Backyard Layout
120 m²
A backyard plan with patio, lawn, planting beds and an outdoor seating area.
Use TemplateDesign your backyard (patio, lawn, planting and seating) to scale in one place.
to scale
The mistake in most backyard sketches is drawing objects before drawing zones. A yard has to hold several jobs at once: somewhere to sit, somewhere to eat, somewhere for grass, somewhere for planting, and usually somewhere to hide the bins and the mower. Draw the plot boundary to its measured length first, then block out those zones as areas. Only once the areas add up to less than the plot do you start placing a table or a shed. Zones that overlap on paper always overlap in real life.
Two things constrain a backyard before any design choice. The first is drainage: the ground has to fall away from the house, and the usual requirement is 6 in of drop across the first 10 ft. The second is the boundary. Sheds, large trees and pool fencing are frequently subject to a local setback, commonly 3 to 5 ft from a property line for an outbuilding. Draw the boundary and mark the setback as a strip you do not build in. It shrinks the usable plot noticeably, and it is better to see that at the start.
A backyard path is not a decorative line. A main route needs 48 in so two people can pass and a wheelbarrow can turn. A single access path can drop to 36 in. Gates follow the same logic: 36 in for people, 48 in if a mower has to get through. Hazards then take their own clear zones out of the plan. A fire pit needs 10 ft of clearance from the house, the fence and any overhanging branch, with seating pulled back 36 in from the rim. Play equipment needs a 6 ft fall zone on every side. Draw those circles at true size and the remaining lawn is what you actually have.
Measure each boundary run and type the length in. SpacePlanner draws it to scale with a live dimension label. Add the rear wall of the house and the doors that open onto the yard, because those doors set where every path has to start.
Shade the boundary setback strip, the fall away from the house, and anything already there that is staying: a mature tree, a manhole, a washing line post. These are not negotiable, so they go in before anything you get to choose.
Draw sitting, dining, lawn, growing and storage as rectangles at real size. If they do not fit inside the boundary with paths between them, the plan is already too ambitious. Shrink a zone now rather than discovering it later.
Drop in the shed, table, fire pit and beds at true size, then check the clearances: 48 in on the main path, 36 in around the shed, 10 ft around the fire pit. Switch to 3D to see how the levels and the planting read from the back door.
Backyard figures come from three different places: drainage and building rules, safety guidance for fire and play equipment, and the practical width a person plus a wheelbarrow needs. They are worth checking together, because the ones that fail a layout are almost always the boundary setback and the space around a fire pit rather than the size of the lawn. Local setback rules vary, so treat those rows as the figure to confirm rather than assume.
| Measure | Imperial | Metric | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main garden path | 48 in | 122 cm | Two people pass, and a wheelbarrow can turn. |
| Secondary or access path | 36 in | 90 cm | One person at a time. The practical minimum. |
| Ground fall away from the foundation | 6 in over 10 ft | 15 cm over 3 m | Standard drainage grade. Keeps water off the wall. |
| Outbuilding or shed to a property line | 3 to 5 ft | 0.9 to 1.5 m | Typical local setback. Confirm your own rule. |
| Clear working space around a shed | 36 in | 90 cm | Enough to paint, repair and clear leaves. |
| Large shade tree to the house | 20 ft | 6 m | Keeps roots and canopy off the foundation and gutters. |
| Small ornamental tree to the house | 10 to 15 ft | 3 to 4.5 m | Scaled to a mature spread under 20 ft. |
| Fire pit to any structure or fence | 10 ft | 3 m | Also clear of overhanging branches. |
| Seating back from a fire pit rim | 36 in | 90 cm | Fire pit bowls are commonly 36 to 44 in across. |
| Fall zone around play equipment | 6 ft | 1.8 m | Clear on every side. More in front of a swing arc. |
| Downspout discharge from the foundation | 4 to 6 ft | 1.2 to 1.8 m | Extensions carry roof water past the backfill zone. |
| Overhead clearance above swings and trampolines | 24 ft | 7.3 m | Clear of branches, cables and the shed roof. |
| Stepping stone spacing, centre to centre | 24 in | 60 cm | Matches a normal stride across a lawn or bed. |
| Pedestrian gate width | 36 in | 90 cm | Widen to 48 in for a mower or bulk deliveries. |
Plan gardens, patios, pools and outdoor kitchens on the same canvas as your interior rooms.
Click to place walls with live dimensions and smart snapping. Everything stays to scale.
A library of standardized furniture and fixtures at real-world sizes: beds, sofas, kitchens, baths and more.
Switch between cm, meters and feet/inches any time. Areas update automatically.
Plan your garden online for free. Lay out beds, paths, trees, patios and outdoor furniture in your browser. No signup needed.
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Yes. The SpacePlanner backyard planner is completely free to use online. You can start drawing instantly without signing up.
No. It runs entirely in your browser on desktop, tablet or mobile. There is nothing to download or install.
No. You can draw a full plan without an account. We only ask you to sign up when you want to save, export or share your work.
Yes. You can plan gardens, patios, backyards, pools and outdoor kitchens alongside indoor rooms on the same canvas.
Draw the flat plan first and mark where the ground drops. SpacePlanner handles levels through stairs, so a sunken lawn or a raised seating area can sit on its own level and connect to the rest of the plan by steps. Keep the fall away from the house at roughly 6 in over the first 10 ft wherever the ground meets the wall.
Yes, and you should. Indoor and outdoor live on one canvas, so the rear wall of the house is the same wall in both. That matters because the back door position decides where the main path runs, and a yard drawn in isolation almost always puts the path in the wrong place.
Draw the zones and find out rather than guessing. A shed, a dining area, a fire pit circle and the paths between them regularly account for half a small plot. Because everything is at true size on a scaled plan, the lawn that remains is a real measurement, not an optimistic one.
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