If you feel your backyard design is outdated or not functional for the needs of your family, this Backyard Design 2025 is the article for you. 2025 is going to be a year of refresh. With the many ups and downs around the globe in 2024, 2025 is a year to start afresh and feel energised for the good years to come.
Do Your Research
Start with a mood board of backyard ideas to get your creative side going. Research is key, whether that’s through Pinterest, Archipro, or reading articles like this, as it helps you decide what you like and what you dislike. Starting to form a clearer picture in your head of the possible outcome.
If your budget allows, involve a landscape architect from the start. With their experience, they help you hone all your ideas into a functional outcome for the needs of your family. We work with a lot of designers in this space, one of our recommendations if you are in the Auckland area is to reach out to Robert at Luijten Landscaping, an awarded and trusted company to help you bring ideas to reality.
Image source: Yardzen
Design Theme
Decide on a design theme you want to go with. Is it coastal, inspired by nature, focused around entertaining guests, or splashes of colour? The trend of maximalist designs is being seen coming into 2025, steering away from the modern minimal look we have seen for many years now. The maximalist design makes an outdoor place feel welcoming and relaxed. More is more rather than less is more, all without being chaotic and still pleasing to the eye. This is a challenging aesthetic to achieve but very rewarding and a true representation of your style. A true maximalist outdoor space blends modern and traditional design elements, be sure to consider this design shift when updating your backyard.
Once your concept groundwork is underway, here are some areas to consider with the latest design tips in 2025:
Landscaping
With the shift from minimalist to maximalist in mind, consider lush plantings, layered looks with whispery flowers at a low level, low bushes at eye level and established heritage trees behind. Not just lining the perimeter of your backyard but portioning off areas to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere, careful not to create a clean, boxy, outdated feel. Pops of colour crafted from colourful flowers scattered throughout your areas are one way to achieve this. Tip: plant lots of different species close together. Make sure your landscaping is balanced, not symmetrical. This all helps to create a maximalist look. This more natural, wild approach to landscaping is more sustainable and there is a rise of water-wise gardeners who are using native plants. Colourful maximalist landscaping attracts more birds, butterflies, pollinators, etc. 2025 is seeing that large patches of green grass are out, replacing this with native plantings, edible gardens and entertaining space, reserving a small section for kids and pets. Create a native sanctuary in your backyard for your friends and family to enjoy.
Plants we like, coming into 2025:
🌿 Weeping mulberry
🌿 Cherry blossoms
🌿 Foxtail fern or Silver Lady Fern
🌿 Native fruit trees
🌿 Lavender bushes
🌿 Rows of small garden beds
🌿 Spilling Boston Ivy over a trellis or a retaining wall for a dynamic, layered look
Entertaining
There is a rise in popularity for outdoor kitchens, which coming into 2025, are not just a BBQ area. These are full-on indoor kitchens except, you guessed it – outdoors but with the smoker and pizza oven replacing the humble indoor oven and the need for shade. Here at Shadowspec we are shade experts, so reach out to our specialists to see if your needs fit any of our products. Having bench space and a sink next to your BBQ or smoker and Ooni pizza oven gives you the added benefit of fresh air when doing your food prep and of course, it is a nice change of scenery than a wall or splash back. A small inbuilt fridge is also essential, impress your mates by being able to have ice cold beer or water close by. Hosting outdoors is such an essential part of enjoying a kiwi summer. Impress your guests with your outdoor cooking skills, and a cold drink nearby under the comfort of shade.
Play Area for Kids
Consider an area for kids to hang out in and bring out their creative side away from technology. This could be a playhouse, sandpit, playground, in-built trampoline, climbing wall or a mini fairy garden integrated into your native, maximalist landscaping. Ensure there is ample shade for them to spend long periods of time outdoors. Protect your little ones, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, or neighbours, from the sun and heat this summer and many more to come.
Water Features
Water is a must for keeping cool during a New Zealand Summer, consider a pool such as an infinity pool or spa. Pools are great for keeping cool but also for your well-being, being able to do water exercises is a huge benefit and provides a nice change from perspiring in an indoor gym. Speaking of water having wellness benefits, this is a trend we will see rise in 2025. Outdoor ice baths and saunas are becoming popular items in New Zealander's backyards. Create a wellness retreat without having to drive anywhere. Here at Shadowspec we are passionate about sun protection, while your go-to might be ‘slip, slop, slap’ and ‘she’ll be right’ this has its disadvantages because sunblock does clog pool filters, decreasing their efficiency and making it harder to keep your water clean. We’re here to give you useful advice, a shade umbrella or multi-canopy umbrellas would solve this problem as you can spend hours relaxing in your pool or spa without the worry of painful sunburn keeping you up at night and thinking long-term, skin cancer concerns.
Image source: Sage Journal
Paving and Paths
As we alluded to earlier in this article, portioning off areas adds a maximalist style to your outdoor space, not a boxy and outdated style. Gravel paths are on trend for 2025 and are low maintenance as gravel hides dirt whereas pavers have to be cleaned. Pavers have a visual appeal though and the wild minimalist look can be achieved by letting various species of ground cover plants grow a bit wild in between and around the pavers, like the look below.
Outdoor Seating
If you invest in your outdoor sanctuary you have to have furniture to relax on and enjoy the space. Whites and greys are on their way out in 2025, warmer colours are in. Mocha Mousse is Pantone’s colour of the year in 2025, so you could consider this when researching your outdoor furniture. We love Jardin’s outdoor furniture, and this inspiration page saves you time when looking for a warm brown-red colour. Check out the colour combos they recommend, light and dark reds and golden yellows are our favourites. Another tip is having modular outdoor sofas, this is a great way to use all the space you have for maximum outdoor seating. Consider a hanging day bed or sofa as this is the ultimate way to relax outdoors and is a furniture piece we are going to see more of in 2025.
Image Source: Archipro
Make sure you have shade to protect yourself and your loved ones from the harsh New Zealand UV rays while relaxing on your outdoor furniture. Our Shadowpsec Serenity™ and Shadowspec Unity™ umbrellas have a high UPF rating of 80. Designed also to protect you from the heat, not our UV rays alone.
Visualise Shade at Your Place
We are here to help you discover the perfect shade solution for your place and inspire you with the latest outdoor design trends. Updating your backyard could be the perfect summer project for your family. Visualise shade at your place with our Shadowspec AR tool. Choose the right amount of shade and your favourite canopy colour.
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