Transform Backyard Design Ideas into Amazing Outdoor Living

You didn't buy a house in Texas to stay inside. Homeowners here want backyard design ideas that blend function and durability to create premium outdoor living spaces that last.

Your outdoor space must be more than beautiful. It needs to endure harsh Texas heat, heavy rains and occasional freezes. From durable pool decks and patio resurfacing to outdoor kitchen and fireplace solutions, this guide showcases some of our best backyard design solutions for TX homeowners.

Here are the key takeaways from our guide to transformative outdoor design:

• A great outdoor living space is an extension of your indoor living area. Focus on layout and key design elements to make the transition from indoors to your backyard design smooth and seamless.
• Think about functionality and purpose. How will you use your outdoor space? Your common outdoor activities inform designs on features like patio materials, outdoor furniture, and shade structures for pergolas and pool decks.
• Separate your backyard design into 4 categories: hardscaping materials, patios and pool decks, signature features, and lighting design and ambience.

Why Trust Allied's Experience in Texas Backyard Design?

Allied Outdoor Solutions creates custom, handcrafted outdoor living spaces for Texas homeowners. Our dedicated outdoor living designers, Construction Coordinators and Construction Supervisors understand what elevates “a nice backyard idea” into a sustainable design that transforms the way you spend time outside.

We've completed over 20,000 total backyard renovations for homeowners in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and San Antonio since 2009. 

Our expertise is founded on 3 core principles: developing a proprietary “design-to-build” process, exemplifying a “trusted contractor” with a quality guarantee, and leveraging the best service providers in Texas to build the highest quality outdoor spaces.

Outdoor Living is an Extension of Indoor Living

Start your backyard design journey inside your home. It sounds ironic, but the best place to gather inspiration for your outdoor space is from the design elements in your living room and family gathering areas.

What colors, materials and features exist in your home? Mirror those aesthetic choices as your build your exterior design plan.

Here are some simple questions to start with:

• What does my indoor furniture look like? Look for outdoor furniture that looks and feels like the pieces you have inside your home. This is particularly helpful when selecting outdoor dining chairs, tables and lounge seating.
• What is my indoor color scheme? It would be jarring to step out of a home filled with neutral tones onto a patio and pergola dominated by pastels and coastal colors. Aim for complementary colors in your outdoor design scheme.
• How do I accessorize my spaces? If your living area is full of flowers, plant shrubs and use container gardening on your porch. Do you love intricate crown molding and chair rails? Mirror these choices on the exterior walls of your covered outdoor space.

Function and Purpose: How Does Your Family Live Outside?

Are you a highly active family with an inground pool and a backyard full of games? Do you grill and watch the game on your backyard patio? Or do you prefer to curl up in the shade with a good book?

The way you and your family define “ideal outdoor life” directly informs what your backyard space should offer. 

What’s Your Outdoor Living Personality?

Here are some examples of outdoor living personalities, and the solutions that fit their lifestyles:

Athletic & active: You love to get outside with the family to play sports, splash around in the pool and work up a sweat with the dog.

Look for a pool deck and patio materials that can handle heavy foot traffic, and leave ample open space to play. Avoid large landscape features that limit your backyard space.

Casual entertainer: You love to host games and small parties on the patio with neighbors and friends.

Choose comfortable patio furniture, and wire your outdoor space for TVs, audio equipment or movie projects. Make sure you install a covered pergola and covered patio in case of rain!

Chef & bartender: You love to cook meals and serve drinks for your loved ones.

An outdoor bar island, outdoor grill and outdoor kitchen are on your must-have list. Avoid easily damaged deck and patio materials that strain under heavy foot traffic.

Calm & cozy: You love to curl up with a good book and enjoy the warmth with some shade. 

Great design options for you include cozy chairs, an outdoor fireplace, and a covered pergola that blocks you from rainy, windy days.

4 Design Elements of a Premium Outdoor Space

Actually executing a backyard design idea can feel overwhelming — we have decades of experience, and we always walk in with a plan!

It's best to separate your outdoor space ideas into smaller categories. You'll spend less time sweating the scope of your project, and split focus evenly across one element at a time.

