32 Things That'll Turn Your Backyard Into A Cool Destination

May 20, 2024

We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed collects a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.

These outdoor must-haves will make your backyard your favorite place.

BuzzFeed Staff

This incognito cooler can hold up to (40) 12-ounce cans with ice.

Promising review: "Love love the table cooler. It’s just the right size; it’s great for cans, bottles, not too small not too big. Great size also for a side table look next to my wicker bench, and it’s easy to move around and clean. Great price for this product." —Efrain Sostre

Get it from Amazon for $73.56+ (available in two colors).

Promising review: “I have used many different brands of projectors over the years. But this projector by far is the easiest to set up and use. It took me about two minutes from opening the box to a fully set up projector. The display is great . The fans aren't that loud. The sound is way better than projectors I've paid over $1,000 for. I recommend this projector for anyone who is looking for a quick setup and great sound.” —Tamika P

Get it from Amazon for $199.99.

Promising review: “It zapped all kinds of bugs, which made it so much easier to play around the pool and the yard in the evenings, especially when friends and family were over. I highly recommend it.” —Donna

Get it from Amazon for $54.94.

Reviewers note that you should take the bulbs out before hanging the strings up!

Promising review: “Very nice set of lights for the price. I bought a number of sets in various lengths to install on our deck and used a staple gun to mount them. I am very pleased with how easy it was mount them neatly and also with the quality of light. It's exactly the amount of warmth that we were looking for.” —Frank Rizzo

Get it from Amazon for $11.86+ (available in four sizes and eight colors).

Promising review: "Perfect game for the family! Everyone really enjoys it. Perfect size and quality." —Julka

Get it from Amazon for $54.99.

Promising review: "My son oftentimes has many of the neighborhood kids at our house playing. We have the pool and the trampoline and wanted something a little different. This hit the spot! Everyone has a blast with it! Both children as well as adults! Its so easy to put together too! Very well built and good quality. I love the carry case that it comes in — a nice sturdy canvas. I highly recommend." —LOVIN LIFE IN AZ

Get it from Amazon for $88.25+ (available in two stains).

Promising review: "I love this oversized yard game of dice, because you can adapt it to many other games that use dice. The BEST part of this product is its quality. The solid wood bucket and dice are painted a beautiful deep amber color and treated to withstand all kinds of weather, something you need for a yard game to last! The dice have rounded corners, which makes them easier to roll, and it comes with up to 10 games laminated for protection. This is going to last through many seasons of fun! Don’t hesitate to purchase!" —Gifted Teacher 305

Get it from Amazon for $49.99+ (available in two sizes).

Promising review: “I rarely write product reviews but this has far exceeded my expectations. I saw my first ever Oriole a few weeks ago. He was here and then gone. Decided to get a feeder. I was unsure how this would work. I bought two. Put out the oranges and put grape jelly in the cups. Day one: Nothing. But on the second day I had tons! Every day since I have had at least 7–14 birds and am going through a ton of grape jelly.” —Amazoncustomer

Get it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in two styles).

Promising review: “Love this rug! It looks great, feels great, is easy to clean, and is very durable! Have had this for about two months and it still looks brand new. This porch gets sun for two-thirds of the day and does not show any sign of sun-bleaching! It's cute and no maintenance!” —Pomchi Productions

Get it from Amazon for $29+ (available in 5 sizes and 18 patterns).

Promising review: “These are so nice. I was skeptical to order artificial tulips, but they look amazing in the day and night. They work well with flood lights right next to them. I’m very impressed and would definitely recommend them.” —Amazon Customer

Get a two-pack from Amazon for $15.99+ (available in two color combinations).

This set includes two armchairs with seat cushions and a side table with a tempered glass top.

Promising review: "I absolutely love this set 😍 I cannot believe the price of it. It shipped fast, and was fairly quick and easy to assemble. It’s a hit; I get so many compliments by anyone who rings the doorbell." —Mrs.Mathews

Get it from Amazon for $99.99+ (available in five colors).

This charming set includes two rocking chairs with bottom and back cushions and a matching side table with a glass top.

Promising review: "Put this whole set together myself in about two hours — clear instructions and well-organized packaging of the different tools/pieces. I've bought a similar-looking (but cheaper) porch set in the past and was disappointed with the quality of the cushions — I was worried that this set would have the same problem, but I was wrong! The cushions are VERY comfy, and the chair is wide enough for me to comfortably sit crisscross! Absolutely worth the investment!!!" —Katie Swimmer

Get it from Amazon for $89.99+ (available in three colors).

