More and more often, we’re seeing clients who are worried that their backyards are too small for a pool, a garden and all the other outdoor amenities they’d like to have on their properties. They want privacy and a tiny slice of paradise and with today’s reduced block sizes, “tiny” is often more than figurative.
Although a small yard can be a challenge to work with, these projects often end up being our favourites. The limitations on space mean that priorities need to be worked out, the site has to be studied carefully and the landscape design needs to be planned down to the last centimetre. No two small backyards are exactly the same and no two families are the same, so it’s never a standard out-of-the-box solution. The pool, the landscaping and the amenities have to work seamlessly together. Some of our most innovative designs have been for smaller properties.
Fitting a Pool Into a Small Backyard?
Your family wants to build a pool. Maybe you’d like a deck, patio or outdoor kitchen, too. Perhaps you want to add a pool shed, playhouse, workshop or summer house to the mix. Are you dreaming of a lush flower garden? Would you like to be able to eat the most locally grown food possible with your own fruit trees, herb garden and vegetable garden? Do you want to create a habitat for native animal species or work with native plants? Are you looking for a sheltered place to sit and read? Does an indoor/outdoor living space sound like an exciting idea? You might be surprised at what’s possible, even with a small space and a limited budget.
Benefits of Professional Landscape Design
Your landscape designer or landscape architect will ask a few questions about your family and how you visualise your perfect backyard. What would you like to be able to use it for, who will use it, who will maintain it and how would you like it to look? What are your environmental and social values?
We will work out the spatial challenges and show you a number of different options for making the best use of your space through pool design, landscaping and outdoor entertaining ideas. You might propose a few things that have been on your mind and we will probably be able to suggest some possibilities that you hadn’t thought about, as well. We know a few tricks when it comes to combining spaces and making the best use of a limited area.
If Possible, Talk to Us First
If you know that you’d like to build a pool into a relatively small yard, then if possible, hire a designer before you make any other major decisions. With options limited by the space available, you’ll want to choose the size and shape of the pool, the location and style of the deck or patio, the locations, sizes and styles of outbuildings and even the details of the garden design as part of an integrated whole. In a small backyard, everything will need to fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The fewer set elements, the greater the number of options.
If you want to make the best of a small backyard, then Space Designs can help.
