House & Garden Design Ideas
Lush jungle oasis landscape design with pool and tropical planting

Design guide

See Your House and Garden
Design Before you build

Landscaping is the permanent part of a yard — levels, drainage, retaining, paving, steps and lighting. Plants can be replaced in a weekend; a badly placed retaining wall is there for thirty years.

The order of work

Six stages, in this sequence

  1. 1. Survey and levels

    Record boundaries, floor level of the house, fall across the block and any easements. Every later decision depends on this.

  2. 2. Drainage

    Surface water must have somewhere to go before you seal the ground with paving. Add agricultural drain behind every retaining wall.

  3. 3. Retaining and levels

    Terraces turn an unusable slope into rooms. Keep individual walls under 1m where possible to avoid engineering costs.

  4. 4. Paving and surfaces

    Choose surfaces by use: sawn stone or pavers for dining, deck for lounging, gravel for low traffic, turf for play.

  5. 5. Structures and services

    Pergolas, pools, outdoor kitchens, power, water and irrigation lines all go in before the yard is finished.

  6. 6. Lighting

    Layer three effects: path level, feature uplighting and soft wash on walls or screens. Cool white ruins gardens; stay at 2700K.

Worked examples

Concepts driven by hardscape decisions

These six concepts show terracing, paving strategy and surface choice doing the heavy lifting.

Zero Lawn Courtyard front yard landscaping concept — Forward LookingConcept 07Forward Looking

Minimal

Zero Lawn Courtyard

Full paving with planted pockets, perfect for narrow inner-city frontages.

  • Full paving
  • Planting pockets
  • Screen wall
  • Wall lights

Typical build range: $10k – $18k

Cascading Terraces front yard landscaping concept — Forward LookingConcept 08Forward Looking

Sloping site

Cascading Terraces

Three sandstone terraces stepping down to the street with planted risers.

  • Retaining walls
  • Terraced beds
  • Stone steps
  • Step lighting

Typical build range: $18k – $40k

Driveway Reimagined front yard landscaping concept — Forward LookingConcept 15Forward Looking

Hardscape

Driveway Reimagined

Concrete strips with a green centre, permeable joints and lit edges.

  • Strip driveway
  • Permeable joints
  • Green centre
  • Edge lighting

Typical build range: $14k – $28k

Deck and Lawn Split backyard landscaping concept — Forward LookingConcept 29Forward Looking

Balanced

Deck and Lawn Split

Half timber deck for furniture, half lawn for play, joined by a wide step.

  • Timber deck
  • Lawn panel
  • Wide step
  • Border beds

Typical build range: $18k – $34k

Desert Modern Yard backyard landscaping concept — Forward LookingConcept 31Forward Looking

Low water

Desert Modern Yard

Decomposed granite, agaves, a linear fire table and floating concrete steps.

  • Granite ground
  • Agave planting
  • Fire table
  • Floating steps

Typical build range: $20k – $40k

Sloping Yard Terraces backyard landscaping concept — Forward LookingConcept 34Forward Looking

Sloping site

Sloping Yard Terraces

Three levels: dining terrace, lawn, and a lookout deck at the high end.

  • Retaining walls
  • Dining terrace
  • Lookout deck
  • Step lighting

Typical build range: $40k – $90k

Choosing a paving material

  • Concrete pavers: cheapest per square metre, huge format range, colour fades in strong sun.
  • Bluestone and granite: hard wearing and cool underfoot, best around pools.
  • Travertine: stays cool, soft look, needs sealing and is easily stained by iron.
  • Timber and composite decking: best over uneven ground or above the damp course; composite for low maintenance.
  • Gravel and decomposed granite: lowest cost, permeable, needs edging and a compacted base.

Common mistakes

  • Paving up to the house without a 1:100 fall away from the building.
  • Steps with inconsistent risers — always keep every riser identical.
  • Retaining without drainage, which pushes water and pressure into the wall.
  • Lighting installed after paving, leaving no conduit and no cable path.