Promising review: "This is hands-down the best purchase I have made in YEARS. I use this hammock as my bed replacement and I have never looked back. As a matter of fact, I still snuggle in every night and have myself a little contented sigh of GRATITUDE because I KNOW I will sleep well. I don't mean sleep like a baby (right!) I mean sleep like a teenager at noon: mouth open, drooling, and totally OUT." —Dawn Grubb

Get it from Amazon for $69.99+ (available in 38 colors/patterns).

Promising review: "All we can say is WOW! These lights surpassed our expectations! You could buy other similar lights for a lower price, but these are high quality and worth what we paid. The material is heavy duty, great casing to handle weathering, and a breeze to install. We had three lights done within an hour with no issues. The look is modern and clean. Would highly recommend!" —RuthB

Get it from Amazon for $45.99+ each (available in several styles and in packs of two).

Promising review: "This sail worked perfectly to provide morning and afternoon shade and looks fabulous. I like the way the design looks. It was easy to install, and has held up to the monsoons of summer quite well. I am purchasing another one for the horse pen! I give 5 stars." —Laura P.

Get it from Amazon for $29.99+ (available in a variety of sizes and styles).

Snag a compatible weighted base so your umbrella doesn't blow away!

Promising review: "I like this umbrella because it has a sturdy base and spines instead of those thin wiry spines on some umbrellas. Much better to hold up to being upended in the wind. It also has the tilt feature, which is great to be included in this price point. The cloth covering is thick and will hold up to the elements. Also, the size is perfect." —Sarah

Get it from Amazon for $43.99+ (available in 15 colors).

Promising review: “Perfect for my deck. Plan the plants correctly and you barely even see the planters — it's just a cascade of flowers, vines, and herbs. Wonderful. Well made, and super super easy to assemble.” —Missy Malick

Get it from Amazon for $135.50+ (available in three colors).

Promising review: "I love spending time outside, and we entertain on our patio, too. But when it's over 100 degrees outside, nobody feels like visiting. Until now!! I bought one and liked it so much I ordered another to cover both patios. They lower the temps to a more moderate level in just moments and don't use a 100 gallons of water doing it! I put mine along the top of our privacy fence and then put a fan in behind it and made it almost like having an AC unit outside. They're easy to put up and take down and come with convenient hanging hooks! I read the reviews people wrote about the heads getting stopped up, and they WILL, but as a plumber I'll tell you a trick to keeping them working like new: vinegar. Just remove the heads and soak then in a little straight vinegar then use a small bristle brush like a toothbrush or nail brush rinse them off and replace them in the mister tubing, and they should be like brand-new." —Sonya Combs

Get it from Amazon for $18.20+ (available in several pack sizes).

The mister will cool the surrounding area by 20 degrees, and it comes with an interchangeable flower-shaped misting head for a fun, whimsy detail.

Promising review: "Works exactly how I want it to. Provides a fine, cool mist on the patio, allowing us to enjoy the backyard until sunset without breaking a sweat. Easy to set up. It was out of the box and cooling us off within minutes." —Debra L. Kusek

Get it from Amazon for $30.89.

Promising review: “We bought this for a rather large umbrella over our table in the back yard, and used it for the first time last night. We were less concerned about mosquitoes because we have a service to eliminate them — it's the bees that were disturbing our outdoor meals and events. My wife hosted a few friends last night, and they all fell in love with this. They've all been fighting with bees lately, and they were not bothered once by any bugs. Every friend bought the netting on the spot – you're welcome to the company that manufactures this product. Also, when you're inside the netting sitting on chairs, it's almost as if the netting is invisible; most of the time you can't tell whether it's even there, especially at night.” —Sara Olshanky

Get it from Amazon for $35.95+ (available in three styles).

Just inflate the interior pouf and stick it inside the printed, water-resistant cover.

Promising review: "Love these! Ordered two more. The fabric is very nice and sturdy especially for outdoors. The inflatable part appears to be good quality. How to: Place inflatable inside of cover before inflating it. Do not inflate to full capacity or it will look like an inflatable and will not rest in a nice flat position. Far nicer than I imagined. They look great flanking my outdoor rattan sectional." —Cali g

Get it from Amazon for $18.99+ (available in 16 styles).

Rusty Rooster Metal Art is a family-owned small Etsy shop based in the UK handcrafting home decor out of metal.

Promising review: “Absolutely stunning! I'm over the moon. These look great in my cottage garden.” —Kath Bray

Get it from Rusty Rooster Metal Art on Etsy for $24.25 (available in two styles).

