The best outdoor spaces are planned backwards from how they will be used on an ordinary evening, not forwards from a photo. Start with the routine and the layout follows.
Start with use, not features
How many people usually, how many at most? Dining, lounging, cooking, fire, all of it?
What time of day and what months? A space for morning coffee wants east light; a space for evenings wants shade from the west.
Who uses it — small children, dogs, older relatives who need level access and lighting on steps?
That short list eliminates most layouts before anything is drawn.
Read the site
Sun path, prevailing breeze, existing shade from trees, and where the noise and the views are.
The door people actually use. A space around the corner from the kitchen door gets used a fraction as often.
Grade. Level ground is cheap to build on; slope means cut, fill, walls or steps, which is where budget goes.
Water. Where does runoff go now, and where will it go once you cover part of the yard in hard surface?
Zone it and size it honestly
Dining, lounging and cooking each need their own footprint, and traffic should not cut through any of them.
Measure your actual furniture and allow chairs to pull back fully. Almost every regret we hear is about a space being too small, not too large.
Decide about shade at this stage, because footings for a pergola or pavilion have to go in before paving.
Utilities, sequence and phasing
Rough in gas, power, water, drainage and lighting cable before the base goes down, and sleeve for anything you might add later.
The order: layout and grading, drainage, utilities and sleeving, footings, base, paving, structures, kitchen, lighting, planting.
Phasing works well as long as phase one includes the buried work for phases two and three. That single decision saves the most money on a multi-year project.
Southern Style Turf & Design designs and builds complete outdoor living spaces across Lake Norman — grading, drainage, hardscape, structures and lighting. Free on-site consultation.
Frequently asked questions
How big should an outdoor living space be?
Sized to the furniture and the zones you need, with real circulation between them. Lay it out on the ground with stakes and chairs before committing.
Can the project be built in phases?
Yes, and it is common. Put the grading, drainage and buried utilities in during phase one so later phases do not mean cutting finished work.
What is the most commonly regretted decision?
Building too small, and putting the space where the sun is worst at the hour it will actually be used.
Want this looked at on your property?
We give free, no-pressure on-site estimates across Denver, Mooresville, Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville and Troutman.
