Yard Plotted to scale, promise

pick your yard

Start with the shape you actually have

Not the yard in the magazine photo. Yours, with the weird driveway and the one tree in the wrong place. Every theme works with every shape, so find your geometry first and the rest follows.

220 plans so far, from 10 yard shapes. The map, the yard notes and the DIY version are free on every one of them.

Wide Shallow, No Porch

To-scale site plan for a Wide Shallow, No PorchA to-scale overhead site plan of a wide shallow, no porch, 75 feet of street frontage by 48 feet deep, with the house set back 18 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 9 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; walk and bed edge lights; roofline; past the driveway; deeper, off to one side; along the eaves; the front door. STREETDRIVEHOUSE75'Amax 10'Bmax 7'Cmax 7'DEFHmax 7'TWmax 6.7'
  • 75′ across
  • 18′ deep
  • 9 spots

A wide flat facade is a billboard, and a bare one looks very bare. You have plenty of frontage but almost no depth, which means layering front to back is off the table and you build side to side instead. Without a porch there is no natural frame around the door, so the entry disappears unless you build one. The other quiet problem is the driveway. It usually takes up a third of your frontage and it is the first thing headlights hit.

Decorating a Wide, Shallow Front Yard
Seventy-five feet across and eighteen deep. You cannot build depth, so stop trying and build rhythm instead. And the driveway is a third of your frontage.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Narrow Shallow with Porch

To-scale site plan for a Narrow Shallow with PorchA to-scale overhead site plan of a narrow shallow with porch, 40 feet of street frontage by 45 feet deep, with the house set back 15 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 9 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; path and porch edge lights; porch and roofline; under the porch roof; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETDRIVEHOUSE40'Amax 9'Bmax 6.5'Cmax 6.5'DEPmax 8'TRWmax 6.7'
  • 40′ across
  • 15′ deep
  • 9 spots

There is no room to back up, so everything gets seen from about 20 ft away and the porch is doing the heavy lifting. That is good news. A covered porch gives you a lit frame at eye level that a flat lawn can never match, and it keeps everything under it dry. The catch is scale. A piece that looks reasonable in a big-box aisle will swallow a 15 ft setback whole, and the neighbors are close enough that anything blinking is now their problem too.

Decorating a Narrow Front Yard With a Porch
The porch is the best thing you own and the usual instinct is to park something in front of it. Everything here is seen from twenty feet, which changes what is worth buying.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

L-Shaped with Projecting Garage

To-scale site plan for a L-Shaped with Projecting GarageA to-scale overhead site plan of a l-shaped with projecting garage, 62 feet of street frontage by 62 feet deep, with the house set back 26 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 11 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; walk and alcove lights; roofline, both planes; the garage wall; under the porch roof; deeper, off to one side; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETDRIVEHOUSEGARAGE62'ABmax 6'Cmax 6'DEFPmax 8'Hmax 6'TRWmax 6.7'
  • 62′ across
  • 26′ deep
  • 11 spots

The garage is the front of your house whether you like it or not. It is closer to the street than anything else, it is wider than the door, and headlights hit it first. Fighting that is a losing game, so decorate it on purpose. The reward for this shape is the alcove: a recessed corner with walls on two sides that shelters things from wind and frames whatever you put in it. The risk is that the alcove is also in shadow, and anything unlit in there is invisible from the street.

Decorating a House With a Projecting Garage
The garage is the front of your house whether you like it or not. Decorate it on purpose, and use the alcove it creates instead of pretending the entry is in the middle.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Deep Narrow

To-scale site plan for a Deep NarrowA to-scale overhead site plan of a deep narrow, 42 feet of street frontage by 95 feet deep, with the house set back 55 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 10 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; the approach lights; roofline and porch; the halfway moment; under the porch roof; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETDRIVEHOUSE42'ABmax 7'Cmax 7'DEFPmax 8'TRWmax 6.7'
  • 42′ across
  • 55′ deep
  • 10 spots

Distance is the whole problem. Your house sits 55 ft back and most decorations are sized for a yard a third of that, so everything you buy needs to be bigger than instinct says. The upside is that you can layer front to back, which nobody with a shallow yard can do. Give yourself something near the sidewalk, something in the middle and something at the house, and the yard has depth instead of one distant bright spot. Extension cord length stops being a detail and becomes the budget.

Decorating a Deep, Narrow Front Yard
Fifty-five feet back. Everything you buy needs to be bigger than instinct says, and the lawn in front of the house is not empty space, it is the part of the yard you have that nobody else does.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Corner Lot

To-scale site plan for a Corner LotA to-scale overhead site plan of a corner lot, 60 feet of street frontage by 75 feet deep, with the house set back 25 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 12 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; path and perimeter lights; the corner moment; roofline and porch; side yard scene; under the porch roof; deeper, off to one side; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETSIDE STREETDRIVEHOUSE60'ABCDEmax 3.5'FGPmax 8'HTRWmax 6.7'
  • 60′ across
  • 25′ deep
  • 12 spots

You have two front yards now, whether you signed up for that or not. The side gives you 40 to 70 ft of continuous frontage, way more room than a normal lot, and that makes a corner the best possible shape for a big spread-out scene. The trade-offs: anything flat and one-sided is showing its blank back to one of your streets, and wind comes at you from two directions with no neighbor in the way, so every stake and tether that came in the box gets used. The real headache is power. Your outlets are on the house and that corner might be 40 ft away.

