Strategies for designing an alfresco space
Creating an outdoor room has become a popular trend, turning gardens into spaces for relaxation, cooking, and entertainment. Here are some tips to help you transform your garden into a modern and inviting outdoor living space.
Decide on the layout
To create a contemporary and organized feel, place raised beds to define zones for dining, lounging, and circulation. Keep a clear paving path between them to ensure the area feels open and contemporary.
Choose raised-bed materials and scale
For a sleek and modern look, opt for clean-edged materials such as powder-coated steel, smooth concrete, or horizontal cedar boards at uniform heights (single or stacked steps) to create crisp lines.
Integrate hardscape and flooring
Large-format pavers, light gravel, or poured concrete with narrow joints can create a modern, calm floor plane that makes beds and furniture stand out.
Add built-in seating and multipurpose edges
Turn some raised-bed walls into benches or low retaining walls to make plantings and seating cohesive and space-efficient.
Layer plantings for form and scent
Use architectural, low-maintenance structural plants as the "bones" of your design, then add midsized flowering shrubs and a front layer of fragrant evening bloomers. Some recommended plants for enticing evening scents include night-scented stock, night-blooming jasmine, night-blooming cereus, lavender, rosemary, and rosemary-flowering varieties.
Lighting and atmosphere
Integrate linear or recessed LED lighting on feature walls and along pergolas to highlight textures and create soft pools of light for evening use.
Add vertical elements and shelter
A slatted pergola or feature wall can provide privacy, support climbers, and create a contemporary silhouette. Consider a retractable roof or slatted shade for flexibility.
Practical details and maintenance tips
- Make beds at least 18–24 inches deep for shrubs and perennials.
- Use well-draining, high-quality planting mix to reduce maintenance and keep plantings healthy.
- Install drip irrigation with separate zones for raised beds to protect both architectural plants and seasonal scent plants while conserving water.
- Use dimmers and timers for lighting so they come on for evening entertaining but can be lowered to let scent and night ambience take over.
- Combine evergreen structure with staggered bloom times so form remains in winter and scent returns through warm evenings.
Simple contemporary palettes and materials
- Opt for materials such as smooth concrete, corten or powder-coated metal, horizontal timber, and light gravel.
- Use a neutral base (light greys, warm woods) with one accent color in cushions or pots to keep the aesthetic modern and calm.
Quick layout examples
- Linear courtyard: long raised beds along both sides, central paver walkway, dining at one end under a pergola with jasmine cover.
- L-shaped lounge/dining: raised beds forming the back of a lounge with integrated bench; dining area next to a fragrant wall trellis.
- Modular patios: square raised beds arranged around a central fire or seating plaza with low-profile contemporary planters.
If you'd like, we can provide a simple dimensioned layout for your specific yard size, create a plant list tailored to your hardiness zone and sun exposure, or recommend materials and suppliers near your area.
Sources: contemporary outdoor living and layout ideas; pergola and feature-wall examples; multifunctional outdoor room guidance.
incorporating raised beds for dining, lounging, and circulation in the garden layout adds structure and definition to the outdoor room, creating distinct areas for relaxation, cooking, and entertainment. the choice of materials for the raised beds, such as smooth concrete, powder-coated steel, or horizontal cedar boards, contributes to the modern and inviting home-and-garden design.
