We have a side area we refer to as the kitchen garden which used to be our front yard. It was unused and so awkward, just a strip of grass along the side of our carport. It wasn’t until we built the open air garage attached to our 1952 brick ranch style home when we began to work on the front yard and the side yard (the kitchen garden).
Before (below) you can see how awkward it was. It was just a large patch of grass that we had to mow and our driveway had this weird curve because it was trying to avoid an irrigation spot which we moved.
BEFORE:
Today, there is a garden gate entrance and it looks like this:
Here are some tips on how to make a small backyard space warm and inviting. Proof you don’t need a large backyard to enjoy, entertain or love. I lived in a townhome with a backyard similar to this and never did much but I was in a different life stage, so it reminded me of that space and I want to encourage you to look at these 5 things to make your backyard space cozy!
1 – Create a living accent wall
Make your walls pretty and add more privacy either by – making them taller with tall plants like oleander (great for heat but also very wide in growth so be aware it might encroach on your space), or ficus.
To make our white stucco wall a bit prettier, we added a diamond trellis with jasmine and it gets morning sun and is shaded in the afternoon which is needed for Zone 9. Tutorial here. Star Jasmine is a great climbing vine that needs a trellis, but make sure it will survive in your zone. If you prefer to not have greenery to maintain, you can use wood to create a pretty board, faux boxwoods, smooth stucco your cinderblock or paint your wood fence.
We are on a corner lot so we were able to put oleander on the other side of our wall to add privacy and diffuse some sound.
2 – Make it low maintenance with hardscape
Faux turf grass and hardscape is a good idea! The photo below is the cement in place before we added faux turf. This makes this space low maintenance for us which is ideal and I would assume you may want for yourself as well.
If you do want some gardening, you can have areas in the space with a raised garden bed or flower borders.
Here is the space today:
3 – Create a seating area – a fire pit strongly suggested
Everyone loves a fire pit, and maintaining a real wood fire isn’t that fun especially last minute or just having to lug it and the smoke. Having had one I prefer a propane gas fire pit and if you can, have it hooked up permanently to your space if you are renovating. However, the downside is you can’t move your seating area. We have the tanks from Ace Hardware and have an extra tank laying around.
This seating area is by Paddy O’ Furniture called the Inverness Collection which is slimmer and fits this small area. The fire pit is also a great tabletop for eating around. It is so comfortable and Benjamin’s favorite spot to smoke a cigar and we eat dinner outside here with the portable TV on wheels (see this with the links).
You can also see I added a jasmine vine in a pot and added an outdoor wall decor from Home Goods I repainted. I bought it at auction thinking it was vintage until I saw the Home Goods sticker on the back HAHA! It’s OK, I only spent $35 on it and look at it now!
4 – Epoxy, or paint the floor, or add brick!
Our home is a 1952 ranch home which means lots of life before us, even outside. The cement was filthy, there were oil and paint spots since it was a carport area before it was solely a covered patio. It was just dirty looking! So we did an epoxy like coating and I say epoxy-like because it’s supposed to be better than epoxy with flexibility. We hired Guardian Garage and loved the process!
It is gorgeous and feels like a patio home. I picked a beige color with no flecks of dark and a warm tone to go with the brick.
Storage carts on optional wheels by Paddy O’ Furniture.
Isn’t the flooring so beautiful?
It will lift your spirits when you see a clean floor. You could also add brick! Look at this area before and after –
5 – Landscape lighting
Don’t forget the landscape lighting! Uplight on walls, pathway lights it all makes a difference! We use Volt Lighting and had our electrician install it all for us, but it was quite easy to DIY some of it.
Add cafe string lights if you can’t install permanent landscape lighting – or do both. You can also consider solar lights if they work well enough. These string lights below is what I have for our backyard and it comes with a dimmer switch if you’d like! There is an option not to dim as well.
I hope that encourages you if you have a small space – you really can make it magical and your favorite spot to entertain and relax. I lived in a townhome that had a small backyard but never did anything with it, I had no vision! I wish I had some ideas like this, but I was never home anyway to use the backyard during that stage of my life. Now all I want to be is home!
Just proof that size doesn’t matter, it’s what you do with it, just like a home!
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