Kid-Friendly Landscape Design: Creative Play Space Tips for Family Fun

If you think a backyard play area has to be a big plastic play set tucked in the back corner of the yard, you haven’t talked to Kim Rubert.

How do you design a backyard for kids? Rubert, a landscape designer with Outback Landscape, has innovative ideas, from natural materials like boulders and logs to fun, close-by features the whole family can enjoy together.

Jump to Section

• Think About How You’ll Use the Space
• Kids Love a Big Lawn Area
• Integrate Play Areas, Don’t Set Them Aside
• Include the Whole Family
• Backyard Playground Ideas: What to Plant?
• Plants to Avoid in a Kid-Friendly Space
• Considering Playground Surface Material
• Work with the Space — and the Vibe — You Have
• Encouraging a Relationship with Nature
• What Does a Family Backyard Project Typically Cost?
• Need Creative Kid-Friendly Backyard Ideas? Trust Outback

Rubert shares her expertise and pro tips, including backyard play area ideas she uses with her own two young kids.

Keep reading to learn more.

Think About How You’ll Use the Space

“It’s a challenge to design with kids in mind, because they soon grow up,” Rubert says. “You have to design with the future in mind, too.

“The design will vary from family to family,” she says, “based on what they want and what their kids are interested in.”

She starts every project with a few key questions as she considers family-friendly backyard ideas:

“What do you like to do? Do your kids play sports? Do you have lots of play dates? Will there be a lot of kids here or just a few? Young kids, or are there teenagers?

“All of that gives me clues,” she says.

Kids Love a Big Lawn Area

One of the best kid-friendly backyard ideas is also the simplest.

“If you have the space, a big lawn area is always good because it gives you a place to kick a ball, throw a ball, play corn hole or put up a volleyball net,” Rubert says. “Those things never go out of style, even as kids get older.”

Integrate Backyard Play Areas, Don’t Set Them Aside

Parents often tuck play areas into a corner of the backyard, worried they’re an eyesore, Rubert says.

She loves making them part of the Idaho Falls landscaping.

“If you have play equipment, it’s great to integrate it into the yard so it looks intentional, and not just stuck in the back corner,” she says. “I like to landscape around it, not just have the kids’ area be a big square in the back.”

Play equipment doesn’t have to be a big red-and-yellow swing set.

“You can have boulders and logs to climb on and play around, and it still looks nice,” she says.

Rubert describes a recent backyard landscaping project that put the kids’ area front and center.

“We did a space for a young family with a fire pit nook, a trampoline and a little play set that was close to the patio so the parents could keep an eye on their kids while they were enjoying the backyard, too,” she says. “We included a hammock.” (Everybody loves hammocks.)

“It wasn’t all stuck in the back,” she says. “We added trees and as they get bigger, they’ll have a forest-like feel.

“You don’t have to stick everything way in the back in one big square,” she says. “People tend to want the same things, like a trampoline and a fire pit. What makes it unique is how you arrange them.”

Include the Whole Family

“The space should be good for adults, too,” Rubert says. “When you have a nice outdoor living space with hardscape and outdoor furniture and a fire pit, the kids will participate in activities that happen there, too.”

How do you design a yard kids won't outgrow in two years?

A putting green is a fun feature that older kids and grown-ups can enjoy together, Rubert says. Pickleball courts are growing in popularity, too.

Plunge pools often top parents’ wish lists, she says, offering water fun for everyone.

“Anything with water is definitely a way to entertain the whole family.”

That doesn’t mean you need to splurge on a whole pool, she says. Even smaller water features are a big win.

“You can do a bubbling boulder water feature and kids love to play in them,” Rubert says. “Yes, it’s a decorative feature and the water sounds so pretty, but kids can play in them, too. We installed one next to a family’s front door as a decorative feature and the kids play in it all the time. They pick pieces of grass and watch them float down the water.”

Backyard Playground Ideas: What to Plant?

“Kids like perennials so they can pick the flowers,” Rubert says.

She knows this firsthand, with a 7- year-old son and 5-year-old daughter.

