9 Necessary Backyard Features for Families

You've made sure you have interior home features to keep your kids busy, but now the weather is warmer, and they're starting to get restless. 

When you think about your own family memories, you probably realize that many of them occur outdoors. There’s something about the warm sunshine, smell of flowers, and feel of grass tickling your toes that helps cement these moments in our minds. 

By adding the right family-friendly features into your new backyard, you can help create beautiful memories for your children. Our list of ideas should help get your creativity flowing.

Permanent Play Structures

If your kids are still young, it’s smart to include some sort of “permanent” play structure. Swing sets and sandboxes are always popular choices. Large wooden swing sets often have extra features like rock walls, houses, and slides in addition to the swings. 

Consider adding a shade sail over a sandbox to protect your child from the sun. Older children might enjoy a tree house – even if it’s on solid ground – or a ninja warrior play structure.

These items will stay in the backyard year-round, but when your children outgrow them, you can easily remove the items to have more space.

Quiet Area

Sometimes, it’s nice to just sit outside and listen to the sounds of nature while reading a book or taking a nap. Your patio set might be the perfect place, but you could create some other areas as well. 

A hammock is a fun spot to relax. Get one that’s big enough to hold more than one person. If you really want a fun quiet space for the kids, you can create an outdoor reading nook made from cushions covered by a netting tent.

Grassy Middle Area

As you think about filling up your backyard with various features, don’t forget the simple beauty of having a grassy middle area. It might seem plain, but this gives your children space to run and play creatively – an important part of getting the kids outside.

And remember to follow the do's and don'ts of summer landscaping to keep everything looking its best.

Outdoor Toys

Get a few outdoor games for the family to play together. Things like horseshoes, bean bag toss, and badminton are always popular choices. Even a simple collection of sports equipment can be fun. Whether you want to kick a soccer ball or toss a baseball, you always have something on hand.

Garden

A family garden can be both educational and fun. Kids love getting dirty, and it’s delightful to watch things grow. You may even find that your picky eaters are more likely to try a food they’ve helped to grow. Get each child their own set of pint-sized tools to make simple gardening tasks easier for little hands.

Patio Set

Your family isn’t likely to spend a lot of time outside if there isn’t a comfortable place to sit. Some patio sets have comfortable chairs that you gather around for conversation. Others have a table that makes it easy to have family meals outside when the weather is nice. 

If you have young kids, a large family, or a lot of neighbourhood kids that come over to play, consider getting a smaller table for the kids. This can encourage them to bring their homework or art outside.

Fire Pit/Tables

Fire pits are great for gatherings with family and friends. You can create a built-in firepit with stone or simply buy one that sits on the patio. They can be a safety hazard with small children, so you might want to save this idea for when the kids are a bit older. 

Storage

You want your backyard to be a fun place for the family, but you also want it to look neat and tidy. Make this happen by incorporating storage into the design. You might have a large storage bin on the patio where kids can just dump all of the toys. Storage benches give guests a place to sit while hiding things that aren’t in use. 

Find a system that works for you.

Amazing Extras

Any of the above suggestions will give you a backyard that’s fun and functional, but if you want something that goes above and beyond, think about getting something a bit more unusual, like a trampoline, pool, or projection screen for showing movies. Any of these things will cause kids to flock to your house.

Having a great backyard is one of the best parts of owning your own home. Some of these features may cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, but you can also find DIY projects or purchases that are far less expensive. Have fun making the most of both your home and your yard!

Photo credits: playset, hammock, fire pit