Outdoor Living Trends: Creating Multi-Use Spaces with Hardscaping in Idaho

If you ask Outback landscape designer Kim Rubert, everybody needs a hardscape space.

It might be a sprawling patio, with separate levels, steps, terraces, and outdoor rooms for different purposes. Or it might be a cozy, intimate spot, perfect for romantic candlelit dinners or eating a pint of mint chip ice cream by yourself.

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• What Are the Latest Outdoor Living Trends?
• How Can Hardscaping Create Multi-use Outdoor Spaces?
• How Can Outdoor Spaces Be Used for Entertaining and Relaxation?
• It All Starts with Great Design
• Frequently Asked Questions About Hardscaping Ideas in Idaho
• Ready to Hop on the Latest Hardscape Design Trends? Trust Outback

But hardscape will likely be the center of your Idaho outdoor living space, so she wants it to be exactly right.

How can hardscaping create multi-use outdoor spaces? Hardscape can ground a patio dining area where you eat your morning granola or host a neighborhood cookout. It can create a backyard wellness area where you stroll serenely from sauna to plunge pool. Hardscape can be a cozy fire feature that lures your solitary teens to family s’mores night.

Rubert shares her strategies for creating multi-use outdoor spaces.

What Are the Latest Outdoor Living Trends?

“Homeowners are asking for outdoor spaces that do more than just look good,” Rubert says. “They want backyards that feel like an extension of the home — spaces for entertaining, dining, relaxing, and spending quality time with family and friends.”

That means lots of outdoor features are stepping up for these multi-use outdoor spaces.

“We’re seeing strong interest in custom patios, fire features, pergolas, outdoor kitchens, lighting, privacy elements, and integrated water features like plunge pools or cold plunges,” Rubert says. “The biggest trend is intentional design, where every hardscape element works together to create one cohesive outdoor living experience, rather than a bunch of separate features.”

How Can Hardscaping Create Multi-use Outdoor Spaces?

“We use hardscaping to define purposeful outdoor ‘zones’ within one overall design,” Rubert says.

Structural elements like pergolas, retaining walls, and paver pathways help define boundaries, while outdoor living features like fire pits and outdoor kitchens establish where activities occur. But because it’s one open area, homeowners can easily transition from dining to lounging to taking a dip in the plunge pool.

Different materials can offer visual cues, too, with concrete pavers defining a dining space, decking creating a yoga retreat and gravel grounding a sauna area. Different “zones” can feel distinct without physical walls.

How do homeowners maximize backyard functionality?

A patio might anchor the main gathering area, Rubert says, while a fire feature creates a place to relax into the evening, and an outdoor kitchen or dining space supports hosting and family meals.

“Pergolas and shade structures help make the space more comfortable during the day,” Rubert says, while lighting extends usability after dark.

“The goal is to make the backyard feel connected and easy to use,” she says, “so homeowners can move naturally from cooking to dining to relaxing without the space feeling crowded or disconnected.”

How Can Outdoor Spaces Be Used for Entertaining and Relaxation?

“It really just depends on the needs of each individual person,” Rubert says. “That’s what makes designing so fun!

“Some may need serenity, privacy, and a zen feeling after a long day at work,” she says.

She gets it. Rubert has been designing more backyard wellness retreats lately, with outdoor saunas; temperature-controlled plunge pools; covered decks for yoga or meditation and outdoor speakers for music to set the tone. These serene spaces are high on lists of hardscape design trends.

Not the plunge pool type? Idaho patio design is custom, she says, so it can perfectly fit your needs.

“Some may need large open areas for the kids or animals, while still having cozy spots to quietly observe,” Rubert says. “Others need places for hosting.”

The great thing about hardscape is how versatile it is in creating outdoor spaces for any lifestyle need.

“Hardscape creates structure, usability, and flow,” Rubert says. “It turns underused yard space into areas with a clear purpose, whether that’s dining, gathering, cooking, or simply unwinding.”

It also helps homeowners get more value from their property by making the backyard easier to use, maintain, and enjoy, she says.

