30 Inspiring Backyard Hardscaping Ideas 2025
Keep a Consistent Palette
To ensure your hardscaping blends seamlessly in with your home’s architecture (if that’s your goal), focus on using stone or materials with similar coloring or tone. Here, the warm wood entrance by designer Nick Olsen flows perfectly onto the taupe-slabbed steps.
Pick Similar Stones
To create a seamless integration between the covered patio and the poolside area of this Palm Beach estate, designer Ashley Sharpe of Sharpe Development and Design used the same type of stone throughout this backyard’s hardscaping. Smaller slabs were used between the two spaces to ease the transition.
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Cover it in Ivy
The further disguise your hardscaping or privacy walls in your outdoor space, consider planting some trailing ivy or another tall-growing vine. This can blend your space in with the natural surroundings, adding some patina in the process. Just look at the entrance to this guesthouse, a 1770’s “kitchen house” in Charleston, South Carolina. Designer Cameron Schwabenton’s ivy-adorned update makes it a truly enchanting welcome.
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Fake an Area Rug
In this freestanding covered patio, designer David Godshall uses the tile on the surface to create the appearance of an area rug. This creates a more intentional gathering space without the need for cumbersome maintenance or cleaning routines.
Lead to a Focal Point
Just like interiors, outdoor design needs a grounding element or focal point to make it feel put together. At designer Hadas Dembo’s home in New York State, the simple stone poolside hardscaping leads into this shed adorned with antique ceramics.
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Create Privacy
If your backyard area is wide open, opt for additional privacy by installing awnings and drapery to break up your hardscaping into zones. At this California home designed by Mark D. Sikes, the dining area remains separate from the pool and lounging areas, without the need for walls.
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Suit the Setting
This Southern California pool patio honors the natural setting with terra cotta bricks lining the entertaining-ready area. “Views of the Santa Monica Mountains dominate the horizon,” designer Tammy Randall Wood says of her family’s backyard vista. Warm tones complete the design palette, complementing the terra cotta bricks and the earthy tones of the mountains.
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Leave Negative Space
This backyard patio of designer Javier Burkle’s Dallas home makes use of the lush lawn surrounding it. Rather than break up the grass completely, square stone pavers were placed diagonally, leaving grass in between. This allows a more natural transition between the hardscaping and landscaping.
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Make Use of the Space You Have
A patio doesn’t have to be sprawling or take up the majority of your outdoor space. If you want to prioritize greenspace, opt for a smaller hardscaping area, like Burkle did with his Dallas backyard.
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Break Up the Color
Hardscaping can often lend itself to a very neutral color palette. To offset the grays, beiges, and browns, take inspiration from Burkle’s Dallas backyard and paint your pergola. A dramatic black paint is helpful for breaking up the neutral tones.
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Create Cohesion
In this Atlanta backyard with multiple entertaining areas, designer Charlotte Lucas used the same stone pavers throughout to help the areas feel united rather than separate. Red stripes add contrast to the cool-toned material.
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Keep it Minimal
Sometimes the hardscaping can distract from the beauty of your natural surroundings. At the Hamptons home of Maxwell Ryan, the founder of Apartment Therapy, the simple pool framing allows the backyard to shine while still staying functional for warm weather enjoyment.
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Try a Mosaic
For a rustic take on traditional hardscaping, opt for a mosaic style with naturally-cut stone. This one fits in perfectly with designer Amanda Reynal’s historic home in the Catskills.
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Add an Arch
To mimic more natural forms and shapes, this doorway isn’t your typical rectangle. In designer Brooke Davenport’s Los Angeles home, an outdoor arch added a more streamlined feeling.
Stay Close to Home
If proximity to your living room or kitchen is paramount to your entertaining methods, keep your hardscaping attached to the side of your home. Here, a simple concrete patio is made cozy by designer Madeline Stuart’s addition of a slatted shade covering.
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Attach Your Garden to a Wall
If you prefer a garden bursting with plants, but need the privacy or stability of a retaining wall, consider installing your trellises directly to the stone like landscape architect Janice Parker did here.
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Carve a Path
For a transition that’s as easy on your eyes as it is underfoot, border your stone pavers with shrubs and more grass. That’s what Parker did here, and it ensures no sticky mulch or gravel will impede on your walkway.
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Add Warmth
Take inspiration from Parker, who built out this area of gravel hardscaping with a stone fireplace. Now, this outdoor space is suitable for nearly all seasons!
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Incorporate Water
Adding a water feature, like this spa terrace by Parker, can imbue your hardscaping with a serene and soothing energy that is beneficial for both you and your backyard’s wildlife (birds and bugs). Just be sure that the water doesn’t stay stagnant to avoid any seasonal pests.
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Frame with Grasses
Rather than leave this stone stairwell bare, rows of ornamental grasses in this garden by Parker incorporate it more naturally into the existing landscape. The raw stair edges also assist in ensuring the stones never look out of place.
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