Here are 4 categories of premium outdoor space design that work for many homeowners:

1. Hardscaping materials
2. Patio and pool deck
3. Signature features
4. Landscape lighting design

Let's dive into each of these categories and see what resonates with you.

Hardscaping: The Backbone of Durable Outdoor Design

Tired of constantly mowing your lawn just to constantly walk across it? Sick of repaving your cracked asphalt driveway? Are you constantly resealing and replacing old wooden boards on your deck or patio?

Hardscaping is the ideal solution for all these problems — specifically, durable pavers, natural stone, and trusted concrete materials like Carvestone. Stone and concrete hardscaping elements endure changing climates and weather far better than soft woods and porous bricks. 

Add structure, durability and improved function to your backyard landscaping by adding these non-living elements to its design. 

Pavers and Natural Stone

Pavers and natural stone enhance your outdoor design with their aesthetic value, low maintenance requirements and longevity. These highly durable products withstand harsh weather and heavy foot traffic, and require minimal upkeep.

Natural stone offers a fantastic blend of curb appeal and function. Their organic appearance blends well with structures and garden bed spaces, and they create stable and even surfaces for walking, sitting, and playing by the pool.

Best use cases for pavers and natural stone:

• Walkways and pathways
• Patios
• Driveways
• Pool decks
• Fire pits and outdoor fireplaces
• Landscaping borders
• Retaining walls

Retaining Walls and Terraces

Install a retaining wall or terrace to enhance the overall usability of your backyard and define specific outdoor spaces. 

These structures offer tremendous erosion control, especially in uneven or sloped backyard areas. These same traits also offer improved drainage on your property and structural support for grade changes.

Use a level terrace to transform an unusable sloped area into an ideal surface for patios, plant beds or play areas. Adding distinct height changes to your property can add perceived depth to otherwise small backyards.

Best use cases for retaining walls and terraces:

• Patio areas
• Terraced garden beds
• Defining walkways and landscaping areas
• Maximizing small backyard areas

Permanent Hardscape Structures

Hardscaping isn't limited to paving stones and walkways. Large permanent hardscape structures add incredible durability and increased property value to any backyard design idea.

The broad definition of hardscaping applies to a vast array of structural outdoor living concepts:

• Patios
• Pergolas
• Pool decks
• Fences
• Fire pits
• Driveways
• Stone waterfall and water features

We use these durable hardscape materials to transform your backyard landscape into a stunning, long-lasting livable space.

Elevate Your Outdoor Space With Patio and Pool Deck Design

If your kitchen is the heart of your home, your patio is the heart of your outdoor living design. It transforms a portion of your backyard into a natural extension of your home, providing a true sense of indoor/outdoor living. 

An added bonus — regional data suggests a Carvestone or paver patio adds 8-10% to your property value.

A pool deck is a necessary addition to homes with an inground pool or water feature in their yard. It not only increases the usable space around your pool, it provides a safe, non-slip area for play and entertainment. Pool decks also offer a natural design transition from your backyard to the pool itself.

Patio Material Options

Choose a patio material that withstands foot traffic and resists dents and scratches. We prefer natural stone, paver and Carvestone materials for new patio construction or renovation. 

In particular, Carvestone adds a great deal of design control. Its concrete materials provide a realistic natural stone appearance with all the durability benefits of concrete. It's especially strong for resurfacing and overlay projects — apply it over decking, decorative concrete, pea gravel and even existing concrete without any issues. You'll save money in the process.

We like the low maintenance and high durability of natural stone and Carvestone as patio design materials. You'll experience less fading, cracking and warping than with wood or other decking materials.

Patio Design Ideas

We strongly recommend a covered patio for Texas homeowners. Protect yourself, your patio and outdoor furniture from 100°F heat in the summer, freezing events in the winter, and seasonal heavy rains. 

Install an outdoor ceiling fan on your patio cover. Good airflow is a must, especially during the dry, arid summer months. Your dinner guests and game night friends will thank you.

Recessed lighting and pendant lighting are excellent ideas to illuminate your patio space. (We'll cover those more in our landscape lighting section below.)

