Story at a glance:
- Identifying zones, establishing traffic patterns, and creating focal points can help in the early stages of designing outdoor spaces.
- Achieving a careful balance of hardscaping and softscaping is crucial to creating comfortable, welcoming outdoor spaces.
- Design outdoor spaces to be used year-round no matter the weather by including ample shading, shelter, lighting, and outdoor heating.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, many have realized just how important being outside is for one’s mental and physical health, leading to a sort of renaissance in outdoor design.
“Exterior design is no longer an afterthought,” David Schutte, president at Tuuci—a global leader in sustainable outdoor shade solutions—previously told gb&d. “It’s an integral part of the planning process.”
Here are 15 tips for designing outdoor spaces.
15 Tips for Designing Outdoor Spaces
1. Identify Zones & Traffic Patterns
An outdoor patio extends the seating area and allows employees to gather for informal meetings, work outside, individually, or take a rest in the workday. Photo by Kat Alves
Designing a welcoming outdoor space is no small task, especially when it comes to figuring out where to start. To make things easier, landscape architects recommend identifying zones and traffic patterns in the early planning stages to help define the layout and differentiate between areas with different functions.
If you’re designing a backyard for a private residence, for example, you might separate the outdoor kitchen from the more all-purpose patio area using furniture, planter boxes, or screens. Alternatively, changes in color or material palette can help separate adjoining areas from one another, breaking the space into smaller zones.
When it comes to establishing traffic patterns, look to elements like pavers and stepping stones. Wide, clearly defined pathways can help intuitively guide people along main routes, while smaller and less-defined paths encourage exploration while at the same time providing convenient secondary connections between various points of interest.
2. Start with a Focal Point
More designers are including fire and water in their landscapes, whether as a focal point or accent. Photo courtesy of Dragonfly Ponds and Patios
Another way to begin designing an outdoor space is to identify a focal point—or focal points, depending on the size of the project—and build off of that, similar to how one might design a room around a specific statement piece or feature. Things like fountains, ponds, fire features, flower gardens, statuary, or even the views themselves can all act as focal points in an outdoor space, informing everything from how furniture is arranged to how walkways are laid out and oriented.
3. Consider Shade
The Mega Max makes a statement and is designed to meet all large outdoor shade needs. Photo courtesy of Tuuci
An outdoor space may be laid out and organized well, but if it doesn’t have adequate shading, chances are it won’t be used to its full potential. “Shading is so critical. People design all these outdoor spaces, and if you don’t focus on people’s comfort, they’re not going to get used,” Brian Vitale, a co-managing director at Gensler, previously told gb&d.
Features like umbrellas, covered patios, and even trees can help provide shade during the hottest parts of the day when the sun is overhead—just ask Tuuci, a leading provider of outdoor shade, furniture, and accessory products who specializes in large, high-quality parasols.
Tuuci’s MEGA MAX parasols, for example, span up to 24-by-24 feet, providing unparalleled protection from the sun and occasional summer shower. The company also offers a range of cantilever umbrellas that omit the center post, providing more flexibility and greater coverage. “You can’t all be huddled where half the people are under an umbrella and half are baking in the Scottsdale sun,” Schutte says. “People are looking for larger, more agile spaces.”
Cabanas and sun lounges—shading devices that Tuuci also carries—are capable of providing even greater protection from the sun while simultaneously increasing privacy. Tuuci’s Ocean Master Max Solanox cabanas, for example, effortlessly transform any outdoor landscape into an open-air living room. Louvers allow users to control the desired amount of shade and ventilation throughout the day while optional curtains may be equipped to maximize privacy.
4. Plan for All Weather Conditions
Photo courtesy of Renson
Of course, there’s no sense in putting in the time, work, and money to design an outdoor space that can only be enjoyed on clear, sunny days. To ensure use rain or shine, consider adding permanent shelters and other protective structures, like pergolas, to your outdoor space.
Renson is a leading manufacturer of sustainable outdoor living products and offers an array of aluminum pergola systems that use sliding glass panels, glass walls, glass roofs, and even translucent glass louvers to create highly flexible outdoor living spaces that provide protection from the elements without obstructing views.
