Aussies love a backyard. It’s part of our DNA. From family cricket games to patio BBQs, it’s a great place to spend your time. But styling this part of the home can be kind of tricky — and often laborious. We’re here today to let you know that you don’t need to hire a landscaper to achieve the outdoor entertaining area of your dreams, however. All you need is a good eye and a few clever styling tricks.
As we’ve done with bathrooms, bedrooms and almost every other section of the home at this point, we’ve pulled together some of the most popular trends in backyard styling and compiled them all for your convenience.
Take a look through the list and see which options could help you create an outdoor area that you’ll love spending time in all year round.
Backyard styling tips and trends
Get creative with your backyard upgrade
In a recent review of trends, Pinterest found that there was a 40 per cent spike in searches for ‘backyard ideas’, suggesting loads of people are keen on finding fresh ways to introduce style and personality into their outdoor areas.
One of the more prominent themes to pop up here was the introduction of vertical gardens or wall planters. Not everyone has the space for a complete garden set-up, so using wall space to increase the greenery in your backyard is a lovely way to not only boost your ability to work on your green thumb, but to give some more colour and life to your outdoor area.
If you’d like a DIY project you can build a vertical garden yourself with a little time and planning. Bunnings has a guide here.
Bring the indoors, out
A theme we’ve seen floating around for some time now, according to Apartment Therapy, is the trend of bringing spaces we usually see in the home, outdoors.
Outdoor living rooms are one key example, as is the trend of investing in an outdoor kitchen. People have been spending a lot more time at home since the pandemic started, so the concept of creating new spaces to entertain or kick back in is pretty popular.
Pinterest recently saw searches for ‘outdoor kitchen’ spike by 35 per cent, and while renovating an outdoor space to build a kitchen may not be feasible for everyone, certain elements like portable pizza ovens, mini outdoor refrigerators or comfy seating arrangements are fun, less-permanent ways to build new ways to enjoy the outdoors at home.
Outdoor hygge styling
Similar to the trend of outdoor living rooms, eco furniture brand Outer has shared that one of the biggest trends they’ve seen in recent months is hygge styling outside. Chief Design Officer Terry Lin explained to Lifehacker over email that:
“The Danish concept of hygge is all about bringing a sense of coziness to your space. Simple ways to turn any size backyard into an outdoor oasis include adding ambient lighting (think solar-powered string lights or softly-lit lanterns), outdoor rugs, and packing your couch full of soft throw pillows and a handy bug repellent blanket to keep everyone comfortable (and bug-bite free).”
Create a cottage-like exterior with a little paint
While not exclusively attached to backyards, giving the exterior of your home a paint job is a great way to modernise its style.
Pinterest reports that it has seen a 35 per cent jump in searches for ‘exterior house paint colour combinations’ in recent weeks.
And while neutrals and white are always popular here, other tones like Hunter green, Sage green, and Slate blue have also seen popularity spikes recently – Better Homes and Gardens has reported. This could very well be connected to trends around ‘cottagecore’ exteriors, and the colour palettes attached to that.
Terms like ‘Hamptons exterior’ and ‘cottage exterior’ are seeing a lot of interest on Pinterest of late, with the terms seeing increases of 30 and 110 per cent, respectively.
Natural finishes are everywhere, still
In most parts of the home, the Scandi feel remains incredibly popular. This means natural materials are popping up all over the home still, and this appears to be the case with the outdoors, too.
Pinterest shares that ‘timber garage door’ saw a 30 per cent increase in interest in recent months, indicating loads of people are keen to give the exteriors of their homes a softer look.
This pared-back design style, which often also features stone elements, gives off a lovely relaxing energy – great for creating a luxe oasis in your backyard. This doesn’t need to be limited to your doors, either. Natural-material furniture and decorative pieces can also have a similar effect.
Got any backyard styling tips that you’ve found particularly helpful? Share them with us. We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
This article has been updated since its original publish date.
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