How to Makeover Your Backyard
Start with a goal that helps you come up with an overall plan for your backyard makeover. Are you the social type who dreams of summer barbecues and evening soirees with plenty of friends? Or are you looking for a private oasis that will help you forget the hustle and bustle of your work day? A deck will elevate your party, giving you a solid, dry space for all of your fun activities. Another option and less expensive is a ground-level patio made from bricks, pavers, flagstones, or even with gravel.
When to Makeover Your Backyard
The most favorable time to begin your backyard makeover runs from late spring to early fall, in most areas. But it all depends on what you’re doing. For one, concrete is temperature-sensitive; generally, you will want temperatures to be above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Bricks and pavers can be laid at any time of the year, as long as the ground is soft enough for you to dig several inches down. Many homeowners choose to accelerate their backyard makeovers, pushing them into those less-than-favorable months, so that they can enjoy the fruits of their labors in spring and summer.
After: Functional Beauty
With assistance from landscape architect Richard Laughlin, the homeowners turned the ignored concrete driveway into a cool, green space for their dogs to play. They built a pergola to provide shade while relaxing during hot Utah days. Not only does a pergola act as a base for trailing vines, but it also helps to visually delineate an area. Before-and-After Bungalow Makeover from Richard Laughlin
After: High and Dry and Gorgeous
One foot of topsoil was added to the entire area, raising it to match Carol’s adjoining property. To further promote drainage, hardscaping was the order of the day. Evergreen yews form a low hedge to separate the newly made-over backyard from the street. The first order of business for a backyard makeover is to properly manage the water. Water from gutters and downspouts, groundwater, or even from neighbors can ruin the best-laid makeover plans. French drains are a popular way of siphoning off excess backyard water. Before-and-After Chicago Backyard Expansion Makeover
After: Weekend Transformation
After removing the stump, weeds, and excess, Chris and Julia added steel walkway edging to contain the pea gravel. A few flagstones at the beginning of the walkway encourage guests to walk toward the back. The truly tempting invitation, though, is the do-it-yourself fire pit. They purchased the fire pit as an all-in-one kit. But similar fire pits can easily be built by creating a circle of retaining wall blocks. Weekend Backyard Makeover from Chris Loves Julia
After: Perfect Respite
To add grass to their backyard without the expense or work of rolling out sod, Kim and Scott used a tiller to loosen the soil and prepare it for overseeding. Maintaining a depth of just three inches made raking and clean-up easier. Young cypress ring the property and will grow upwards and outwards to form a green privacy screen. The centerpiece of their creation is a pea gravel patio with Adirondack chairs facing a do-it-yourself firepit. Three-Day Backyard Makeover from Yellow Brick Home
After: Backyard Oasis
Though it cost a bundle, Molly says it was completely worth it to move the air conditioner unit from the patio. Then, six feet were added to the end of the patio to increase the entertaining space. Modern pavers set in sand set a desert mood, and the perimeter of bougainvillea adds dots of lively color when they bloom. They also gave the house a fresh coat of paint. All in all, the eventual design was cool, crisp, contemporary, and big on solid shapes. Backyard Oasis Makeover from Almost Makes Perfect
After: Modern Lines
Because the house on its big, half-acre lot is modern, it made sense to makeover the backyard accordingly. Standard, hardy plants perfect for that region were incorporated into the design: boxwood, yew, and hornbeam. Large format concrete pavers set in Mexican river rock complete the contemporary look. New turf was rolled out. Ready-made, rolled turf needs some time to stitch together after it’s been laid out, and it’s usually a few weeks before it can be walked on. But it’s much faster than seeding a lawn from scratch, a process that can take up a year or two. Before-and-After Modern Backyard Makeover
After: Kid-Friendly Backyard
This backyard was made over with fun in mind. First, the swing set received Farrow & Ball exterior paint in a shade to match the fence, helping it to visually melt away. A new wooden playset expands play opportunities for the kids. Emily, too, recommends reducing the “square-box effect” of backyards. To that end, she lined one edge of the lawn with flagstones and put in plants of varying textures and heights, such as salvia, sedum, and lavender, around the rest of the perimeter. Kid-Friendly Backyard Makeover from Style by Emily Henderson
After: Natural
Illinois landscape designers Van Zelst, Inc. transformed an awkward backyard into one that was more free-flowing and easy on the eyes. The stamped concrete was broken up and hauled away, to be replaced by bluestone and fieldstone liberally dotted around the yard. Fresh plantings enhance the home’s exterior, with a few splashes of color to add interest. Backyard Stonework Makeover from Van Zelst, Inc. Yet the brains behind the design blog Classy Clutter had a trick up their sleeves. They figured that they would rather cover up the cinder blocks.
After: Private Haven
Instead of tearing out or painting the cinder block wall, the Classy Clutter team devised a privacy screen and built it from inexpensive one-by-two lumber. Weather-resistant Sunbrella fabric shades the Arizona sun from the outdoor loveseat and two swivel rockers. Backyard Brick Wall Makeover from Classy Clutter