“Let’s say you had an outdoor kitchen or outside dining area, and you had an overhang of the roof, so it was covered,” Zaghi-Ganter says. “You could cut out a section of the overhang and insert louvered roofs, so you could open and close the existing roof to enjoy the sun or block out any weather.” Renson also offers a range of enclosed pergolas, eliminating any possibility of rain or wind preventing the structure from being used.
5. Provide Multiple Seating Options
The Luma Collection by Tuuci is deep-seating furniture that features the innovative Aluma-Weave technique. Photo courtesy of Tuuci
An often overlooked aspect of outdoor spaces is seating—or at the very least, good seating that supports a variety of social activities and functions. Diverse seating is particularly important when designing public and commercial outdoor spaces, as it greatly influences whether or not people will actually use them.
“You must also build a variety of seating options, not unlike a workspace, into the design of outdoor space. Areas for groups to gather to eat lunch together or hold a meeting are paired with places where people can be alone to recharge or just people-watch,” Vitale previously told gb&d.
In addition to parasols, Tuuci carries a wide range of outdoor seating products. Their Sola Collection pieces, for example, are designed with modularity in mind, allowing each piece to be used individually or combined to create an array of section configurations. Tuuci’s Luma Collection, on the other hand, encompasses a plethora of deep-seating furniture including chairs, chaises, ottomans, sofas, sectionals, and sun lounges.
6. Make Smart Lighting Choices
WAC Lighting offers a full range of outdoor solutions, from its new Colorscaping system (complete with app) to wall, outdoor ceiling, step and wall lights, LED tape, post lights, landscape lighting, and more. Photo courtesy of WAC Lighting
Lighting plays a big role in making outdoor spaces comfortable and inviting, but until very recently, outdoor lighting fixtures have been relatively limited in their capabilities. Advancements in LEDs and lighting control technologies, however, have made outdoor lighting solutions much more flexible and customizable.
“It’s incredible what the right type of lighting does for these spaces,” Vitale told gb&d in another article. “When you talk about technology, that might be the biggest leap we have made—the ability to light spaces properly with new technology, where people feel much more comfortable using them after hours. We talk about winter being cold, but it’s also short days, right? We want to make sure people feel safe in these spaces, and lighting is key to all of that.”
WAC Lighting’s Colorscaping lighting system, for example, is designed for landscaping and includes tunable white lighting as well as color changing illumination. The entire system can be managed and adjusted via an app, allowing for a high degree of personalization and control.
“Everybody can control lighting color schemes or light intensity when doing outdoor lighting,” Tom Lillie, executive director for specification lighting for WAC Lighting, told gb&d in a previous article. “Especially when you look at our Colorscaping product—it is like a blank canvas someone is painting. With color tunability we can make your landscape pop with white light ranging from warm 2700K to cool 6500 Kelvin. In addition, you can choose from over 16 million colors with our virtually unlimited color palette. You really can make the environment beautiful.”
7. Fight Light Pollution
Photo courtesy of Archatrak
Making smart lighting choices, however, also means thinking about how outdoor light fixtures might contribute to light pollution and specifically light trespass—that is, light which falls anywhere it is not needed or intended. The most effective way to prevent light pollution is to simply turn lights off or install motion sensors to ensure that lights are only on when absolutely necessary.
That said, certain outdoor spaces—particularly public ones—may require some degree of constant lighting throughout the night for safety reasons. In these cases it is important to pay attention to the fixtures themselves, as many outdoor lights waste a significant amount of the light they produce by shining it in directions (namely upwards) that don’t need to be illuminated. Choosing lighting fixtures that utilize shields and full cutoff features drastically reduces unnecessary illumination by preventing light from escaping above the horizontal plane.
8. Select Durable Materials
All of Renson’s pergolas are made from durable, long-lasting materials. Photo courtesy of Renson
Durability is important in all aspects of design, but it is especially crucial when designing outdoor spaces and structures, as these areas are exposed to the elements and often experience a higher degree of wear-and-tear than indoor spaces.
