75 modern private house yard design ideas

A country cottage or private house within the city is a source of pride for the owners. Once upon a time, such housing was certainly associated with beds, vegetable gardens and greenhouses. But times are changing, and the functional use of the yard area has long faded into the background. Landscape design has gradually reached even the most remote villages; private houses are now real miniature recreation parks. Where the potatoes grew, there is now a decorative pond, gazebos rise in place of the greenhouses, and the beds have been replaced with flower beds and fountains.

It takes a lot of effort to decorate the area adjacent to the house, and maintaining order requires quite a lot of time. But all your hard work is rewarded by the fact that in return you get a luxurious place to relax in silence or gather with a noisy company.

The courtyard of a private house is made on several levels

You can create a dining area in the backyard

A small bridge in the courtyard of a private house

The first stage of designing a yard design is choosing a stylistic direction. This choice plays a huge role, since it determines in what direction the designer needs to move further. It’s worth making a decision here not only based on personal preferences, but also taking into account the following factors:

the area you have;
the limit of time that you allow to be spent on maintaining the proper appearance of the yard;
climate and soil type.

There are several most popular options that experts offer for the design of the courtyard of a private house.

In English style

This style is ideal if the house is located in the back of the plot and shows an open facade. Then in the yard you can place an alley leading to the front door, and in the backyard you can arrange a recreation area.

English style assumes maximum naturalness. The territory should look as if a person’s hand never touched it. This means smooth lines, no asymmetry, no meandering paths and no landscape irregularities. Plants are usually placed in tiers: first grass and flowers, then shrubs and trees.

An artificial reservoir in the form of a small pond would also fit perfectly here.

Original path made from wood cuts

Selecting a recreation area with bushes

See alsoDesign of kitchen-living room 16 sq.m. m.

Garden decoration

The instructions for decorating a vegetable garden are extremely simple - the beds should be small and neat. This will create an atmosphere of simplicity and comfort. Most often, in gardens decorated in a rustic style, mixed cultivation of vegetables, herbs and flowers is practiced.

Beds with basil, aromatic parsley or cilantro will look great. In addition, several beds can be set aside for seedlings of cucumbers, tomatoes or other vegetables. There is a place in such a garden for a bright sunflower or wild openwork grapes.

Note! If you want to get a rich harvest, you should set aside a sunny part of the plot for the beds.

Caring for such beds will not be difficult, but in the end you will be able to treat your loved ones with vegetables and herbs grown yourself.

Japanese style

Here a pond is not just a desirable, but an obligatory element. Usually it is the central object, and everything else is built around it. The pond is decorated with bridges, stones, and gazebos are installed on its banks. The main representatives of the flora are rhododendron, juniper and dwarf pine.

Japanese style is quite complex in design and perception; its beauty is deeper and reveals itself gradually.

Such a courtyard encourages philosophical reasoning, relaxes and gives a person peace of mind.

Paths connect all functional areas on the site

Backyard with dining area

Relaxation area in the courtyard of a private house

See alsoFacade design of a private house.

Backyard

The backyard area of the house can also be made especially elegant. In addition, this is the most suitable place to relax. Here, near your beautiful private home, garden wicker furniture with soft cushions surrounded by beautiful flowering plants will look charming.

Staying in such a cozy place will evoke incredibly pleasant emotions and you will not want to leave such a wonderful corner.

Mediterranean style

A harmonious combination of ancient Greek and Roman styles, this Mediterranean style is a favorite of landscape designers and evokes the wondrous beauty of southern nature.

Its distinctive feature is the abundance of stone in all its manifestations: marble chips, sea pebbles, and simply unprocessed rocks.

A Mediterranean-style yard should be associated with a mountain coast, so it is customary to place various hills on it. This could be a staircase, a retaining wall, or a slope with a terrace located on it.

Plants play a huge role here. In such gardens, topiary is widely used - curly cutting of plants and giving them fancy shapes. In addition, the Mediterranean flora delights with delicious fruits: citruses, pistachios and olives. Small palm trees, flower beds planted with roses or variegated perennial flowers, and lawns of herbs are also used.

As for architectural elements, there are plenty of them here. A patio is set up in the inner part, the area is decorated with arches, terraces and hedges, and, of course, fountains.

In the backyard you can organize a small fountain and put a dining table

You can arrange a gazebo in the yard

See alsoCreating the interior of a village house.

Planning the yard design

A beautiful yard plays a very important role, because it is where the first impression of the house and its owners begins. Therefore, the garden plot should be given no less attention than the cottage itself.

In order to save time and money, avoid alterations and reconstructions, when starting planning, it is worth answering a couple of questions.

