• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partner with Taryn

Taryn Whiteaker Designs

DIY and Interior Blog

  • Our Dallas Home Tour
  • Shop My Pics
  • Home Styling
    • Room Reveals
      • Our Current Home
      • Our First Home
    • Seasonal Home Tours
  • DIY Projects
    • DIY Home Decor
    • Crafts & Sewing
    • Before and Afters
    • Before and Afters
    • Furniture Builds and Makeovers
  • Seasonal Decor
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fall
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Spring
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Printables
  • Entertaining
    • Parties
    • Tablescapes
  • Fashion
  • Travel

May 29, 2020

Backyard Design Plans

Disclosure: This post is in partnership with Yardzen, all opinions are 100% my own.

There is one big, huge space that I have yet to really share on here. Our backyard! We have lived in this house for almost 6 years and I have spent that entire time working on the inside of our home and making it our own. I have honestly completely neglected our backyard and all it’s potential! Earlier this year my husband asked if I could prioritize more outdoor projects this spring and summer and start to make it more of a functional and livable space. I’m so excited to finally get started on our backyard and to turn it into a dream space to entertain and hang out. Ready to see our backyard design plans?

Backyard Design Plans

You guys, I’m in shock with the designs Yardzen did for us. They made our backyard look SO good. I literally feel like they got into my head and took every thing I have been thinking about and put it into the most cohesive and gorgeous backyard for us.

My Goals

I know you want to see more already right? Before I dive in too much farther, I want to breakdown my goals for this space and the things we were looking for when we had Yardzen design it.

  • A modern, cozy, and organic look and feel to our backyard
  • A patio for a large 12 person table
  • A firepit area with seating and a square concrete fireplace
  • A space for lounging and hanging out
  • Ideas for decorating the back of our house and the out door living space.
  • A garden on the side of the house
  • Incorporate hanging lights somehow :)

Yardzen Design Process

Working with Yardzen has been so amazing. They have a great process for capturing everything you want in your space and ask you to send them inspiration pics. They also have you take a style quiz so they can match the appropriate look and type of plants you want.

I can honestly say that we were blown away by the designs. I opened them up and I think my jaw literally dropped. They completely exceeded my expectations and it was so cool to see our boring backyard be brought to life. The incorporated everything we wanted. Now let’s take a deeper dive into everything.

Phase 1

While we would LOVE to be able to do the entire backyard TODAY. That just isn’t a reality for us. We will be breaking the backyard down into a few different phases, some we will hire a contractor for and some we will do ourselves to save money. Plus I like doing them anyway!

The first priority for us is to pour the patio and have a space for us to dine outside. Along with the hanging lights! This will FOR SURE be happening this summer!

This part will also include the landscape on the back of the outdoor living space and the wall plant.

We will also include the two gravel seating areas on each side. The firepit area willl have the gravel and then the concrete wood burning firepit.

I also love that they included an area of turf right in the center of the outdoor space. This will make it so easy since we won’t have to mow it and it will be great for outdoor games next to the fire pit. This is so brilliant!

On the opposite side will be the second gravel seating area with pavers. A place for lounge chairs, a few small tables and poufs.

We will also include as much landscape as we can get done ourselves during this time!

Phase 2

Phase 2 will be continuing to add to the seating areas by installing the large concrete planter wall that will border our outdoor oasis. This will also include the additional landscape that goes inside the planters and a few more fruit trees to make it feel extra lush.

Phase 3

Phase 3 will include the garden area! I’m so excited for this to be done. I am not a gardener at all, in fact I’m pretty terrible. But I do want to learn and have something fun to do with the kids. I want to add hydrangeas, lots of peonies, fruits and vegetables and all the goodies!

I love the look of this area, I think it will be such a fun place to find peace and just enjoy learning something new with the kids. We will likely DIY this entire area and I’m so excited!

I can’t wait to sit out here at night and enjoy this space!

Want Your Backyard Designed Too?

Head to Yardzen to learn about their packages and how their process works. You won’t be disappointed! This helped us hone in on our vision SO much.

About Taryn Whiteaker

Hi! I’m Taryn! The voice behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. I launched this brand over 11 years ago when I became a stay-at-home mom. What started as a small craft and mom blog eventually grew into a full time design and DIY site. My goal has always been to inspire others (especially women!) with design ideas, DIY tutorials, entertaining ideas and give you the tools you need to complete them yourself!

You May Also Like:

  • POLYWOOD Black and White Outdoor Furniture – Taryn Whiteaker Designs
    Black and White Transitional Backyard Decor
  • TarynWhiteakerDesigns_NewHomeTour-11
    2026 House Project Plans
  • IMG_3663
    Teen Bold Sports Bedroom Design
  • IMG_5875
    Black & White Backyard Pool Accessories
  • TarynWhiteaker-TarynWhiteakerDesigns-FY24HDCVanities-Photo
    Teenage Girls Bathroom Design
  • Screen Shot 2025-01-10 at 1.53.33 PM
    Boys Football Bedroom Design Plans
  • Coyote Outdoor Appliances-2
    Stone Outdoor Kitchen Design
  • plaid, plaid bedroom, plaid decor, plaid home, home decor, home design, modern home, vintage style, plaid pattern, traditional plaid, neutral home, vintage bedroom, home inspo, design inspo
    Plaid Bedroom Decor & Design

Filed Under: ALL POSTS, DIY Projects, Sponsored

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Santa Rosa Landscaping services says

    September 30, 2020 at 10:16 am

    Love the designs!

