Ideas · Backyard
Modern backyard ideas, tried on your own yard.
Clean lines, big pavers and planting in blocks. A modern backyard looks simple, which is exactly why the proportions have to be right. See it on your own yard first.
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The look
What makes a modern backyard
A modern backyard is built from a few strong rectangles: a terrace, a lawn or gravel panel, and raised or edged beds. Materials repeat instead of mixing, and planting is grouped in drifts of one or two species rather than dotted around.
It suits flat, regular yards best, but it works on a slope too when the levels are turned into wide steps or terraces. The risk is a yard that feels hard and cold, so warm it with timber, low lighting and soft grasses.
Clean lines, structured planting. Colors: charcoal, sand, deep green. Materials: large-format pavers, corten steel, ornamental grasses.
- Large-format concrete or porcelain pavers with narrow joints
- Corten steel or smooth rendered walls for edges and raised beds
- Ornamental grasses and clipped evergreens in repeated blocks
- Built-in benches or a long low wall to sit on
- Low, warm lighting along steps, walls and planting
Try it
Three ideas to try on your own photo
Each one opens the studio with the description filled in. Upload a photo of your backyard, change any words you like, and compare the result with your own space.
- Modern backyard with large grey pavers, a corten steel planter wall, ornamental grasses and low path lighting. Keep the fence line.See it on mine
- A modern terrace with a built-in concrete bench, a rectangular lawn panel and a row of clipped evergreens.See it on mine
- Modern backyard with timber decking, black steel edging, gravel and a small fire pit.See it on mine
Before you build
Worth knowing first
- Line the paving up with the house: the edge of a door, a window or the wall. Grids that ignore the house look off even when nobody can say why.
- Leave at least one soft area, such as lawn, gravel or deep planting, so the yard does not read as one slab.
- Choose a paver finish rated for outdoor use and wet conditions; smooth indoor-style finishes get slippery.
Each design can come with an estimated cost range for your zip code, so you get a rough idea of the budget before asking for quotes. How the estimate works
How much changes
From a refresh to a rethink
- Refresh
- Planting, mulch, furniture and decor. Paving and structures stay.
- Remodel
- New surfaces, beds, lighting and features within the current layout.
- Reimagine
- A new layout for the yard. The house, fences and mature trees stay.
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See your own home, redesigned.
Upload one photo. Your first design is ready in about a minute.
2 free designs · No account · No credit card