10 Peaceful Backyard Ideas to Help You Relax and Unwind

A cozy, relaxing backyard spot can do wonders for the family at the end of a workday and on the weekend. If you need peaceful backyard ideas to create an oasis of your own, you’ll love these creative outdoor spaces.

Peaceful Backyard Ideas

Here are some of my favorite ideas for a relaxing backyard, where you can enjoy cool evenings and warm sunny days:

1. Build a fire pit for cozy evenings

Equipped with a grill top, a fire pit or an outdoor fireplace are ideal for entertaining and cooking outdoors. Fire pits create an inviting and cozy spot in your backyard. 

Building an outdoor fire pit is simple and affordable. Clear out an area, removing all twigs and debris, to ensure the space is flat. Layer slate in a circular pattern 2 to 3 feet high. You won’t need adhesive because over time the slate will settle. A medium-size pit should be 6 to 7 feet in diameter.

Or, if you’re not the DIY type, buy a fire pit kit and make it easy on yourself. Here are some ideas:

• steel fire pit bowl with spark screen
• wood burning fire pits
• fire pit table
• pagoda style wood burning fire pit with log grate and poker

Place some comfortable seating around the fire pit (plastic chairs work too, in a pinch, but they won’t be as comfortable), and you’re ready for outdoor entertaining.

2. Add outdoor lighting

Paper lanterns and string lights hung from trees, or set in the lawn, will create a magical intimate space.

These cracked glass solar balls are beautiful! With a soft glow, they create enough light to make a cozy and magical backyard oasis.

You can also create beautiful luminaries: fit two paper bags, one over the other, to form the lanterns, and place a flameless flickering candle inside. The glow from the ambient lighting will illuminate the paper bag and create a lantern. Cover the inside of the bags with a paper doily to crete a beautidul effect.

3. Cozy outdoor dining area

Pick a spot in your backyard that is private but accessible to your outdoor kitchen when you need to pop in and get something.

The perfect spot for an outdoor dining set is under a big tree or grape arbor, but setting your outdoor dining table on a beautiful outdoor rug (this Bohemian floral rug is gorgeous!) on your your covered patio or wooden deck is also very nice.

Don’t want a dining set in the backyard? Get a picnic table with built-in seating.

Make sure the outdoor furniture of the seating area is weatherproof.

4. A relaxing outdoor room needs privacy

An outdoor living space need a wall or structure to provide privacy for outdoor dinners and gatherings. Consider installing a wooden trellis or a lattice fence in your beautiful backyard and plant some cascading plants, native flowers, or climbing vines to create a green wall.

5. Add curved pathways for larger backyards

Curved pathways made with natural stones in the yard are thought to encourage people to think and wander. And since the goal is to turn the backyard into a relaxing place to retreat, adding a curved garden path made of large stones is a simple way to accomplish that.

6. Plant a fragrant flower garden

A colorful, delicious smelling garden will uplift your mood every day. Create a small fragrant corner, or add a few potted plants if you don’t want a big garden, or you don’t have enough space.

My favorite fragrant flowers are lavender and roses. Plant lavender in a dry sunny spot, and get some old-fashioned English roses: they come in many different colors and smell heavenly!

7. Create a small zen garden

I love the simplicity of a zen garden: gravel, sand, rocks, statues, a water feature and a few plants, and you have a peace inducing garden to relax and meditate in.

8. Add a hammock

If you can only do one thing for your peaceful garden, get a hammock. It usually comes with a stand, and can easily be moved around. Set it in the sun on a spring morning, or hide it in the shade during the hot summer days. It will  provide you with countless hours of bliss: rest, relax, read, sunbathe, etc.

I LOVE this hammock chair! Another simple and peaceful treat!

9. A quiet corner

It doesn’t take much to create a peaceful atmosphere: add a small bench or a round day bed with a retractable canopy, like the one above. Use it as a meditation corner, reading nook, or stargazing lounge. How fun is that!

10. Garden feng shui – a Bagua map

The Bagua is a map designed to match energy sectors and put certain elements in certain quadrants of the minimalist garden. Through the use of zone-specific decorative elements in the yard, it may be possible to increase the positive energy in various parts of one’s life.

North

The north part of the yard addresses careers. Put water and metal elements in this quadrant of the yard to bring about positive energy for your career. The sound of water is very soothing.

Northeast

The northeast part of the peaceful place addresses wisdom. Earth is thought to bring positive energy to wisdom. Clay pots, rocks, and the regular soil in the yard can bring about the positive energy needed for wisdom.

East

The East part of the yard focuses on family. The element of wood is said to have affirming effects on the family. To bring the element of wood into this area of the yard, consider putting an arbor or trellis where flowers can grow, or put some wooden chairs in that area. Trees are also considered acceptable for the wood element.

Southeast

The southeast part of the yard addresses wealth. Wood is thought to help increase the positive energy of wood.

South

The southern part of the yard addresses the reputation. The element of fire can increase positive energy and improve your reputation. This is the area in which to put a fire pit or fireplace. If that isn’t possible, torches, lanterns, or candles can be used.

Southwest

The southwest part of the yard addresses relationships. The earth is the element that can bring about positive energy concerning relationships. Terra cotta pots filled with plants can be placed in this quadrant, or you can create a small rock garden here.

West

The West addresses children and creativity. Metal is the element that is thought to bring about creativity. Metal sculptures, wind chimes, or metal sundials can be used for the metal element.

Northwest

The northwest part of the yard addresses travel. It, too, can draw positive energy from metal.

For wealth, plant fruit trees in the southeast part of the yard. Those trees are thought to encourage wealth from the money tree. A fire pit or fireplace in the southern part of the yard is thought to promote fame.

All areas of life have harmonizing opposites. Your home and backyard garden should pair spacial design opposites to bring an equalized foundation. That means that light should be brought into the shady areas of the yard. Entryways can be balanced by placing plants or trees on both sides.

Incorporating the principles in your landscape structure makes it possible to bring a sense of calm and relaxation into the yard. It is also possible to create an inviting meditation garden area, free from the different shapes of the chaos of everyday life, and that can help settle the unquiet mind.

Incorporating feng shui into your backyard landscape design doesn’t have to be a complicated endeavor. It should include natural elements and outdoor structures that naturally belong in a yard and make the space the type of area you want to visit.

Still looking?

Try these other ideas from my blog: 

• backyard landscaping ideas
• peaceful water gardens
• landscaping around water fountains
• beautiful rock gardens

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