What is more important to you – beauty or practicality?	If the need for practical use prevails, then first place the most necessary things in the yard, and only after that fill the free space with decorative elements.
What will you use the yard for? Do you often get together with friends and have get-togethers outdoors?	Planning to relax alone? Take care of a shady corner, install a fountain or pond. Gathering a group of friends? Build a gazebo and equip the area with a place for cooking.
Do you have children and pets?	Take care of their safety. Avoid deep bodies of water and be careful with fire and electrical wiring.
How do you imagine a beautiful yard?	Choose a style according to your own preferences, add decorative elements, plant plants.

Thematic corners in the yard

Zoning different areas of the yard can be done with plants

Relaxation area on the site of a private house

All your subsequent decisions depend on the answers to these questions. This is especially true for small yards, where it is not possible to arrange everything at once, and you have to prioritize.

Having some plan in mind for creating a landscape design, you can begin arranging objects on the ground. It is recommended to mentally divide the area into squares responsible for different functional areas. Each zone will correspond to one key figure - a gazebo, rock garden, pond, flower bed or patio. This way, all objects will be distributed evenly and balanced throughout the yard.

Before proceeding directly to construction, check the condition of the territory. If water accumulation is detected, install drainage. At the same stage, all communications necessary for watering plants and operating reservoirs are laid.

The courtyard of a private house is made on several levels

You can set up a dining table in the backyard

Laying the paths

After we have divided the territory into zones, it is necessary to make sure that you can easily move between them. To do this, it is worth equipping special paths in the yard. They can be completely different: some will like winding paths, some will prefer straight trajectories, and some will like something in between.

The track material also provides a huge choice:

large flat stones;
brick;
gravel;
concrete plates;
cobblestone.

Paths can be left without fencing or emphasized with a small fence or decorative border.

If the area is uneven, it can be designed in different planes, connecting adjacent segments using stairs.

See alsoEnglish garden landscape design: ideas with photos

Planting plants

At first glance, it may seem that planting plants is an issue that cannot cause any particular difficulties. However, many garden crops are quite capricious and excessive self-confidence here can lead to the fact that after some time all the work done will have to be redone. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to follow a number of rules when landscaping your yard.

Do not place coniferous plants and shrubs in covered areas. Despite the fact that they look quite impressive here, removing their needles from the terrace every morning is far from the best thing.
Don’t bother yourself with overly whimsical plants that require constant care. If you don’t feel a particular craving for gardening in your soul, then opt for more modest bushes and trees.
A pond implies elegant decor, but not plants rinsing their leaves in it. Therefore, deciduous plants should be kept away from it.
The trend of replacing fences with hedges is gaining popularity. The plants used should be quite dense and have an average height, since too tall ones will look sloppy, and low ones will not be able to cover the area from prying eyes.
There is no area that would not be decorated with a beautiful flower bed. You can break one large one or several small ones. But remember that if you plant several at once, it is important that they are combined with each other.
A small area is not a reason to refuse landscaping. Use a vertical arrangement using alpine slides, ledges and cascades.

You can put a decorative well in the yard

Japanese style house design against a forest background

The stone fountain in the middle of the yard looks very beautiful

Advantages of wooden houses

Almost everyone agrees that a house made of wood looks more solid and aesthetically pleasing than houses made of other modern materials for construction and decoration.
Wooden houses have two unique features - sound insulation and thermal insulation. The former will allow you to play loud music, watch TV or organize noisy meetings without disturbing your neighbors, while the latter will not allow the heat to escape in the cold winter. In addition, in wooden houses the humidity level is always optimal for comfort, regardless of weather conditions.

The tree also contains substances called phytonides. Thanks to them, optimal temperature and humidity are maintained in the house. Wooden houses are practical and beautiful. The interior design of a country house with your own hands can serve as an example of the aesthetics of wooden buildings.

Arranging decorative elements

In order for the appearance of the garden plot to be complete and make it clear that professionals have had a hand here, you should add some decorative elements to the landscape design.

Classics of the genre - garden sculptures. They should be consistent in style with the overall design of not only the site, but also the house. These can be either classical statues or abstract installations. Their size is of great importance, which is selected depending on the free space you have. They can beneficially fill the free space of a large yard, but it is better not to clutter up a small area with them.

Decorative arches look good on almost any site. To create an additional effect, they are covered with ivy or other plants, and special lighting is selected for them. They can be placed singly, one after another, or in one row.

Be sure to maintain the overall style with your decor. If this is Provence, then clay pots and wicker fences will be appropriate; for the Mediterranean style, amphorae of different sizes will be appropriate, and a bit of magic can be added to the garden with the help of figurines of animals, gnomes and other fairy-tale characters. Your children will definitely appreciate the last option.

