Small Modern Mediterranean Backyard: New Client Project!

We’re sharing insights and inspirations from our modern Mediterranean backyard client project!

What do you do if your backyard is small but you still want to MAXIMIZE every inch—and do it with a modern Mediterranean flavor?

That was the question perplexing this client who had a small backyard (as opposed to one of our super large Mediterranean backyard client projects).

I actually LOVE the added challenge of working with a small space! I also love small backyards for the intimate feel you can achieve if you do it right (as opposed to not doing it right and everything feels crammed).

SMALL MODERN MEDITERRANEAN BACKYARD

First, There Are At LEAST 7 Different Mediterranean “Styles”!

STYLE-WISE, the thing is (when people say “I want a Mediterranean-style backyard” to Matt and me) that there are so many styles within Mediterranean.

Do you mean the Ibiza-style Mediterranean?

Or something more bright white Greek/Santorini-esque Mediterranean?

Are you someone who wants the Tuscan-Italian style?

Or the Isle of Capri-Italian feel?

Or tropical Mediterranean complete with palms, bougainvillea and giant bird of paradise?

Don’t forget to consider a Moroccan-African Mediterranean vibe! (So many people do! Forgetting that so much of southern Spain is influenced with this.)

Or do you want a more modern California-Spanish style?

Do you want the clean smooth stucco or a rougher stucco or an old stone wall…?

Do you see why just “Mediterranean” brings up hundreds of possibilities to my mind? 🙂

And when you tell me “modern Mediterranean” do you mean you want it all to blend together and be easy on the eyes…

…or do you want a higher-contrast “modern Mediterranean”?

SMALL MODERN MEDITERRANEAN BACKYARD

Second, Let’s Start With 10 Basic Backyard Questions For You!

If you want to do this Mediterranean backyard project of yours right, Matt and I can blow your mind with the number of questions we have for you when you tell us what “style” you want. 🙂

It’s an easy trap to fall into because I do the same thing…I like SO many different styles and looks and different items…and the fact of the matter is we often just need to CHOOSE ONE DIRECTION. We can’t have it all…and it’s this inability to “let go” of wanting to do it all that makes peoples’ backyards look so haphazardly put together: they’re just trying to do it all. They like it all. Or what they’re choosing just isn’t working together and they wonder why. I KNOW WHY! 🙂 Just call me—I can quickly help you figure out what’s going wrong and get you on the right track!)

I also have questions like “How long will you be in your house” and “how much do you really want to invest into this?” That sometimes can be the difference between more built-in options and more temporary-but-still-gorgeous options you can later take with you or sell because they’re not attached to your structures.

Do you want lighting? How much and where? I naturally have so many ideas for lighting that push past the generic string lights (although those have a time and place too)…but it all comes down to your priorities and the answers to the many questions I have (and it’s very exciting to ask the questions because it helps guide us down THE RIGHT path when there are so many)!.

There are right ways to do built-in seating and there are wrong ways!

SMALL MODERN MEDITERRANEAN BACKYARD

Mediterranean Landscaping & Plants

I also have questions for you like “How full do you want your backyard to be with landscaping?” vs “How minimalist do you want your backyard landscaping to be?”

For example, the above backyard is beautiful but it’s going to be higher maintenance than another version I could have created, and it’s going to have a LOT of leaves falling at various times of year. Even if you live in southern California with a lovely Mediterranean climate, your leaves don’t stay perpetually alive. 🙂

(Yes, I have to remind people of this. Sometimes we forget because we don’t have heavy winters so don’t have the “season of plant death” that so many other locales have. But still, our olive trees shed leaves throughout the year—some seasons more than others—and even rosemary has to be pruned or it gets too leggy. Ivy has to be cut back, cypress has to be attended to…every living thing will need care! I love plants! They’re not as quite as precious as human beings :), but they’re still amazing living things that deserve to be tended to appropriately. And they’ll reward you with unsurpassed beauty when you do!)

For landscaping a small Mediterranean backyard, go with one or all or a mix of the following:

• olive trees
• cypress trees (if you’re wanting more Italian-esque)
• lavender
• rosemary
• herbs
• drought-tolerant plants

We also need to take into consideration where and how often your sun hits, what time of day, etc.