“When it’s designed well, hardscape helps the entire outdoor space feel more finished, more comfortable, and more aligned with the way the homeowner actually wants to live,” Rubert says.

It All Starts with Great Design

Landscape designers come to the table with creative ideas you probably wouldn’t have thought of, and they help you think about your outdoor living space in whole new ways.

When you sit down with Rubert to talk about your Idaho Falls outdoor living design, prepare to be excited.

But even the less-than-exciting stuff she brings to the conversation is really important.

There’s a lot more to this than where your patio furniture will go. Drainage and water management. Fire pit placement. Foot traffic patterns. It’s why your new outdoor living space will start with a professional design.

A design is especially helpful if you have an odd-shaped yard or obstacles you need to work around.

Rubert knows how to think outside the box. Move things around. Try something different. Change the flow of traffic. Maybe switch the positions of the fire pit and the yoga area.

If you have to rip something out because it doesn’t work, you’re wasting a lot of money, Rubert says. One design fee could save you thousands. What if crews lay your pavers and you end up hating them? She won’t let that happen.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hardscaping Ideas in Idaho:

Q: What hardscape features add the most value to a property?

A: While your choice in hardscape features should always begin with how you intend to use it, it’s important to understand how each type of hardscape feature can impact the long-term value of your home.

Consider some of the most common installations:

• Multi-use patios that seamlessly extend indoor living space outdoors.
• Front entryways and walkways that create a welcoming front entrance and make a great first impression.
• Fire features that add a cozy gathering space for family time or entertaining, anchoring backyard entertainment spaces.
• Multi-purpose retaining walls that prevent soil erosion and create level, usable tiered areas while solving drainage issues.

Q: What features should be included in an outdoor living area?

A. That all depends on your lifestyle and how you want to use the space.

When Rubert first meets with new clients for a design consultation, she’ll ask lots of questions about how you want to live out there. Then, she’ll help prioritize your needs to help design a space you’ll use and love, whether you need a small cozy spot for morning yoga or a multi-level entertainment area to host all the family parties.

But the best Idaho Falls backyard entertainment spaces feel like a natural extension of your home, with similar amenities you can enjoy outside.

A few core features:

• A hardscape patio for dining and relaxing.
• A fire feature to extend the usability of your outdoor living space into chilly Idaho or Wyoming spring and fall evenings.
• Shade and shelter to protect guests from the elements.
• Strategic lighting for safety and to extend the space's ambiance and functionality after dark.
• Elements to soften your hardscape surfaces, like plants and a relaxing water feature.

Q: What outdoor living features are popular in Idaho Falls?

A: Custom patios; fire features; pergolas; outdoor kitchens; landscape lighting; privacy elements; integrated water features like plunge pools or cold plunges.

Rubert sees all these outdoor living features on her clients’ wish lists.

Q: How Long Does a Hardscaping Project Take?

A: Probably not as long as you think, although it depends on some varying factors, such as size of the project, potential grade changes, time of year, and other issues.

But if you plan well in advance and give us the right information up front, we can generally finish your project in about 6 weeks.

Ready to Hop on the Latest Hardscape Design Trends? Trust Outback

Need an outdoor living space for sizzling up your famous shrimp fajitas? Craving the serenity of a backyard sauna? Need a spot for rollicking toddler parties?

Rubert has you covered.

Here at Outback Landscape, we love matching clients with their dream hardscape design and watching their excitement as the process unfolds.

And we make it easy, from your first meeting with a landscape designer right through to the excitement of your Idaho Falls or Jackson Hole hardscape installation.

We’ll talk with you about your expectations, what the project includes, the expected completion time frame, and your budget.

Outback Landscape offers full-service landscape installation in Idaho Falls and surrounding East Idaho communities, with a comprehensive list of services, including landscape design, construction, maintenance, lawn care, snow and ice removal, lighting, and irrigation.

We install beautiful, functional landscapes. But our work doesn’t stop there. We’ll stay with you for the long haul, taking care of your property through all four seasons.

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

Call us at 208-656-3220 or fill out the contact form to schedule a no-obligation meeting with a member of our team.