How to Decorate a Corner Lot for Halloween
Two frontages, twice the audience, and almost everybody decorates one of them. The intersection corner is the most-seen ground you own and it is usually bare.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Split-Level or Raised Ranch

To-scale site plan for a Split-Level or Raised RanchA to-scale overhead site plan of a split-level or raised ranch, 58 feet of street frontage by 55 feet deep, with the house set back 24 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 10 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; walk and stair rail lights; roofline; the bed under the entry; under the porch roof; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETDRIVEHOUSE7 STEPS58'ABmax 6'Cmax 6'DEFmax 4'Pmax 8'TRWmax 6.7'
  • 58′ across
  • 24′ deep
  • 10 spots

The front door is half a story up, so the middle of your facade is a blank wall with a staircase glued to it. Anything you put on the landing is too high to relate to the yard and too small to matter from the street, which is why these houses so often end up with a wreath and nothing else. Work the ground plane and the stairs instead. The lower wall under the entry gives you a long horizontal band at exactly eye level from the sidewalk, and almost nobody uses it.

Decorating a Split-Level or Raised Ranch
The entry is half a storey up, which is why the landing never works. The long wall underneath it is at eye level from the sidewalk and almost nobody uses it.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Sloped or Terraced

To-scale site plan for a Sloped or TerracedA to-scale overhead site plan of a sloped or terraced, 55 feet of street frontage by 60 feet deep, with the house set back 30 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 11 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; the step lights; roofline and porch; the bottom tier; under the porch roof; deeper, off to one side; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETRETAINING WALLHOUSE8 STEPS55'ABmax 6'Cmax 6'DEFmax 5'Pmax 8'Hmax 6'TRWmax 6.7'
  • 55′ across
  • 30′ deep
  • 11 spots

A slope is free staging. Every tier is a shelf, and the yard shows off its own layers the way a flat lot never can, so a modest display looks like a lot more than it is. What it costs you is stability and safety. Nothing sits level, stakes pull out downhill under wind, and water runs to the bottom of the yard and pools exactly where you wanted to put an extension cord. Everything needs shimming, and everything needs staking harder than the instructions say.

Decorating a Sloped or Terraced Front Yard
Height goes up the hill, not down. Your slope is doing staging work a flat lawn has to fake, and the usual instinct throws it away.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Small Urban Postage Stamp

To-scale site plan for a Small Urban Postage StampA to-scale overhead site plan of a small urban postage stamp, 26 feet of street frontage by 40 feet deep, with the house set back 12 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 8 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star, the stoop side, fence and path lights, doorway and facade, under the porch roof, along the eaves, porch posts and rail, the front door. STREETHOUSE4 STEPS26'Amax 7'Bmax 6.5'CDPmax 8'TRWmax 6.7'
  • 26′ across
  • 12′ deep
  • 8 spots

You have about twelve feet, a fence, and a stoop. Everything is seen from four feet away by people on foot, which changes the rules completely. Finish quality matters more than size, because nobody is squinting at this from a car. Buy one nice thing instead of four cheap ones. The fence is the secret weapon: it is a ready-made line at exactly the right height, and lighting it makes the whole frontage look deliberate for about thirty dollars.

How to Decorate a Small Front Yard for Halloween
Under 30 ft of frontage is not a problem to work around. It is closer to the street, which is the one advantage a big lawn cannot buy.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Circular Driveway

To-scale site plan for a Circular DrivewayA to-scale overhead site plan of a circular driveway, 90 feet of street frontage by 80 feet deep, with the house set back 45 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 11 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the island; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; the loop lights; roofline and porch; the outside curve; under the porch roof; deeper, off to one side; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETHOUSE90'ABmax 7'Cmax 7'DEFPmax 8'Hmax 7'TRWmax 7'
  • 90′ across
  • 45′ deep
  • 11 spots

The island is the reason to be excited and the reason to be careful. It is a genuine 360 degree stage, so a flat one-sided piece is wasted there and anything dimensional looks incredible. The catch is that a circular drive invites people to drive in, which means every single thing you place is inside a turning radius. There is also more hard surface than lawn out front, so you have fewer places to stake and more places where a stake is not going in at all.

Decorating a Circular Driveway
The island is a stage seen from every side, which rules out flat props and rewards anything dimensional. Everything you place is also inside a turning radius.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers

Long Driveway, Rural Frontage

To-scale site plan for a Long Driveway, Rural FrontageA to-scale overhead site plan of a long driveway, rural frontage, 120 feet of street frontage by 140 feet deep, with the house set back 100 feet from the front sidewalk. The street runs along the top of the drawing. 0 of 10 marked positions are filled. Left empty: the star; sidekick, left; sidekick, right; the last stretch of drive; roofline and porch; the mailbox end; under the porch roof; along the eaves; porch posts and rail; the front door. STREETDRIVEHOUSE120'ABmax 8'Cmax 8'DEFPmax 8'TRWmax 6.7'
  • 120′ across
  • 100′ deep
  • 10 spots

Nobody is walking past your house. Everything gets seen at 45 miles an hour from a long way off, or from a car crawling up your own driveway, and those two views want completely different things. Put one bold, simple, large piece at the road for the traffic, and save the detail for the arrival at the house. Power is the real limit out here. Outdoor outlets are usually on the house only, so anything down by the road wants to be solar or battery unless you are prepared to trench.

Decorating a Long Rural Driveway
Nobody is walking past. You have two audiences, one at forty-five miles an hour and one crawling up your own drive, and they want completely different things.

Themes for this one

Halloween: Alien Invasion · Cryptid Crossing · The Old Cemetery · Spiders, Spiders, Spiders · Toxic Waste · Witch's Brew · Zombies

Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest · Classic White Christmas · The North Pole · Nutcrackers · Reindeer Pen · Santa's Workshop · Under The Tree · Vintage Christmas · Winter Wonderland

Valentine's Day: Cupid's Bow · Lace Valentine's Day · Sparkle Hearts

Easter and Spring: Easter Bunny Visit · Eggs, Eggs Everywhere · Spring Flowers