“Instead of putting in something that is built to be replaced, we need to build things that will allow people and their families to enjoy their outdoor space for a much longer period of time without having to replace it, and, as a result, create more waste,” Andrea Zaghi-Ganter, marketing manager for Renson, previously told gb&d.
Long-lasting materials capable of withstanding prolonged outdoor use include:
- Stone
- Concrete
- Terra-cotta
- Brick
- Aluminum
It’s also crucial to consider durability when selecting outdoor furniture and textiles. Outdoor cushions and pillows, for example, should be UV-resistant, removable, and washable to ensure longevity, whereas wood decking and furniture should be regularly re-finished with weather-resistant sealants, oils, or waxes to protect them from the elements. When selecting outdoor wood products, look for naturally durable and resilient species like cedar, acacia, teak, eucalyptus, and redwood.
9. Plan for Privacy
Nestled amongst neighboring houses and a variety of mature trees, Los Altos residence is a modern interpretation of a ranch style home that maintains a sense of privacy and offers its clients, a young family, reprieve from the bustle of daily activities. Photo by Nic Lehoux
Many outdoor areas designed for residential, hospitality, and even some commercial projects require a degree of privacy to ensure comfort and security.
Fences, screens, and trellises are some of the most effective ways to shield outdoor spaces from prying eyes, but trees and hedges are additional options.
10. Balance Hardscapes & Softscapes
This project softens its hardscaping with winding curves, planting areas, and native tree species. Photo by Quanta Collectiv
When it comes to landscaping outdoor spaces, there are two types of “scapes” to be aware of: hardscapes and softscapes. Hardscaping refers to those manmade, non-living structures and materials like pavers, walkways, concrete slabs, brickwork, stonework; softscaping describes the living horticultural elements of landscape design.
Overuse of hardscaping can make outdoor spaces seem stark and uninviting, whereas too much vegetated softspace can make spaces less accessible and overall harder to navigate; an overabundance of vegetation also increases irrigation and maintenance requirements.
Successful outdoor spaces utilize softscaping to, well, soften hardscapes and make them more inviting; this can be achieved by strategically placing potted plants, shrubs, and trees on or around hard surfaces like walkways, patios, and walls. Adding vining and hanging plants can also help to soften hardscapes while also creating depth of field.
Larger outdoor areas with ample green space can be balanced through the addition of defined walkways, sidewalks, stairs, and/ramps, as well as signage, benches, and the like to help improve wayfinding and accessibility.
11. Choose Permeable Hardscaping
Photo courtesy of Techo-Bloc
As we’ve already established, hardscaping is an integral component of any outdoor space and plays an important role in making such spaces accessible. When present in high concentrations, however, hardscaping can greatly increase the risk of urban flooding, as most hardscape features are made of dense, impermeable materials that cause runoff to pool rather than soak through and infiltrate groundwater reservoirs.
This can be mitigated through specifying permeable hardscape materials, a classification that includes two distinct types: materials whose porous structure allows water to flow through it or nonporous materials that are intentionally spaced in such a way as to allow water to flow through the gaps and joints between each paver. Both types are typically installed over several layers of different-sized aggregates to help slow and filter runoff before infiltration.
“All the debris in the water are captured by the material itself; it is being naturally filtered. It is cleaner and soaked back into the ground gradually,” Alex Cadieux, director of B2B marketing for Techo-Bloc, previously told gb&d. “It is not flooding the street or neighbors’ backyard. It is controlled. There are tons of benefits.”
Techo-Bloc is a leader in the hardscape industry and produces a range of permeable pavers that use the gap strategy to help mitigate stormwater runoff in outdoor spaces. The company’s Hydra pavers, for example, are ideal for use in large public or commercial outdoor spaces, while their Pure cobblestone pavers are perfect for backyards.
