Hardscape Ideas and Designs

Hardscaping is an essential part of every landscape design project. A yard is more than grass and mud, because it is shaped by sidewalks, edging, patios, and more. Any piece of permanent landscaping in the yard, when used to change the look or function of the natural green space, is what is known as hardscape.

There are many different ways out there to include hardscape design into your front or backyard landscape ideas. It’s always best to collect many different hardscape ideas and choose those that best suit your property, style, and project budget. To help find the hardscape landscape ideas that best complete your space, start here.

What Is Hardscape Design?

Hardscape design requires striking a balance between the use of plants, trees, or grass, and those human-constructed spaces that turn a yard into an enjoyable outdoor living space. 

Not all hardscape is synthetic, as it includes stone and wood materials to help shape the look of a yard, but the yard features are more permanent by design. They will not be easily moved, and they will not grow or change over time to require the same kind of maintenance as softscape.

Hardscape allows for natural yard spaces to interact with the architectural style of the home and other structures. Hardscape design should blend in an aesthetic and functional way. Whether backyard, side yard, or front yard hardscape ideas, the ultimate goal is to contain and shape the different areas of the property into something that adds consistent style and permanent value.

The Benefits of Hardscape Design

There are many reasons to choose the right hardscapes for your backyard landscape ideas. They change the personalized look and use of the lot when added to the property over time. Here are just a few key benefits to planning the right hardscape landscape for your outdoor living spaces.

 Create Specific Zones Across the Yard

The right hardscape ideas can help break a large yard into smaller zones, whether to make them easier to maintain, or to designate for different types of use, such as a fire pit or raised garden. It adds character with the right use of visual breaks, offering shady dividers like privacy walls, or extra interest points such as statuary or water features.

Expanded Living Spaces

Incorporating hardscape ideas into a yard opens up opportunities to expand indoor living spaces into the great outdoors. This could be as simple as adding a patio for comfortable outdoor furniture, or creating a covered outdoor kitchen, with a working BBQ and sink. However you socialize, with the right hardscape design, the backyard can be just as welcoming as the den.

Guided Traffic

Whether installing a sidewalk, a driveway, or stepping stones, hardscape offers a permanent, safe route of travel around the yard. When properly built, a walkway is a level and obstacle-free path to guide family and guests anywhere on the property, keeping tripping hazards like mud or grass away from the walking area. If the paved path is available and convenient, most guests will follow the sure-footing rather than cross over softscape areas.

Water Conservation

Human-made construction doesn’t require regular watering, so with more hardscape design built into a yard, it naturally follows that less water is required for the upkeep of it. Certain materials used in hardscaping, such as rubber mulch, river rock, or gravel are good for letting water drain into the earth without pooling or standing. Hardscape can be used to help channel and redirect water runoff most effectively.

 Reduce Erosion

Many hardscape ideas are used to reshape the landscape. This includes different types of synthetic groundcover that can protect the terrain from the elements and maintain the integrity of the foundation. By adding retaining walls, steep slopes can be turned into a level yard area, or tiered to add dimension and control the degradation caused by water runoff and erosion.

Provide Privacy and Temperature Control

While planting a tree will provide ample shade once it has matured, hardscape designs can be constructed more quickly for immediate results. Covered porches and patios not only provide shade to the building they are near, they can also lower the temperature of the area in and around the house. Dividing walls and slat-fencing offer a visual break in the landscape, as well as shade, and privacy for areas such as patios or pools.

Low-Maintenance Yards

Part of the popularity of hardscape ideas is that hardscape features are very low-maintenance once they are installed. A patio with an outdoor kitchen, once built and connected, is ready to be used and requires no extra upkeep beyond regular use, while a lawn requires regular mowing and planted trees or shrubs require watering and pruning. The right hardscape choices can even cut out or reduce weed growth, so less work is required to keep an area looking sharp, such as a corner flower bed with gravel ground cover for weed-control.

Boost Curb Appeal

A well-designed yard helps to boost the value of the entire property and makes the whole neighborhood look good. Hardscape adds to an aesthetically pleasing whole-picture that gives realtors that “something extra” to drive up the demand for the property when it’s time to sell.

Hardscaping Materials

Most hardscaping materials are made from stone, wood, or other durable, weatherproof materials. Another option is to hardscape using construction materials, such as bricks and concrete. Textured tile and marble hardscapes can be used over patio surfaces or along outdoor walls, for decoration or as an extra layer of waterproofing. 

Stone hardscapes can include:

• Flagstone
• Gravel
• Paving stones
• River rock
• Sand

Some variations include flagstone or paving stones, which offer broad, flat surfaces ideal for walkways and patios. To work with a natural aesthetic, look for various size boulders and freestanding rock to arrange into interesting design features and shapes.

