It doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming to upgrade your backyard. An inexpensive backyard design can transform a simple green area into the perfect outdoor getaway. Try these low-cost backyard design ideas, such as making your own outdoor furniture and using inexpensive landscaping techniques, to design a space you’ll love and never want to leave.
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Make DIY Planters
Although big outdoor planters can get pricey, container gardening gives your backyard interesting layers and color. Make some inexpensive, handcrafted geometric planters. These inexpensive, simple-to-assemble containers are made of corrugated plastic and only require a few dollars.
Cozy Backyard Ideas
Pile pillows on top of wood and metal patio furniture to create a cozy, welcoming backyard. Select long-lasting outdoor textiles with vibrant hues and striking designs for season-long style. Consider sewing together pillow covers made of outdoor fabric to recover worn-out pillows in order to make this backyard project more affordable.
DIY Backyard Fire Pit
Savor spending balmy summer evenings by a backyard bonfire. To make your own, you’ll need some low-cost materials like gravel for the base and angled pavers. After completing this simple do-it-yourself outdoor project over the weekend, your family will be able to enjoy bonfires for many years to come.
Plant Inexpensive Perennials
Since perennials grow back every year, you’ll ultimately spend less on landscaping. A low-cost backyard design for small yards is to plant vibrant perennials in your flower beds and enjoy their annual blooms. To maintain perennials looking their best, make sure you finish all necessary prep work before planting.
Invest Smartly
Choose one item to spend money on when searching for inexpensive backyard ideas so you can build a space you’ll enjoy for many years to come. Think about investing a little bit more on a single, special piece of furniture that you’ll use often, or on a freestanding fire pit. Add more reasonably priced finishing touches to your backyard, like pillows and string lights, to make the area feel complete.
Living Fence Idea
Try this inexpensive backyard design: Espalier a tree to form a living fence for an upscale, yet affordable, appearance. Planting a tree and teaching it to grow in a pattern are the basic steps in the method. As a result, a blank wall gains a unique appearance that adds texture and visual interest.
Backyard Furniture Ideas
Even though it is designed to withstand weather, outdoor furniture can wear down over time. To bring new life to your old furniture, try a few do-it-yourself projects. This low-cost backyard design for tiny yards can also be applied to larger areas. With new strapping, a little cleanup, and some spray paint, a patio table that had rusted looks brand-new.
Small Backyard Ideas
This is one of the most effective and affordable backyard designs for tiny yards. Make use of furniture that has two functions. Purchasing a bench with a lounger, for example, is a cost-effective way to maximize space rather than purchasing multiple seating options. An alternative would be to choose patio furniture with integrated storage to add more seating while concealing unused accessories.
Backyard Patio Ideas
To add flair and coziness to your area on a budget, consider these backyard patio ideas. Consider adding an outdoor kitchen to a patio that is ready for entertaining, or define your outdoor living space with a retaining wall. These simple backyard design ideas will transform your patio from plain to exquisite.
DIY Outdoor Seating
Although furniture can be a costly investment for backyards, there are ways to create an inexpensive backyard patio that still looks stylish and current. Use inexpensive, do-it-yourself outdoor furniture, like tables, benches, and chairs, to outfit your backyard. Using inexpensive concrete blocks that have been dry-stacked and covered with a foam pad is one of our favorite low-cost backyard ideas. Plenty of seating is available on the do-it-yourself bench in a busy area just outside the house’s back door.
Backyard Lighting Ideas
For good reason, outdoor lights are still a perennial favorite for patios and porches. They provide a warm glow that prevents the light from being overbearing while still being festive and fun. Use string lights to wrap a tree or drape them over a table to create a sparkling centerpiece for some inventive backyard ideas.
Vintage or Handmade Backyard Decor
For inexpensive backyard ideas for small yards or patios, use fabric and vintage items. Made from yardage, sheets, or any other suitable material, sweeping fabric curtains add beauty and elegance. Additionally, they can protect loved ones from strong sunlight during certain hours of the day. Instead of spending more money on a light fixture, turn vintage components into eye-catching focal points for your backyard. Chandeliers that aren’t in use are decorated with trailing vines and candles.