Promising review: "LOVE this pool! It's the best purchase I’ve made this year! It's easy to blow up (we used a pump from our blow-up mattress) and easy to deflate and clean (we clean it weekly). The material is thick and sturdy, and doesn’t feel 'cheap' or thin. So far we have had six adults in it comfortably. BEST decision I made to help get us through the California heat waves we’ve been having." —hotrodrachel

Get it from Amazon for $37.99.

Based in Virginia, small biz Bottles Uncorked makes wine-inspired products.

Promising review: "I ordered a few of these wind chimes, and I absolutely love them! They are pretty, well made, and sound beautiful." —Cheryl Bouland

Get it from Bottles Uncorked on Etsy for $26+ (available in seven colors).

Promising review: "My kids love s’mores, as do I. Problem is that you can only find so many 'perfect roasting sticks' in nature. Everyone starts fighting for a turn... Problem solved! Everyone had their own stick, and with color coding we knew whose was whose — no fights. What I loved: telescoping handles and convenient sized carrying bag, color coded handles, easy cleanup. What I didn’t love: The wood handle is not fused to the metal shaft so when you rotate the stick (to prevent burning your mallow), the weight of the mallow holds its place and the metal shaft rotates. You have to hold your finger against the shaft to actually rotate the marshmallow. Minor design flaw for an otherwise awesome product." —JGates

Get a pack of five from Amazon for $9.99.

These blankets are made by a Portland-based small business called Rumpl that specializes in blankets made for the outdoors. They were also featured on Shark Tank, BTW.

Promising review: "Took this quilt camping and it was perfect! Kept me warm and cozy all night when temps dropped down to the upper 50s. This is my new favorite summertime quilt and I won't leave home without it!" —K. Kovaleff

Check out our full Rumpl Original Puffy Blanket review to learn even more!

Get it from Rumpl on Amazon for $73.96+ (available in 33 colors)

Promising review: “I love the chair! Ordered four. I searched for a week trying to find an extra roomy and sturdy chair and this is it! The chair is so comfortable. The cup holder is a big plus. It blends so well with the fire pit area. Assembly was simple. I will definitely order more.” —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $179.99+ (available in eight colors and several pack sizes).

Swen Products is a small Etsy shop based in North Dakota crafting home decor out of metal.

Promising review: "I recommended this shop to my neighbor who wanted to get a rooster weathervane for her hubby for Xmas. He loved it! This is the second weathervane I purchased from this shop. The first order was for a husky weathervane three years ago and it still looks brand new! Well worth the price I paid. I highly recommend this shop, their weathervanes are of high quality and will hold up to extreme weather conditions. I will be ordering another one as soon as the pole barn is built. Thank you!" —Chris

Get it from Swen Products on Etsy for $30.95+ (available in four mounting options).

AquaSprouts is a small biz making aquaponics and hydroponics accessible.

Promising review: "I LOVE it. The service was incredible, and it is the perfect addition to our balcony. We live in a downtown area, and it’s so lovely to hear the noise. We leave our screen door open to listen to it all day. Thank you!" —strberygum17

Get it from AquaSprouts on Etsy for $132.09.

Promising review: "Living in Hawaii you have to select wise items that are weather-, salt-, and red dirt–proof, etc... In total I ordered 11 boxes to complete my yoga deck. I have a few left over to make steps on the back. Very pleased and happy. May order more for an outdoor shower project!" —Adelia

Get 10 tiles (covers 10 square feet) from Amazon for $81.99.

This comes with all the hardware you need to hang it!

Promising reviews: "The hammock chair is EXTREMELY comfortable, like laying in a cotton sack with pillows around you...especially if the weather is nice. I'm actually writing this review sitting in it." —Blannsbabe

"Absolutely love this hammock chair!!! It looks beautiful in my garden and my friends love to sit in it when they come over." —Kat Payne

Get it from Amazon for $49.99 (available in three colors).

Promising review: "This firepit offers all the ambience you need. It is super easy to start the fire, and the wood packs make it easier, if that’s what you’re looking for. The fire gets going fast and develops a nice hot ember bed (all from one pack). I was very impressed and wasn’t expecting that. This could be used without the wood packs if you have your own wood. Either works perfect. The pit sits off the ground and flames are contained well within the pit. The design was done very well. Lastly, the heat this throws off is amazing. I was sitting a couple of feet away and felt a lot of warmth. This isn’t one of those pits you have to hover over for heat." —Michele R

Get it from Amazon for $317.83.

The reviews for this post have been edited for length and clarity.