“My kids love to play with and pick plants, and use them to make potions,” she says. “They love nature play. My daughter loves grabbing little jars and filling them with flowers she picks.”

Rubert filled her property with blooming perennials soft to the touch. A few of her favorites:

• Blanket flower
• Salvia
• Daisies (Bonus: they make great flower crowns.)
• Speedwell
• Aster
• Russian sage
• Silver mound, a Rubert favorite: “It smells really good and it’s super soft.”

Plants to Avoid in a Kid-Friendly Space

Not every plant is meant for up-close play. Some are dangerous.

Which plants are safe for kids and pets — and which should you avoid?

“Barberry is beautiful with pretty red leaves, but it has thorns, so we don’t install it in yards with kids,” Rubert says.

She also avoids yews because their berries are toxic.

Rubert doesn’t use any shrubs or plants with berries or thorns when designing landscaping for families, including roses, she says. Better safe than sorry.

Considering Playground Surface Material

What's the best material to put under playground equipment?

“Families sometimes ask for poured-in-place rubber, but that’s really expensive,” Rubert says. “You can do rubber mulch or pea gravel or soft bark mulch. You just have to realize that mulch blows around, so you’ll have a bit of clean-up.”

Is artificial turf a good idea for a family backyard?

It is, Rubert says, but it’s not the most budget-friendly choice.

“To have it installed professionally is more expensive than people think,” she says. “People imagine this roll of artificial grass that you just roll out and that’s it. But here in our area we have to install it a certain way because of our freeze and thaw cycles.”

Work with the Space — and the Vibe — You Have

Your backyard space and landscaping preferences may vary depending on where you live, Rubert says. Idaho backyard play area landscaping should suit the surroundings.

Outback clients in Idaho Falls often have standard square lots and want tidier landscaping, she says, while Jackson Hole homeowners often have more space and prefer a more rugged look.

“In Jackson, designs are heavy on trees, wild natural grass and wildflowers,” Rubert says. “It’s a different vibe than Idaho Falls, where there are often brand-new lots with less room.”

A skilled landscape designer can work with any family’s space and needs.

Encouraging a Relationship with Nature

Rubert has a sunken trampoline for her kids to play on, plus plenty of trees, a natural pond, and chickens.

The designer, who often says “nature does it best,” feels the same about play spaces.

“Kids can be imaginative with rocks and boulders,” Rubert says. Give a 5-year-old a jar and a patch of wildflowers and wait for the joy.

“Most people with kids want them to have a relationship with nature, not with phones or iPads,” she says. “Nature, in general, is just so good for kids.”

Plant a kid-sized vegetable garden with cherry tomatoes and mini sweet peppers that kids can pick and munch.

Grow a fun pizza garden with basil and oregano.

Welcome birds and butterflies with plants they love, including native plants like coneflowers with seeds that attract sparrows, warblers, finches, and chickadees.

What Does a Family Backyard Project Typically Cost?

There’s a huge price range here, Rubert says, depending on the features you choose. A play area can range from $20,000 to $50,000, she says.

“That sounds like a lot, but if you get into commercial playground equipment with a poured rubber surface, that jacks up the price.”

A thoughtful design is worth the cost, she says.

“The trend now is more of a meaningful layout, not just a swing and a trampoline stuck in a square space at the back of the yard,” Rubert says. “It costs more money, but if a space is better designed, it sparks more imaginative play.”

Need Creative Kid-Friendly Backyard Ideas? Trust Outback

Looking for innovative backyard ideas that celebrate nature, look great and give your kids a creative space to have outdoor fun?

Outback Landscape is a full-service landscaping company offering landscape design and installation in Idaho Falls, ID and throughout Southeast Idaho and Wyoming.

We install beautiful, functional landscapes, and we’ll stay with you for the long haul, maintaining your property through all four seasons.

We serve residential and commercial properties in Idaho Falls, Rexburg and Pocatello, Idaho, as well as Bonneville, Madison and Bannock counties and Jackson, WY.

Ready for an innovative backyard the whole family will love? Call us at 208-656-3220 or schedule a no-obligation meeting with one of our team members. We can’t wait to hear from you.