DIY Backyard Accents
Make your own accents for a low-cost, modern take on backyard design. Use quick-mix concrete to cast stepping stones to improve the area in your backyard. Among the many backyard ideas that look especially good in a cottage- or country-inspired garden is this set of stepping stones with a leaf motif.
Display a Collection
Although collections are frequently thought of as upscale or pricey, a straightforward assembly of plants in tiny containers can make a wonderful focal point in a backyard. A simple outdoor shelf serves as a showcase for an inexpensive supply of succulents and cacti. This simple, low-cost backyard design adds a vibrant splash of color to small yards.
Backyard Hardscaping Ideas
Among the most costly components of any landscape are the hardscaping, which includes the retaining walls, edging, and walkways. However, if you’re looking for inexpensive small backyard landscaping ideas and don’t have a lot of square footage to cover, the stone remnants at your neighborhood big box, landscaping, or nursery supply store might be a less expensive option.
When arranged in a dry stack, stones create a charming backyard feature that appears to be a part of the yard that has always existed. Select groundcovers with modest growth rates to add charming blooms to soften the edges. Bonus: You can save even more money by simply dividing those perennials and planting them somewhere else.
Use Off-the-Shelf Materials
The cost of backyard landscaping can be quickly increased by adding custom elements, but with inventive recasting, you can achieve the same result for a far lower price. To make an easy outdoor bar, raise sections of decking with regular concrete blocks. A side table, coffee table, or dining table outside can also be made with the same materials arranged differently.
Vertical Gardening Tips
Install vertical gardens on bare walls or in urban areas for a simple and reasonably priced backyard design. You can grow low-growing vegetables or attractive succulents with this easy, low-cost garden project. Here, basic found wood boxes hang from hooks to create a backyard focal point.
Choose a Simple Plant Palette
For easy landscaping ideas for your backyard, use a carefully chosen assortment of plants. Pick a few favorite varieties and experiment with planting locations and methods. Consider splitting up your plants so that you have more growing material to cover a larger area in your garden.
Choose an Inexpensive Paving Material
Consider all of your options for hardscaping, including less expensive crushed rock and gravel, if you’re searching for inexpensive backyard ideas for small yards or large areas without any grass. A more relaxed surface for outdoor dining areas and seating nooks is gravel. If you use traditional pavers, think about arranging them in an unusual way to minimize the amount of material required—big stones strewn throughout expansive patches of grass, for instance.
Low-Cost Backyard Seating Ideas
With a few furniture adjustments, you can divide your outdoor space into zones for dining, lounging, cooking, and other activities. This easy backyard idea will instantly improve your outdoor area. Use rocking chairs to direct people into nooks or rugs to change traffic patterns without having to buy any new furniture.
DIY Backyard Ideas
Use your imagination to come up with inexpensive, material-efficient backyard ideas; all you need to do is put in some time and effort. This backyard’s slatted fence, which uses slightly wider spacing between the boards than typical, helps cut down on wood expenses. For a patio, large concrete pavers can be used in place of more expensive stone, and building supplies are used to make the outdoor table base and containers.
Add Vintage Hardscaping Elements
This low-cost backyard idea will help you find inexpensive treasures and add vintage style to your space. Garage sales, consignment stores, and flea markets are good places to find many hardscaping components, like basic arbors or trellises. These outdoor objects can define traffic flow, add height, or show movement from front to rear.
Build Color with Containers
When placed in containers, annuals are an excellent way to add color and impact to a backyard at a fraction of the cost of perennials and shrubs. Coherent design can be achieved by using matching containers and a similar color scheme for the plants. An additional low-cost backyard patio idea is to build a casual outdoor side table out of a stone slab placed atop a scrap of lumber.
