Our Back Porch Oasis + 10 Small Backyard Patio Ideas

Shop Our Small Backyard Patio

Outdoor Area Rug | Outdoor Sectional Couch | Small White & Gray Outdoor Coffee Table | Black and White Outdoor Throw Pillows | Black Outdoor Lanterns | Outdoor Hanging Light Spheres | Black Outdoor Bistro Table | Black Outdoor Side Chairs | Outdoor Market Umbrella | Boxwood Topiary Ball | Faux Hydrangea Flowers | White Floral Wreath

Most of our outdoor furniture and decor came from one of our very favorite brands, Grandin Road. Grandin Road is especially known for their outdoor furniture and decor, and they have amazing prices, so it’s a great place to start shopping for your back patio makeover!

Our Back Porch Before and After

Here’s a peek at our small back porch before and after the transformation. From landscaping and new fencing to outdoor furniture and decorations, it’s come along way since we first purchased our home. Keep reading to see how we transformed our small backyard patio all on our own!

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My Gingham Pants | Gingham Ponytail | Everly’s Gingham Jumpsuit

10 Small Backyard Patio Ideas

If you have a small back porch like us that you’re looking to upgrade, here are 10 small backyard patio ideas to inspire you.

All of these upgrades were done by me and Cole. And I’ll be the first to admit that neither Cole or I have very much experience with home renovations. These simple solutions can easily be applied to your own home without professional help.

Choose a Color Scheme

Start by choosing a color scheme for your small backyard patio. You can go for warm neutrals like browns and beiges and add pops of bright color like coral, red and pink. Or, you can go bold with lots of bright color.

We decided to go with a cool neutral color palette for our backyard patio, using black, white and shades of gray. Then we added small pops of teal for a little bit of color.

I love how our black and white back porch turned out!

Build a Small Deck or Add Gravel to Muddy Area

One of my biggest concerns with our small backyard when we moved in was the amount of mud just outside of the back door. With two large indoor dogs, I knew this would mean mud constantly being tracked inside our home.

When we first moved in, Cole tried laying all kinds of grass options to the area to cover up the mud. But inevitably, the grass would end up dying due o the large roots of the tree.

This spring, we finally found the perfect solution! We added a white rock gravel patio to our yard to cover up the mud. Not only did it do the trick, but it also expanded our small back porch, allowing for more entertainment space.

Adding a rock patio area to our backyard made such a huge difference! And it was easy enough that Cole and my sister’s boyfriend Luke were able to do it on their own!

If you have a carpenter or handyman in your family, you can get the same effect by building a small wooden deck patio.

Add Ground Level Lighting

Don’t forget about lighting! Since Cole loves to grill and we spend a lot of time out in our backyard at night, we wanted to add lots of light to our patio.

These black outdoor lanterns were perfect for putting some light on the ground level. We filled the lanterns with battery-operated LED light candles rather than actual candles since we have a toddler running around.

Wrap a Tree in Lights

We wrap the large tree in our backyard with lights every Christmas. Since Everly was so obsessed with the tree last holiday season, we decided to leave them up, and they make a great addition to our small backyard patio.

Our lights are rainbow, but white Christmas lights would probably be more appropriate for year-round. It adds a fun, festive feel to your backyard that you can enjoy all year round!

Create Multiple Seating Areas

Be sure to add plenty of seating area to your backyard patio. You’ll be surprised at how much seating you can fit even in a small space. We started with this amazing outdoor sectional couch from Grandin Road. What I loved about this couch set is that you purchase it in pieces so you can customize it to whatever size and shape best suits your space.

Then, we added our old wicker chairs, wicker couch and wicker bench set we got from At Home Stores a few seasons back to our new gravel patio area. The throw pillows and cushions I use for this area were in the dryer when I had these photos taken and I totally forgot! So normally there is cozy cushions in both chairs.

Don’t Forget to Add Greenery

Greenery makes such a huge difference in your backyard oasis, and you really can’t ever have too much of it. Whether you opt for real plants or some faux plants, they will add life to your outdoor patio.

We decided to go for a mix of real and faux, with ferns we potted in various planters and pots and some faux greenery from Grandin Road too.

Invest in an Outdoor Area Rug

If your small backyard patio is concrete, definitely add a large area rug to the space to make it feel cozy and put together.

Since we have dogs and a toddler, I knew a dark colored rug was the best option for us. I absolutely love the way this black patterned outdoor rug from Grandin Road pulled the whole space together.

Create a Dining Nook

If you have the space for it in your small back porch, definitely consider adding a cozy little dining nook. We didn’t have room under our covered outdoor patio, so we though adding this small black table and chairs on our new white gravel patio area would be perfect.

Our nook is below the tree so it does get some shade, but we added a large outdoor umbrella to provide extra shade in those long hot summer months. We’ve already enjoyed a few meals out here and Everly loves to eat her breakfast out on our outdoor patio table.

Make a Statement With Lighting

In addition to our ground level lighting, we added lights above with these fun sphere hanging lights from Grandin Road. They were super easy to hang from our patio awning and I love the look of them.

We also added some string lights that float from the awning to the tree. It adds a fun feel and extra lighting that extends throughout our entire back patio area.

Don’t Forget Throw Pillows & Cushions

As a finishing touch, throw pillows and a throw blanket or two are great small backyard patio ideas that will make it cozy enough for day or night.

We added these black and white outdoor throw pillows from Grandin Road and I love the way they instantly made our backyard space feel cozy.