Top Tips For Designing The Perfect Modern Yard

A Yard is the heart and essence of your home, when choosing the right design for it you need to think about how you and your loved ones will be able to enjoy this space. The exterior design of your home is just as important as its interior design which is why when designing the perfect modern home, backyard landscaping ideas play a crucial role in the overall design.

When you build your yard, you are building the heart of your home where all your greatest family memories will take place. Designing the perfect yard allows you to use every inch of your house, from entertaining guests on your patio to

If you have been wanting to design the perfect modern yard but don’t know where to begin, you have come to the right place! From marble firepits to a wooden patio, this guide will provide you with a variety of options that will inspire the picture-perfect design for your modern yard!

Whether you have a very small space to work with or a larger space, there are plenty of creative and stylish ideas for you to work with that will provide you with your modern backyard sanctuary and a place for you and your loved ones to enjoy!

Our expert landscape architect at ShrubHub has developed the perfect modern landscaping guide to help you transform your yard and boost the curb appeal of your house!

Be Strategic About Your Hardscaping

The key to the perfect modern yard is hardscaping! For those of you who are unfamiliar with hardscaping, it is simply when you swap out living elements for non-living ones in your yard.

Hardscaping is extremely beneficial to your modern landscape as it requires low to no maintenance and forms a very visually appealing contrast between natural elements and your built outdoor space.

Hardscaping is a crucial element to add to your yard, it is what turns it from a garden to a haven for the whole family to enjoy and make long-lasting memories. Here are a few modern yard hardscaping design options that will transform your yard.

Pro-Tip #1 — Build An Outdoor Kitchen And Dining Area

Remember the sense of warmth and happiness you felt as a kid when you get a whiff of hotdogs and ribs smoking on the grill? The smoke in the air, the smell of smokey barbeque, the chatter and laughter of loved ones. These are all memories you could recreate in your own yard!

Outdoor kitchens are not only extremely useful for family barbeques and dinner parties with loved ones, but they are also the staple of any modern yard and can increase the curb appeal of your house!

For a modern outdoor kitchen opt for a minimalistic design, focus on neutral colors that will compliment your yard and contrast the existing natural colors provided by the living elements in your yard.

Use tile, marbling, and stone for your counters and the flooring surrounding your outdoor kitchen, and compliment them with a matching set of built-in bar stools for an outdoor bar aesthetic.

With an outdoor kitchen, you get to play around with not only aesthetics but also the features you would like to add. You can add an oven or electric cooker, a fridge or minifridge depending on the space available, a large grill and you can even take it a step further with your own outdoor minibar. You can also add features like a pizza oven or a stove.

Don’t forget to build an adjacent outdoor dining area across from your outdoor kitchen to create seating areas for you and your loved ones to enjoy the tasty meals you whipped up in your modern outdoor kitchen!

To ensure the sleek modern aesthetic of your seating dining area, keep it cohesive with your kitchen design by using the same type of tiling or stone as flooring and keep it simple with a large dining set and matching chairs.

For a touch of green, you can surround your outdoor kitchen and seating area with planted raised beds, using tiling options that match the rest of the area. Plant the raised beds with shrubs or small trees that fruit or bloom for a beautiful touch of texture and color.

Pro-Tip #2 – Choose Your Flooring Wisely

Another critical element that can make or break your modern yard is flooring. It's important to factor in defined spaces when designing the perfect modern landscape and one way of doing so is by separating defined areas with flooring!

There are a variety of flooring options to choose from that can bring your entire yard together and leave it looking elegant and stylish.

Wooden flooring is becoming increasingly popular, especially when building a wooden deck or patio. With wooden flooring, you can match the aesthetic using wooden chairs and tables covered with lightly colored pillows to give that modern beachy effect.

If you live in colder states or states that are prone to rain and storms, wooden floors may be a bit of a hassle as they do not survive water damage. Not to worry though, there is an alternative to natural wood that will still give you the desired effect, just use wood replica pavers. The benefit of wood replica pavers is that they still give the desired warm beachy modern aesthetic of wooden flooring but without the hassle of water damage.