    Reply
  2. Rachel says

    November 1, 2022 at 8:00 pm

    Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful space! ? …I’m curious how big your patio area is with the string lights around it. I’m hoping to follow your updated string light tutorial but I’m uncertain of post spacing. My patio is 16×24, do you think 16’ apart is too wide on the short sides? I’d rather not have more poles if they’re not needed (block views/possible trip/crash hazard) but don’t want to over burden the posts either.
    Did you have to take any precautions for lightening? (I have huge oaks and pecans in the yard so I don’t know if I need to worry about it)

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Looking For Something?

CONNECT

Meet Taryn

Taryn Whiteaker

Hi and welcome! I'm Taryn and the voice of style behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. Sharing our journey of modernizing our European style home in Dallas. Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list to get all the latest updates! Read more...

Footer

THIS SITE

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Partner with Taryn

Privacy Policy

If you are interested in learning more about data that might be collected by this site you are encouraged to read the Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT POLICY

All images on this site are copyright of Design, Dining and Diapers, LLC. Unless otherwise noted. You may not use these images without written permission. If you would like to feature a project shown on Design, Dining and Diapers you may use a maximum of 2 images and include a visible link back to the project.

More From The Gram

tarynwhiteaker_designs

Taryn Whiteaker Designs
#sponsored Bedroom progress! Walking you through t #sponsored Bedroom progress! Walking you through the process of picking out our new flooring. I’m narrowing in on the Luxecraft Serenity line by @karastanflooring - a durable, pet friendly option that will add so much warmth and texture to this space. Click the link in my bio for more info! #KarastanFlooring #bedroomprogress #renovation
Talking you through my thought process and decisio Talking you through my thought process and decision making at this stage of the bedroom renovation! How I really feel about the paint color, trusting the process and changing my mind on a few things! 

#bedroomideas #bedroommakeover #diy #interiordesign
Comment SHOP for all my favorite Amazon finds I us Comment SHOP for all my favorite Amazon finds I use every single day! 

#homehacks #homefinds #amazonhomefinds #shopmyhome
Comment SHOP for my finds! Bedroom progress - Come Comment SHOP for my finds! Bedroom progress - Come shop with me to pick out new seating for our fireplace area! With the dark walls, I’m looking for contrast, cozy and a vibe! @athomestores has tons of brand new seating options for any area of your home. I could have bought five different accent chairs! So many that I loved! I can’t wait to see how this room all comes together! 

Discount Code: AHTDQ

#AtHomePartner #AtHomePartner #homedecor #interiordesign #homefinds
Comment TREES for links! My favorite artificial Ch Comment TREES for links! My favorite artificial Christmas Trees are now available at @loweshomeimprovement ! I’ve used Tree Classics by Balsam Hill for years, they are gorgeous, high quality and the most realistic trees. I’m showing you the 7.5’ ft Fraser Fir and 7.5’ Lake Tahoe Fir. Which one is your favorite?  Hurry and get them while they are in stock! These trees always sell out so early!  #LowesPartner #LowesHomeImprovement #christmastrees #LowesFinds
BED ROOM PROGRESS! Paint Reveal! I saved myself $4 BED ROOM PROGRESS! Paint Reveal! I saved myself $4800 to remove all the wallpaper, skim coat the walls, prep and paint our bedroom and seating area. Completely worth it! 

Paint color is SW Clove. It’s the perfect rich color that combines brown, gray and black. It’s really beautiful. 

A dark color drench always scares me for a second, but I know it will be amazing when it ALL comes together! 

Next up for this luxe ranch bedroom:
- new chandelier on the way
- new flooring
- bedroom furniture! 

#bedroomideas #bedroommakeover #diy #homedecor #interiordesign
Here’s how we do meal time with Alki and Timber! Here’s how we do meal time with Alki and Timber! Comment DOGS for 60% off your first order of @thefarmersdog or visit the link in my bio! We absolutely love feeding Whole Foods to our pups, they absolutely love it and you can see how much it affects them. 

Each pouch is one day worth of food, and completely tailored to the right portion size for each dog.

#TFDpartner #ThePack #goldenretrieverworld #goldenretrievers
Commend SHADES and I’ll send you all the info on Commend SHADES and I’ll send you all the info on the Roman Shades we install around the house! They are so easy to install, just drill and click-in! 

They look gorgeous and elevated. Now I keep thinking, so I add a subtle patterned curtain on either side? 

#romanshades #livingroomdecor #homedecor #neutraldecor
Bedroom Makeover Part 1! #homedecor #diy #homere Bedroom Makeover Part 1! 

#homedecor #diy #homerenovation #linensandhutch #revivalrugs
Follow on Instagram

Copyright© 2026 · Brunch Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Hosting by 3116 Digital