Pool Deck Design Ideas

First things first: make sure your pool deck material is non-slip. Carvestone, stamped concrete, pavers, and natural stone (like flagstone and limestone) are superior options for their durability and slip resistance. 

Choose concrete or stone that's light in color. This will keep your pool deck from absorbing too much heat and becoming uncomfortable to walk on.

Integrate your pool deck into your patio for a seamless design transition — but leave a dedicated transition space to avoid moisture on your patio surface. Achieve this with a well-placed step or a terraced area.

Always hosting pool parties? Add an outdoor bar or outdoor kitchen area to your pool deck with a pergola for shade and protection from the elements.

Signature Features: Create Design Focal Points

Signature features — especially fire and water elements — add a central focal point to your overall outdoor design. Our experience shows these features add that “wow” element that elevates your outdoor space into an elegant, unique experience.

Outdoor Fireplace

Install an outdoor fireplace under your covered patio complete with mantle, hearth and chimney features (like our design pictured above). 

Guests will gravitate to the fireplace as a central seating area for games, drinks and conversation. It also creates a fantastic location to curl up with a book in the evening.

The patio fireplace is also a great place to install a large TV. Invite your friends over to watch the game outside on a weekend afternoon, even in the cooler fall months.

Water Features

Rock waterfalls, fountains and rain curtains add a luxurious feel to any inground pool. They transform your pool area into a backyard oasis, with the natural visual and sound appeal of water splashing against stones.

Prefer a more natural, garden-centered water feature? Try a naturalistic pond — a small pond built into your backyard that's designed to look and feel as organic as possible. 

Landscape Lighting: Put a Spotlight on Your Outdoor Design

You didn't turn your backyard idea into an outdoor living reality to enjoy it half the day! Smart landscape lighting design allows you to enjoy your new backyard lifestyle into the evening and night.

Modern outdoor lighting is so much more than LED stake lights next to your walkway. Current landscape lighting ideas include statement lighting on your covered pergola or patio, recessed walkway lighting, elegant fire pits and much more.

Statement Patio Lighting

Use pendant lights and recessed lighting under your covered patio or covered pergola. Incorporate lighting fixtures that complement the ones inside your home to create a cohesive, seamless design experience throughout your indoor/outdoor living area.

Choose a patio ceiling fan with built-in lighting to top off your patio light design. 

Walkway Lighting

Use layered lighting concepts to add depth and dimension to your pathway and walkway lighting. Install recessed path lights near your walkway, then use uplighting to highlight trees and downlighting from your eaves to create an elegant atmosphere.

Do you live in a transitional or minimalist home? Consider premium fixtures made from brass, copper or stainless steel to complement your existing home design. Brass and copper outdoor lighting fixtures also look great paired with timber and cedar houses.

Look for in-ground well lights with remote app-based controls. Use smart home integration to adjust the brightness, temperature and color of your pathway lights anytime, from anywhere. And you'll never trip over recessed well lights.

Fire Pits

Forget that mental image of a cheap fire pit sitting unevenly on the ground. Quality fire pits are breathtaking design elements that incorporate a wide variety of materials.

Natural stone fire pits offer an organic, sturdy option. Craftsmen often build them from travertine, bluestone or granite.

Metal fire pits are high-end options from custom metalworkers. These features are often dramatically constructed and use brass, copper or stainless steel.

Transform your fire pit into a functional seating area. Use a recessed fire pit with elevated seating, or a fire pit table that incorporates a fire element into the center of the table design, safely away from your guests. 

Great Backyard Design Ideas Blend Value, Durability and Beauty

Consult with an outdoor living professional before choosing a backyard design idea. It's an investment you expect to last a lifetime — so make sure your design decisions offer the value, durability and beauty your home deserves.

Make sure your exterior space reflects your interior design to create a seamless visual experience. Blend your personality into your backyard ideas to ensure your space has the features you want — whether that's a fun, active pool deck or a cozy covered pergola.

Use materials that offer a blend of high curb appeal and low maintenance. Carvestone, pavers and natural stone are always great ideas. 

Need help with outdoor project management? Talk to us — Allied Outdoor Solutions has turned backyard design ideas into dream Texas outdoor living spaces since 2009.