12. Add a Water Feature
Fountains to play in, rocks to climb, and plentiful seating options fill Klyde Warren Park in Dallas. Photo courtesy of OJB
Water features like fountains, ponds, and waterfalls are a great way to add intrigue to an outdoor space and often serve as focal points in landscape design. Fish ponds and lotus pools, for example, can be impressive statement pieces, while bird baths, bubbling fountains, and water walls all provide movement and dynamism.
Water is also a powerful element of biophilic design, one that has a positive effect on mental and physical health. Researchers have found that the very sight and sound of water induces a flood of neurochemicals and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to increased blood flow to the heart and brain while simultaneously inducing feelings of calm and relaxation.
13. Choose Native & Drought-Tolerant Plants
The courtyard scheme at Parkside North provides semi-enclosed outdoor spaces. In addition to using drought-resistant plants, the team considered their aroma and seasonal changes and worked to create a pollen path to connect with the surrounding ecology. Photo courtesy of Gensler
Vegetation is an important component of any outdoor space, but care and consideration should be exercised when selecting which plants to include. As a general rule, native species will always be the more responsible choice and typically require less maintenance as they are already adapted to local weather and soil conditions.
Water requirements and drought tolerance are also important factors to consider when choosing plants for an outdoor space, as this in turn influences the space’s overall irrigation and maintenance needs.
14. Incorporate Fire Features
Photo courtesy of Warming Trends
If an outdoor space intends to remain comfortable and useful throughout the year, it must be capable of providing some form of supplemental heating at night and/or during the colder months when temperatures start to drop.
Fireplaces, fire pits, and other fire features are among the more common methods for supplying outdoor heating, especially when it comes to outdoor spaces designed for residential and hospitality projects. Warming Trends, for instance, is a Denver-based company that designs and manufactures custom gas fire features for outdoor spaces. The company uses patented CROSSFIRE burners to deliver industry-leading energy efficiency and prides itself on being able to accommodate whatever designs their clients want.
Aside from providing warmth, fire features are also great for creating biophilic ambience, as both the sight and sound of crackling flames is scientifically-proven to help reduce stress and lower blood pressure.
15. Add an Outdoor Heater
Bromic’s infrared heating uses parabolic reflectors to direct the heat on to a target so you can focus where it’s needed. Photo courtesy of Bromic
There are other ways to effectively and efficiently provide outdoor heating without fire features, too. Bromic Heating, for example, is a leading manufacturer of infrared outdoor heaters, offering solutions in gas, electric, and portable models; for optimal efficiency, Bromic’s heaters can be equipped to support zone heating, scheduling, timers, and even dimmability.
“We are focusing the heat where it’s intended,” Blake Petty, commercial specification lead at Bromic Heating, previously told gb&d. “With a traditional convection heating system you’re heating the entire building regardless of who’s in it, when, and where. With infrared heating it’s spot heating.” Some of Bromic’s outdoor heaters can even be turned on/off remotely via an app, making them extremely beneficial for commercial and rental spaces.
Renson also offers integrated radiative heating options for several of their pergola systems, allowing users to enjoy the outdoors no matter the temperature. “You can achieve 100% control of your space,” Zaghi-Ganter says. “If you’re going to work from home, bring your kids outside, eat lunch outside with your family, it’s going to make it easier because you can be out in the winter or summer, and you’re not going to have to think about it. You’re just going to have access to your space.”
Features to Consider for Your Outdoor Space
Photo courtesy of Bromic
If you’re still at a loss for what sort of features to include in your outdoor space, we’ve included a handy list below to draw inspiration from:
- Hardscape features (retaining walls, pavers, sidewalks, decking, patios, bridges)
- Softscape features (plants, shrubs, trees; flower and vegetable gardens)
- Shade solutions (umbrellas, parasols, trellises, shade fabric structures, cabanas, pergolas)
- Furniture (chairs, sofas, sectionals, stools, benches, side tables, picnic tables)
- Lighting (landscape lighting, flood lights, step lights, mood lighting, lampposts, string lights, path lights, in-ground lights)
- Fire features (fireplaces, fire pits, fire troughs, braziers)
- Water features (ponds, natural pools, waterfalls, water walls, bubbler fountains, bird baths)
