With spring fast approaching, you’ll want to make sure your backyard or patio area is up to scratch. There are dinner parties to host, barbecues to test, and pool parties to throw, so you need an outdoor space that will allow your guests and family to relax and enjoy the ambiance.

As winter comes to an end, you have some time to think about possible revamps you can make to your backyard that will be sure to impress any guest that stops by. At Ispri, we keep our eyes on the hottest landscaping and backyard design trends so you don’t have to. Here are our top four backyard design tips that will deliver the most impact for your space.

1. Outdoor Lighting

This continues to be one of the best investments for extending your outdoor living space. Perhaps it’s task lighting to extend evenings spent cooking and entertaining. Or uplighting and accent lighting for long, dark winters to extend the landscape through all seasons. Consider hanging string lights gracefully across a deck for instant mood lighting. Lighting manufacturers are an excellent resource if you want to learn more about making innovative improvements to your outdoor space.

2. Outdoor Audio

Audio systems have come a long way in the past few years and are a wonderful finishing piece to a well-crafted outdoor space. You can install an audio system that has multiple zones, is wireless, or ties into the existing home system for your convenience. Once you have your audio system set up, it can even be used as a sound system for outdoor movie night parties with the neighborhood.

3. Paver Flooring

So many new options have come to market in the last few years for patio flooring. The porcelain tile plank pavers provide many pattern possibilities for your landscape — perfect to designate certain areas or pathways in your project. Paver flooring is easy to install and user-friendly in comparison to other flooring options that often require getting traditional machinery or heavy pallets of paver material to your site. With paver flooring, your location is never a limiting factor.

4. Eco-Friendly

As we learn more about the advantages of eco-friendly chemical use, smart watering practices, and planting native flora, it becomes more and more important to make wiser long-term decisions for specific site situations. With Wi-Fi and smart sensor irrigation systems that work with the natural rainfall amounts, you can practice sustainability and preserve your personal tastes while avoiding a yard full of cactus or a brown lawn. Working with a professional can help you streamline what program will work for you.

Generally said, costs for outdoor improvements can be more costly here in the Midwest than other areas of the country because of ground prep that can affect overall budgets and decision making. A well-constructed plan developed with a professional can help pull together your goal, possibilities, and point out new options to consider.

The styles may evolve but the desire to enjoy tasteful outdoor spaces, even in the Midwest, will continue, whether entertaining large groups or quietly enjoying time alone. If you’d like to learn more about how to revamp your backyard design, give the experts at Ispiri a call.