Inspiring Design Ideas for a Backyard Porch or Patio

Make your outdoor space more usable and stylish with these stunning backyard porch ideas.

Are you ready to create an outdoor oasis in your own backyard? With a few simple upgrades to your porch, you can make the most of your summer days, soaking up the sunshine and entertaining friends and family in style.

Learn about the various ways to transform your porch into a welcoming, comfortable outdoor space. From swoon-worthy seating and lighting options, to eye-catching accents and décor, you'll find plenty of inspiration to take your porch from drab to fab. Get ready to take your relaxation game to a whole new level!

Backyard Porch Ideas

Want to improve your outdoor living space this year? There are so many good ideas for how to get the most use out of your backyard space. Take a look at some of these inviting patios and backyard porch design ideas for summer.

Conversation Space

One of the best options for creating a usable backyard porch space is to get proper outdoor furniture for conversations and company. If you don't have a comfortable place to sit and hang out, you won't end up with too many visitors. Make your outdoor living area a comfortable space by incorporating chair sets and sectionals. I also love to have outdoor rugs to soften the space. And don't forget to include some solar lights to light up your back staircase!

Whatever is used on the interior of your home can generally be extended to the exterior, with some exceptions. This is a great concept to keep in mind when you are decorating an exterior patio or porch.

Extended Covered Porch Area

If you don't have a large back patio, then extending your covered porch area into your yard is an easy option with additional coverings. We chose to extend our back patio area into the yard with a covered gazebo by the pool. It has been such a fun and relaxing space. And as a bonus we have all the extra seating for family and friends.

Also, don't forget to add some awesome lighting to brighten your space at night. We added solar fence lights, solar starburst lights and these solar string lights. And don't forget to add flower pots for a pop of color along your back porch. See my tutorial here.

Tranquil Backyard

This is such a tranquil and calming space from Jenna Sue Design. It is the perfect place to have a conversation. And talk about easy maintenance. The tile flooring around the seating area make for easy clean up! See it in detail here.

Comfy Porch

If you are going to have a spectacular outdoor room like this, then you might as well include an outdoor dining table area too. Both of these spaces look so beautiful with the dark wood against the bright white porch. I love everything about this comfy backyard patio space from Southern Cottage. It's perfect for summer!

Swing Decor

Does anyone else love porch swings as much as I do? There is something about having a large and spacious swing to relax in at the end of every day. What a cozy and elegant space to spend your nights in the summer.

I loved this so much I built my own porch swing for our new home. As a self taught wood worker, it was one of the easier DIY builds I have done. I have the complete tutorial here if you want to try it out too! Make this space more of your personal style by choosing seat cushions and throw pillows that fit your design plan. If you don't want this on your backyard patio, you can also use it on your front porch.

Summer Movie Nights

If you're feeling ambitious and want to turn that backyard space into something more for the kids, this is a great place to enjoy movies in the summer. The glowing lanterns hanging from the trees, the relaxing hammock space and the cozy seating areas make this outdoor living room the place to be all summer long. Outdoor movie night, anyone?

Colorful Porch

Love a bright color palette? How about a space that is full of color and florals? For added visual interest, combine varying patterns and textures. This is a perfect area for lounging around in the summer!

Backyard Porch With Touch of Wood

A patio doesn't have to be busy with grand designs to enjoy it. I love the simplicity of the woodwork and touch of greenery to this lovely back deck space. The wood screen is a nice touch for added privacy and design.

Make the wood seating cozy with a soft throw blanket. See how to use throws in your decorating here.

I love the use of wood on this back patio that extends into a pergola. It's so helpful to have an eye-catching design that also provides privacy! When you live in an area where your backyard porch is visible to neighbors, this is a good decorative option to provide a privacy screen as well as overhead coverage.

Bright, inviting and a setting like this one in the perfect outdoors is just how I imagine my summer to be. When you don't have built-in roof coverage over your patio, a pergola like this one is an ideal purchase for shade as well as design. This pergola is large and perfect for stringing lights all the way across. Source here.

Light Pergola

We've seen plenty of dark wood or metal pergolas, but I love the white one in this space. It is so inviting and a nice contrast from the dark flooring. Plus, it's a fun option to string lights as well as hang plants and lanterns from the beams.

We opted to paint our attached pergola in our remodelled home with white and it was a pretty Easy DIY going from light to dark.

Boho Back Porch

Feeling a little bohemian in your decor choice? This is a fun Boho space full of natural elements, color and greenery. The fun use of a chair swing for more seating, instead of typical lounge chairs is a unique style design.

Uncovered Patio

If you don't have a physical porch or are working with a small space, you can still create a gorgeous outdoor space like this one on a cement patio. The elevated fire pit design is a fun change from standard in-ground styles.

Small Spaces

Even small porch spaces can be designed for seating and functionality. This was our last backyard patio that I transformed. We lightened the color and added additional seating from the beams since there wasn't a ton of surface space. See it here.

Fire Pit Patio

Backyard patios with fire pits like this one are becoming ever popular! It looks so inviting with the circular design so everyone feels a part of the conversation. The added floral blooms surrounding the space make this area truly exquisite.

Shop My Backyard

Shop my back patio here.

With the right decor, accessories, and furniture, your backyard porch can become a luxurious retreat that will last through the summer months. When you spend attention to detail, your space will be an inviting place to relax and entertain. And don't miss a great opportunity to reconnect with the finest aspects of mother nature. So go ahead and create a space that can be enjoyed for years to come.

Happy Decorating!

Brooke