When my husband and I bought our home, to say that we were ecstatic to finally have a backyard to call our own would be an understatement. We had been living in small apartments with no outdoor space for years, and before that I grew up in a house without a yard. So when I thought about the kind of house I would want to buy and potentially live in for the rest of my life, green space was a must-have I wasn’t willing to compromise on.

Having a big backyard comes with a lot of responsibility and hard work, but I think the benefits outweigh the exhaustion. We got lucky, as our backyard already had an above-ground pool in great condition, and our house quickly became the place to be for our family and friends who wanted to escape the busy city and kick back for a while. Our backyard works for us, and because we spend so much time outside during the warmer months, we take on a project (or two) a year so that it continues to meet our needs. Last year, we extended our driveway and had concrete put down and my husband and his father built a big deck right off the back of our house that has become the focal point and place to hang out during the several parties we host every year. This year, we added awnings to the deck for protection from the sun and rain so that we can spend even more time outdoors enjoying our little slice of nature.

No matter what you like to do or where your passions lie, your outdoor space should work for you, but it can be difficult to figure out exactly what to do in order to create the backyard you’ve always dreamed of. Take a look at the flow chart below for inspiration to help you reinvent and redesign your outdoor space. It is full of fun ideas for your dream backyard!

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