21 Unique Backyard Ideas to Steal for Your House

There are always so many ways we can make our backyards cozy places to host family and friends.

Check out these ideas from House Beautiful to turn your backyard into a sanctuary.

A FAMILY FIRE PIT

For her Connecticut property, designer Bonnie Edelman created this outdoor feature as a gathering place for friends and family. Designed with storage in mind, speakers are hidden in the walls of local stone and logs are stacked under the benches.

GARDEN DINING AREA

Rustic yet refined, a 10-foot-long table sits in the center of landscape designer Lisa Bynon's vegetable garden in Southampton New York. A graphic cedar deer fence encloses formal raised planting beds.

SHADY DINING AREA

Oak trees or patio umbrellas that shade a round table surrounded by wicker chairs, creating a lovely setting for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

RELAXING HAMMOCK

Add a hammock that hangs between two trees outside design consultant Ellen O'Neill's home. "I felt like I had run into an old friend when I saw a hammock at IKEA," she says.

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