small, local plants to retain the sense of freedom.
7. Use only one material for the surfaces
If you have multi functional zones, use the same material to unite the spaces.
'The small rooms need this connection,' says Arthur, who designed this 17 x 7 meter room for a family with small children. A designated play zone keeps kids close while parents enjoy themselves, and the unbroken line of flooring unifies all zones.
Radford even goes further by suggesting we use the same material we used for all the other surfaces in the apartment. For one of his yard projects, he used the same paving material as the front entrance path. "It created a unified space that visually enlarged the courtyard," he said.
8. Avoid the clutter
The more elements your yard has, the narrower it will be. Instead of that, try using built-in seating, incorporate clean lines, avoid too much furniture and control planting. "If something gets out of hand in the backyard and takes over that little space, that's always a plant that's too happy," says Arthur.
Freda agrees: 'Avoid the hodgepodge effect,' she says. 'Instead of having 20 small flower pots, grow in just 5 for a better impression of cleanliness. Take only two or three types of plants in a pair of colors - this will make the atmosphere look less chaotic and confusing.
To make the most of this 7-by-6-meter-wide Toronto backyard, architect Erik Calhoun built elevated decks over the very tall roots of a tree. He saved the large plants to ensure more recreational space. 'The bushes or hedges would take up a meter and people could no longer move around here,' he says.
9. Enclose the space
This may sound counterintuitive if you're trying to enlarge a small room, but the idea can be helpful for your space. "If you limit the small area more, you can achieve coziness and intimacy," says Arthur. "This can also take the environment to the next level where it looks like a room outside."
Pergolas are perfect for creating a feeling of intimacy, but you can achieve the same effect through planting. Architect Gary Beyerl's backyard is 3 x 6 meters wide. Because he has apartment elements that are attached to the house, he wanted to design something that would afford him privacy. He used vertical plants such as trumpet flower and Cercis canadensis to form a packed zone. 'By extending the plant zone along the vertical surfaces of an urban space, you can realize great benefits,' he says. "I have a green environment, even if it is small."
10. Be considerate of the sight
If it is not so pleasant, Beyerl recommends using various control elements. His favorite elements are the grids. In his Chicago apartment, he used them to block the sights of the infamous cable network through city avenues. "The grids give you the advantage of perception," he says. 'They hide the sight, but allow the light and the wind to come freely. The bars are less depressing than the fences.
11. Include contrasts
"Always think about interesting contrasts," says Freda. Mixing squares and rectangular shapes with oval ones will give a good result. Place plants with prickly leaves next to those with wavy leaves. 'The visual effect is better than if everything is the same,' says Freda. 'If you have a square area, I will place the plants in the same shape, but certainly with a round table in the middle for counterpoint.'
12. Don't overdo the care
One of the good things about small backyards is that they are easy to clean. But don't just be busy with that! Arthur suggests using containers for plants rather than soil. 'Otherwise everything will be conquered by your court,' he says. 'The flower containers will retain the warmth of the plants, but with easy care'.
The local succulents and grasses reduce the water supply, but you should also take the artificial turf into consideration. 'They retain the color and character of the mini garden better than the natural ones,' says Beyerl. San Francisco designer Martha Angus used artificial turf in the backyard, shown below, and also recommends boxwood. 'The boxwood hedge should be 45 - 60 deep,' she says. 'This takes up too much space. The boxwood grows in squares 8cm deep and can easily be stapled to form a fence. They are very beautiful, don't need water and don't need so much space'.
13. A terrace on the sloping surface
Angus' project here highlights another good method of enlarging a small backyard. If you have a severely sloping yard, grade it down. 'Basically, this process costs a lot of money,' says Angus, 'because you want to build an additional structure to support the terrace. But after that you will have plenty of surface area for activities'.
14. Personalize the space
In small areas the character of the garden is very important. You want something that people won't keep because of dimensions. "It's more important to give the small space character," says Arthur. 'You don't want the guests to say, 'Oh, what a little backyard', but to take in some of the atmosphere of the place for themselves.' Arthur suggests using primary colors not only for children's elements but also for funky furniture to give the room more charm. Angus recommends hiring a local artist to create a tile design on the wall or floor.
15. Build a focal point
The focal point is one of the interesting small backyard ideas because it draws attention away from the dimensions of the backyard. Arthur loves the water elements. He even added a plant container right in the center of the room so that the audience's eyes would focus there and visually pull back the walls. Art and sculpture can do a lot. "A single sculpture with lighting can be phenomenal," says Angus.
16. Let design help
It doesn't look like it, but actually small rooms are harder to design. A professional trained in such spaces can meet your requests and needs
Calhoun suggests finding a specialized architect who will find the right approach to your unique space. Is there a lot of sun there? Rain? Wind? 'You want someone who knows the whole philosophy,' he says. 'A landscape architect who is only a professional in country-garden construction will do the same to your case, but this will not reflect the specifics of the building. Beyerl suggests trusting a team of professionals. 'Designing spaces is an architect's job,' he says. Then a carpenter can add the design finesse. And a landscape architect will only take care of the plant containers.