You can use porcelain or marble tile flooring. An emerging modern outdoor design trend is inspired by using tiling that is commonly used for interior decor, outside! These options are not only very stylish, but they are also extremely practical and durable as they can withstand even the harshest of weather conditions, from extreme heat to rainy seasons to extreme cold! There are a variety of colors and styles to choose from but to achieve the ultimate modern look stick to neutral light colors, light grey, white or beige.

Stone or gravel is also increasing in popularity due to its sustainability. Gravel is a great option for flooring as it is weather-resistant, fire-resistant, and very easy to maintain. It is also very easy to play around with the texture and shape of your stone and gravel, for example, you can form clean lines using your stone to create defined areas.

For an even cheaper option, you can always stick to good old, stained concrete! This option is not only among the cheapest, but it is also extremely durable and easy to clean. You can even play around with the texture of your stained concrete by opting for smooth flat surfaces or stamped textures surfaces.

You can even get creative with your flooring ideas and combine flooring options by using clean lines made of natural stone or gravel to define concrete slabs to give a modern geometric design.

Pro-tip #3 – Build A Fire Pit And Surrounding Seating Area

Fire pits are a great addition to your yard and are becoming increasingly popular due to their entertaining nature. Not only are they extremely cozy on a cold winter night but they also make for a great bonding activity with loved ones.

You and your whole family will be able to enjoy roasting marshmallows and making smores around your fire whilst telling ghost stories and singing your favorite songs. All in the comfort of your own yard!

There are a lot of design ideas to draw from when designing your modern fire pits. Built-in surrounding seating creates a very chic aesthetic and is a great option for complimenting your backyard fire pit.

You can surround your fire pit with a built-in concrete or wood couch or bench with cozy neutral-colored cushions and pillows, along with alternative seating and a small patio table.

Pro-Tip #4 Invest In A Good Modern Landscape Patio

Patios are not only a great way to enjoy a cup of afternoon tea with loved ones in the comfort of your own backyard, but they are also a great investment. Realtors are always estimating the values of homes at higher rates when they have their built-in patios and they greatly increase the curb appeal of your home and can attract potential buyers.

For a modern patio, you may use the flooring options listed above but remember to incorporate modern patio furniture to complete the design of your backyard.

Modern patio furniture can come in many shapes and sizes; it tends to look more polished because it incorporates sleek curves and sharp edges. The color pallet of your furniture needs to remain quite neutral and monochromatic so stick to different shades of beige, grey, and white, and for contemporary Mediterranean designs try to incorporate touches of blue.

You can even add technology to your patio! Invest in a good speaker system for listening to music, or hosting outdoor parties, or you can even invest in an outdoor theater for outdoor entertainment the whole family can enjoy!

For more information on the best types of furniture to incorporate into your modern patio visit ShrubHub.

Pro-Tip #5 Add Water Features

Water features are a great element to add to your yard big or small! For larger yards, you can opt for a large inground swimming pool, but even if you have limited space there are still a lot of water feature options for you!

You could build a small luxury plunge pool in the corner of your yard surrounded by rock-scaping features to add depth and beautiful blooming flowers to combine natural elements with your artificial ones.

You could opt for a narrow pool which gives the effect of a longer and larger pool without actually taking up that much space! Narrow pools act as a very modern focal point in your backyard and with the right plants you can design a beautiful luxury modern landscape complimented with a lush green lawn.

You could also add a jacuzzi or an above-ground pool if your yard is too small for a pool.

Another great water feature to add is a small Koi pond, this will add a pop of color and sophistication to your yard, especially if you select the fish breed you use. I would suggest a colorful option like the Japanese Koi Fish. You can also add bird baths and fountains for an elegant flair!

Pro-Tip #6 Don’t Forget About Accent Lighting

Lighting up your yard is a very fun and creative way to add a modern flare to it. You can add hanging fairy lights around seating areas or dangling light fixtures from walls and trees.

You can light up your garden with spot lighting to highlight the greenery in certain areas of your yard at night such as beautiful flowers or trees.

You can even add path lighting to light up pathways to different areas in your yard and to light up your front yard.

How Else Can I Design My Modern Backyard Landscaping?

For more information on modern landscaping design, just visit www.Shrubhub.com and sign up! Our landscape design experts are here to guide you on how to build the perfect modern backyard and with the click of a button, you will have access to our 24-hour service!

If you hurry now, you can still catch our autumn offer and receive modern yard designs starting from under $300!

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