Stones combined with flowers will perfectly complement the design of the yard

You can make a path out of stones, and plant cetaceans nearby

Paving slabs in the courtyard of a private house: options for use

When arranging any private yard, you can use paving slabs. The production of such products does not use harmful or toxic substances, so it will be appropriate when laying garden paths, courtyard sidewalks, playgrounds and parking lots.

When choosing finishing materials, you need to be interested not only in their decorative properties, but also in their technical features. Among the main operational characteristics, it is important to consider: • Surface texture of products. • Color range of paving slabs. • Level of load withstand. • Sizes and shapes of each unit. • Use of additional materials.

Based on the specific conditions of further use, you can select material from the most popular categories. This can be clinker, sand-cement, polymer-sand and rubber tile groups.

We create reservoirs

Just imagine how pleasant it is to enjoy the coolness of a clean pond in a shady corner of your own garden on a hot summer afternoon. Construction of a reservoir is a rather labor-intensive, but worthwhile process.

An artificial pond can be made in completely different variations.

Small pond. Populate it with fish, decorate it with stones and water lilies, and this place will become of great interest to guests, and will also become a favorite place to play for the younger generation.
Elegant fountain. This structure can take up very little space and is suitable for small yards. But its pleasant splashes will be a real salvation from the summer heat.
A mischievous stream or a miniature waterfall. Their murmur relaxes and creates a unique atmosphere of relaxation alone with nature.

To make it pleasant to be in the yard, you need to keep it clean

Well-groomed flowers and trees will look great in your yard

You can plant flowers next to the path

See alsoCreate a cozy and beautiful garden plot with your own hands

Garden decoration

When designing a garden, you should keep in mind that the outwardly rustic style of the landscape should resemble a slightly neglected, but at the same time, very cozy corner. Its feature is simplicity.

For example, grass should not grow in perfectly evenly trimmed lawns, but in separate lawns, as it pleases (within acceptable limits).

Trees and shrubs should also grow naturally. The fence enclosing the area can be covered with hops, which will give the area a “half-deserted” appearance.

However, there should not be any clutter here - every detail is always in its place.

In addition, there should be no exotic flowers or plants in the garden. As a decoration, you can use wildflowers that you are familiar with and have loved since childhood. Shaded areas are usually decorated with ferns and hostas - these plants can also make the garden more cozy.

Advice! In the garden, it is advisable to perform gentle pruning of the crowns to create the effect of natural growth of the fruit tree.

Trees in the garden should be predominantly fruit trees, as they will delight you with gorgeous blooms in the spring and a harvest in the fall. In such a garden you can install a wooden gazebo, for example, stylized as a log house, and next to the gazebo there can be an artificial pond.

Lighting can be installed around such a resting place, which will allow you to spend time not only during the day, but also in the dark.

Advice! If the site is not connected to electricity, renting a diesel generator for the dacha will help temporarily provide power supply.

Lighting up the area

Artificial yard lighting performs several important functions at once.

Provides the ability to move in the absence of natural light.
Beneficially illuminates decorative elements, creating their aesthetic appearance.

The lighting should be installed so as to cover the entire perimeter, leaving no dark corners and equip all stairs and paths.

The mandatory lighting program also includes the following elements:

house facade;
outbuildings;
parking;
main entrance;
rest zone.

After that, we move on to decorative elements. It would be a shame if all this beauty can only be enjoyed during daylight hours. Therefore, we also shed light on all the fountains, alpine slides, sculptures and flower beds.

LED strips will be a real find for decorating a night garden. They can highlight the beauty of trees or place them along the edge of the steps of a staircase.

For the sake of economy and convenience, it is recommended to use lamps in the yard that are charged from the energy of sunlight. They do not waste your electricity, and therefore do not require electricity to be supplied to them.

You can decorate the yard with flowers

Design of a private house yard with a gazebo

See alsoHow to make and decorate a gazebo with your own hands

We will organize a resting place with a fireplace

The territory of the personal plot is begging for a place to cook food over an open fire. The most common options for such a place are grills and barbecues, but you can also find a more unconventional approach.

Tandoor. This Asian stove is quite bulky, so be sure to consider your capabilities when installing it. You can build this stove either with your own hands or purchase a ready-made one.
Outdoor fireplace. It creates an amazing impression as if you were just sitting in the living room and were somehow magically transported to the garden. Place upholstered furniture near it and make yourself comfortable, enjoying both the beauty of nature and the warmth of home.

Owners of private houses with adjacent territories are truly lucky - landscape design opens up many opportunities for their aesthetic and functional arrangement. In the courtyard of your own house you will find a garden for walking, a relaxation area, and even a place for cooking.

Expert opinion

Alina Kvileva

Landscape designer

Hello, my name is Alina and I am a landscape designer, if you have any questions regarding landscape design, ask, I will be happy to answer them.

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