Spring is here and with it comes visions of backyard projects. There are so many great ways you can make your backyard more welcoming, arboreal, and luxurious this year. With outdoor living at the height of popularity and home remodels approaching their summer peak, it’s no surprise you’re dreaming of classy ways to reinvent your backyard. One of the best materials to get creative with for indoor and outdoor home design is granite. Granite is elegant, luxurious, and every slab is unique. It is also the second most durable natural stone after diamond. When sealed against moisture and the elements, granite can last outdoors as beautifully as it lasts indoors. Granite can be used for paving, tabletops, countertops, and creative works of backyard art.
As experienced granite professionals, we’re delighted to share some of our favorite classic and creative ways to incorporated granite upgrades into your backyard design.
1) Granite Outdoor Kitchen Countertops
The most traditional and stylishly striking way to use granite out back is for your outdoor kitchen. Outdoor kitchens are all the rage, taking the hot stove out into the cool breeze where the whole family can have a good time. Enhance your summer barbeque game or become an arboreal host of your own online cooking show. Combine breezy meal prep with watching your kids outside or just enjoy your own arboreal retreat with every outdoor meal.
Designing an outdoor kitchen starts with the appliances but it ends with the countertops. Granite is the ideal stone for outdoor kitchen surfaces because – when sealed – it is the single most durable and weather-resistant material available. Not to mention the elegance and luxurious look of a gleaming granite countertop wrapping your outdoor chef’s paradise.
2) Granite Firepit Ring Cap
You don’t have to stop at the outdoor kitchen if you have a passion for granite. Fire pits are the single most welcoming common element of a backyard design. A fire put standing alone or built into your patio can be a beautiful addition to your outdoor social space. A ring of chairs brings friends and family together, sharing stories and drinks across the central flickering flame.
The one thing that all firepits need is a flame-resistant ring and a surface on which drinks and Smores plates can be set. granite is the perfect topper and accent piece for your stone firepits because it is beautiful, flame resistant, and makes a great firepit-bar surface. Your granite topped firepit will gleam in the night, warm propped-up feet, and welcome resting drinks of your gathered loved ones.
3) Granite Patio Paving
Granite paving is perhaps the most common way to use remnant and even slab granite in the backyard design. Paving stones are easy to carve, and look good both in matching and mismatched sets. Some homes seed their patio paving with granite blocks that gleam among the duller stone pavers, while others create beautiful mosaic designs of granite or pave creative granite pathways through the greenery.
Granite Mosaic and Paving Pattern Design
Any time you are reinventing your backyard paving, don’t forget the potential for mosaic and pattern design. Granite creates a perfect opportunity for stone-shard artwork in the oldest tradition of architectural beauty, in walls and in the patio floor, you can seed small pieces of granite to make a larger picture or use granite to create circles, squares, paths, mandalas, mazes, and other patterns in your paving.
4) Granite Decorative Backyard Bridge
Have you ever wanted a decorative bridge in your backyard? Reinventing your landscaping can give you an opportunity to create an artificial creek or culvert – whether or not water flows through it – and a little bridge to jump the gap. These bridges are beautiful and add a touch of classic elegance to a backyard design, accenting the arboreal greenery all around.
Your backyard bridge can be built from granite pillars or the railings topped with granite. You can pave it’s pathway with granite or line the edges with lovely granite pieces. Your bridge can reflect the classic design or you can get creative with its shape, style and location. After all, it’s your whimsical backyard bridge and you can design it however you like.
5) Granite Remnant Flowerbed Liners
Granite remnants are perfect for the garden because there are always small pieces of a slab left over from cutting custom countertops, shelves, and other projects. These remnants can be shaped evenly or you can embrace the irregularity as a rock lining for your flowerbeds. Granite-lined flowerbeds will last forever and maintain that beautiful uniquely-grained gleam in your garden for many years. You can even use remnants from your outdoor kitchen, patio, or firepit design so that all the granite in your backyard matches – or you can choose a mixture of low-cost remnants for a more colorful and natural granite look to your flowerbed designs.
6) Granite-Topped Patio Tables
Of course, you don’t need a permanent installation to make use of granite in your backyard. You can also find a table or have one made from a medium-sized granite remnant. Granite-topped patio tables are a beautiful addition to your patio or deck furniture because they bring that classic look of natural stone to the friendly circle of chairs and places to set a cool outdoor drink.
A naturally shaped granite remnant table is a creative masterpiece with legs and under-table support added to a piece of stone that looks like it was just hewen from the mountain and polished for your use. Or you can choose your granite table shape – a circle, square, rectangle, or something more unique, simply by working with your stone fabricators for the perfect piece of table granite.
7) Granite Paver Islands and Pathways
One interesting variation of granite paving is paver-islands. We see these surrounded by grass, gravel, and other types of paving stones. Create an island of granite just large enough for a chair, a swing, or a table-and-chairs to designate the special (and flat) spaces in your yard for human luxury.
Stepping Stones and Pathways
You can use a similar style in more traditional methods to create granite stepping stones using pavers or irregular polished granit remnants. Some space out their stepping stones for a fun hop across the yard, some build densely moseaic style pathways of smaller pieces of granite to meander around the garden.
8) Granite-Topped Outdoor Bar
Your outdoor kitchen and fire pit aren’t the only things you can top with a beautiful layer of polished granite. If your backyard parties are hopping you may install (or already have) an outdoor bar for cool mixed drinks. Backyard bars are especially popular if they’re poolside and nothing feels better on sunbaked skin when you’ve been swimming then to lean on a nice cool slab of granite while enjoying a little rehydration.
9) Granite Deck Railing Topper
You can even top your deck railing with a thin strip of granite. Set perpendicular to the ground, a grainte railing topper can act like a wrap-wround sidebar, giving every guest a place to set their drink and plates while adding unbelievable class to your deck design. If you have a deck with a sturdy broad-topped railing (or are about to install new railing for your deck) consider using narrow strips of granite for a deck railing that your neighbors will suddenly feel the need to imitate after your next block party barbeque.
10) Granite Water Feature
Last but certainly not least, we love to see granite used in backyard water features. If you are getting ready to install a fountain or water wall in your backyard for the visual beauty, peaceful sounds, and undeniable garden luxury, why not choose granite as your stone of choice? Clad your water feature and the seating ring around it with gleaming granite. Use one color of granite or create a striking contrast with multiple shades of granite worked into a single artistic piece. Your water feature will become a beautiful new addition to the backyard and a wonderful use of granite in your home design.
Granite in the backyard is a fantastic way to add beauty and luxury that will last forever. Just remember to put your granite in the shade, as polished stone can get quite toasty in direct sunlight. Building an additional pergola or focusing on areas shaded by your tree canopy are the best choices when incorporating granite into your backyard design. For more fantastic granite design ideas or smart tips on the best ways to install granite in your home upgrades, contact us or check out the granite gallery today!