I’d also ask you about budget, because that’s A BIG ONE when it comes to backyards.

SMALL MODERN MEDITERRANEAN BACKYARD

Every Backyard Needs a Budget!

We’ve done MASSIVE backyards and we’ve done tiny backyards. Every single one needed a budget outlined so we could figure out priorities and give some structure to how crazy (or uncrazy) to go.

Even if you have a small backyard, when we pour 600 sq feet of concrete it isn’t THAT much less expensive than pouring 1,200 feet of concrete. (We walk all our clients through how to save money and have been known to save people $30k or more with just one suggestion or change to a plan they’d already had in mind… We’re genuinely here to HELP you avoid unnecessary costs, for the love!!! 🙂 )

SMALL MODERN MEDITERRANEAN BACKYARD

One of My Tricks for Small Backyards!

Consider different levels – it’s amazing how this can make a small backyard feel larger!

SMALL MODERN MEDITERRANEAN BACKYARD

Small Backyard Problem: “How & Where To Put Seating?”

Where to put seating—and how much of it?!

In this client’s case, they dreamed of having a backyard with enough room for having multiple sitting areas but their front yard is more conducive to having as a full dining area. Why? Because it’s almost immediately off their kitchen. So it takes a little “Life Priorities Therapy” to work them through it but it just made sense to really enjoy their front patio as the full BBQ/dining area and keep the back as a more casual coffee/drinks/snacks kinda area. That way not only are they not carting multiple armloads over multiple trips from the kitchen and grill allllllll the way in the front of the house, but they’re able to really “divide and conquer” as far as using the space appropriately.

I tell myself as well as clients, “We can’t have everything…but we’ll try!” 🙂 You never know because sometimes you can fit it all, and sometimes you can’t, but at least if we’ve gone through the process thoroughly and thoughtfully, we KNOW and are CONFIDENT at the end that we’ve arrived at those decisions strategically, intelligently, and it was truly the best use of space!

Off the top of my head, here are some of the things I think about when it comes to a Mediterranean backyard design (this is more general and we can get MUCH more specific depending on your style preferences as mentioned above, from the bright whites of Greece to deep creams of Italy)…

1. white umbrellas
2. light woods
3. olive trees real vs faux
4. outdoor pots and planters
5. pea gravel (so many different color options here!)
6. concrete pavers (esp for adding the modern here)
7. fire pit
8. alfresco dining
9. terracotta pots filled with flowers, herbs, and small citrus trees
10. if you love color and pattern, use vibrant, patterned tiles for accents on walls, steps, and tabletops
11. natural stone walls and pathways can bring an earthy, classic Mediterranean feel.
12. built-in benches (you’ll notice these throughout my post but I want to draw your attention to the above pic of an extra-deep one as another option and idea)

SMALL MODERN MEDITERRANEAN BACKYARD

Water Features Are Your Friends! 🙂

Try a fountain! Our “Big House” entry patio had a beautiful Mediterranean-style fountain in the center (you can read how we did it HERE! You’ll hardly believe what it used to be and how we changed it!). I used to open our front living room windows every day just to enjoy the sound of the fountain throughout the house!

I also love ponds or small plunge pools if you can swing it! I’m currently working on designing a Moroccan-style plunge pool for another client project as well!

Sneak peek: I’m incorporating a fountain INTO the plunge pool for a double whammy in this small space!

I’m also playing with some tile options (both neutral and colorful!) for the outdoor shower…but that’ll have to be another post…

Along with HOW ON EARTH you can fit a plunge pool into a small backyard… 😉

Next…

If you want our help on your own backyard or patio—whether it’s a quick phone call with Jess to a major project with both Matt and Jess—see what options we currently have available at the moment HERE!

You can also grab our guide TODAY about saving money on your backyard.

All our backyard posts are HERE and include ones like

1. Another Mediterranean-style client project!
2. 15 Patio Furniture Mistakes to Avoid!
3. What we recommend for perfect outdoor countertops (can also be used for tabletops in some designs!)

…and more!

PS: To see all our home projects (including all interiors like kitchens and closets!), go HERE!