How to Create an Outdoor Oasis in a Small Space

The trio of organic orbs add a golden glow to this ultramodern space, and give it an unexpected softness that’s utterly magical. In contrast to tried-and-true stake lights, these unique pieces add an interesting element to the front of the lawn. You can create a similar look with these pebble garden lights.

Instead of sod, try irregular pavers that add texture and visual interest to spaces with small footprints. Fill the spaces between them by seeding your yard with lovely, lush ground cover like this, low-growing and perennial creeping thyme. It's fragrant, colorful in all seasons and hardy enough to withstand foot traffic.

When a multi-level babbling brook with waterfalls and contemplation pools doesn’t fit into your square footage, draw inspiration from this clever city courtyard. Designers constructed a space-conscious steel water feature, creating a feature wall and providing the patio with an enveloping layer of white noise.

These Brazilian walnut woven wire structures create a visual barrier between this wildflower and evergreen yard and function as an outdoor sculpture. As you think about how to interrupt sight lines that are less than desirable, pay attention to how the lines of your barriers can themselves become decorative.

Think of a presentation, like this one, as the next generation of living walls. On this painted brick wall, a pair of segmented steel planters, loaded with small succulents, function like unframed canvases in a gallery. They’re a low-maintenance, high-drama way to develop the look of a modern outdoor room.

This relatively inexpensive water feature will be the show piece of your backyard and provide a soothing ambiance. There’s no time like the present to invest a few hundred dollars in a DIY fountain (or container garden, or pond, or kiddie pool, or hot tub) to serve as the centerpiece of your space.

This sleek, contemporary patio makes the most of minimalistic elements, like the smooth stucco walls and concrete hardscaping. The use of long, low white coffee tables and seating gives the space a streamlined look. As you develop your space, don’t go overboard with colors and patterns. A less-is-more look can be the best statement in a small space.

Resist the urge to fill your outdoor space with the first pieces you can afford, and bide your time until your budget can handle ones that make your heart sing. This sculptural table and its sage green chairs are the focal points of this patio, and they’re more than enough to make it feel welcoming and intentional, when paired with a few container plants.

By day, this Arizona pool patio is all about pale stone, crisp upholstered lounges and white stucco. After the sun goes down, tinted lighting makes this patio feel like a whole new space. Sure, you could stick to straightforward landscape lighting that doesn’t give your home a fabulous pastel alter ego — but why would you?

Wide, black and white striped fabric on a daybed swing’s bolster pillow and a pair of wicker armchairs tie the two sides of this contemporary covered patio together. If you find an outdoor fabric that calls to you, go ahead and splash it across cushions, tablecloths, umbrellas, ottomans — you get the idea.

As this high-end sitting area demonstrates, we’ve come a long way from the neon turf that covered sports stadiums half a century ago. There are now countless tasteful ways to get the look of a lawn without setting your water meter spinning or spending all of your spare time gardening — and they feel pretty great on bare feet, too.

Reflective surfaces are every bit as effective at making exterior spaces look bigger as they are at making interior rooms seem more spacious. Can you imagine how cool the flames of this fire table must look when they’re doubled in the mirrors behind the bench seating?

We’re not talking about raking and sweeping your space (though we encourage that as well); we mean maintaining uncluttered surfaces. This straightforward grill station conceals accessories in a custom cupboard to present a smooth, serene face to the world.

This lounge area recalls the mystique of Hollywood hideaways, like the Chateau Marmont, where celebrities retreat behind greenery-covered walls to private cabanas. Instead of plunking furniture in the center of your space, try nestling gathering areas against walls or under trees.

This wicker daybed has the same footprint as a large bench or an outdoor sofa, but the lounging it invites is somehow more luxurious. Summer drinks just taste better when you sip them while reclining in a spot like this one.

This Acapulco chair and a graphic blanket provides warmth when the temperatures drop in the evening. Estimate the number of outdoor blankets you imagine you and visitors might need, then double it.

The same principles you’d use to draw attention to a gathering space in your living room can focus the eye on a spot on your porch, as well. Here, an oversized woven basket anchors the sitting area between the front door and a window.

Go from zero to Yucatán in no time flat by putting under-utilized trunks or pillars to work as supports for the best seat in the yard. A sporty, campground version is better than no hammock at all, but intricate crocheted beauties, like this one, celebrate weekend naps as the special occasions they are.

Versatile and delightfully decorative, this trio of hammered metal coffee tables are much more interesting than a single piece. Better yet, they can be redeployed around the patio or folded up and tucked indoors.