Wood chips offer a long-lasting groundcover with unique wood color and texture. The layer of wood mulch allows water to drain while also protecting the root systems of any plant life from harsh weather. Wood fence posts, planks, and beams can also be key materials in hardscape design.

Many hardscape ideas rely on entirely synthetic materials. Artificial grass has improved in design and texture over the years and can now provide the look of an expertly-maintained green lawn, year round without the maintenance of mowing or watering.

Rubber mats and rubber mulch offer functional protection from the weather, allowing water to drain through, while also providing a colorful, eco-friendly groundcover. They are also good for walking paths to add a cushioned walking or standing area.

Hardscape Design Ideas

One of the first steps in any landscaping project is to make a plan and design your layout, and it is at that stage where you start looking for inspiration to include the right hardscape to shape the yard. If you’re wondering how to include hardscape in the overall design of your landscaping, start with the basics. Consider whether the area being planned will need to be functional, decorative, or zoned to encourage a specific activity, as these change the amount of space needed and the kind of materials that can be used. 

Functional Hardscape Designs

When the area being created is going to be primarily used for a specific task or activity, the priority is to keep the layout functional and still complement the landscape design. This can include something like planning walkways or pathways around the outside of the house, or from the sidewalk to the front porch. Laying a new driveway for guests or RV parking in the side yard isn’t very exciting, but there are many ways to use hardscaping techniques to plan a finished yard that is complementary to the whole property.

Other more functional hardscape designs include:

• Steps to improve the safety of terraces and uneven terrain.
• Retaining walls to help prevent erosion or to reshape and level the yard.
• Sitting walls to create raised garden beds or gathering places.
• Privacy screens, walls, and fences to protect the property or add visual depth.

Adding sheds and outdoor storage also encourages improving the hardscape layout to create the foundation for the shed or storage, as well as to create an unobstructed path to reach it. 

Hardscaping Decorative Features

The decorative features of a yard are up to the style of the homeowner, and hardscaping is often required to install many different types of yard decor. Raised gardens rely on walkways between the garden beds, but also the walls to build up the garden boxes. A statue or a water fountain can turn an area into a focal point or just add a touch of character, but it needs a hardscape foundation first.  

The right hardscape layout is required for these larger, decorative yard features:

• Ponds and water features
• Arbors 
• Pergolas and gazebos
• Pavilions

Hardscaping allows for adding more yard decorations, either by creating a solid foundation to install them on, or by creating the focal point from the hardscape materials directly. Be sure to plan the area around the decorative piece to start it off with the right foundations.

Hardscaping Customized Zones

If the area being planned has a specific design purpose, such as to create an outdoor living room, there are unique designs out there to find inspiration from. Hardscape provides the foundation of any area to safely gather with guests, such as the ground cover or sitting walls surrounding an outdoor firepit or an outdoor fireplace. An outdoor kitchen will need to include hardscaping for a flat walking area, as well as countertops or tables. Installing the plumbing planned for gas lines or water lines may require an update to the entire patio.

Other unique hardscape ideas include:

• Benches
• Patios and decks
• A tiered or sloped landscape
• Pool decks

Hardscaping even allows for building sports and game courts, such as a tennis court, or the clever addition of a decorative, outdoor chess or checker board. What is designed into the landscape using hardscape materials depends on how much space you have and how your family and guests could use and enjoy it.

Hardscaping Design Tips

The best way to create the right landscape layout is to plan ahead. Here are a few extra tips on how to get the most out of your landscape design.

Use your imagination and be unique.

It’s your property, so the landscape should be one you’re happy with and matches your style. Know what you want that style to be by looking at what your property looks like and imagining what you want the finished results to be. 

Find sources and pictures of other landscape projects to inspire you. Whether the design emphasis is functional and comfortable, classic and conservative, or to create a luxurious and relaxing oasis, it all starts with having an idea of what is possible, by looking for inspiration in things that other people have done

Emphasize your home’s style.

Keep it simple and streamlined. A landscape project should help the property look complete, so the yard should blend well with the architectural style of the home’s exterior. Choose hardscape textures that coordinate with the textures and colors of the house. Keep in mind that the house’s exterior will need to be repainted periodically, and even the textured hardscapes should work with whatever colors are chosen in the future as well as the present.

Consider the location.

It’s also a good idea to consider the unique location of your home and plan around it. The direct exposure of sunlight, wind, or other weather on a house can add to the wear and tear on the house over time, but different hardscape features could be installed to lessen the impact. 

Alternately, plan to include softscape elements around the installation of the hardscape; for instance, a wall of trees could be planted as a windbreak, or to cast shade on the house. Work with natural elements already in place around the property to bring out the coordinated look between the softscape and the hardscape that best suits the entire property.