Walk out your back door tonight. Stand there for a second and look at what you’ve got.
If you’re like most Plainfield homeowners, you’re looking at a yard, maybe a concrete slab, possibly a grill pushed up against the house. There’s grass. There might be a fence. And that’s about it.
Now think about how much time your family actually spends out there.
If the answer is “not much,” that’s not because you don’t want to be outside. It’s because there’s nothing out there worth being outside for. No shade when it’s hot. No cover when it rains. No reason to stay out past dark. Your backyard is square footage you’re paying for, maintaining, and completely ignoring.
Here’s what most people don’t think about: in central Indiana, we get roughly three solid seasons of outdoor weather. Spring hits in late March, and by mid-November you’re pulling out the heavy coats. That’s eight months. More than half the year. If you don’t have a space that makes you want to be outside during those months, you’re giving up the biggest room your home could have.
What an Outdoor Living Space Actually Looks Like in Plainfield
When we say “outdoor living space,” we’re not talking about throwing a few chairs on your patio and calling it done. We’re talking about an extension of your home that functions like a real room, just without the walls.
A well-designed outdoor space in Plainfield typically starts with structure. A covered porch attached to the house gives you shade in July and keeps you dry during an April shower. Add a ceiling fan and you’ve got airflow. Add a wood ceiling and it feels like you’re sitting in your living room, except the view is your backyard instead of a TV.
From there, it builds out. A concrete or paver patio extends the usable area beyond the covered section. Stone steps lead down to a firepit where your family gathers on cool October evenings. A pergola creates a defined space for dining or lounging without closing everything in. An outdoor kitchen means you’re not running back inside every five minutes while you’re grilling.
Each of these elements works on its own. But when they’re designed together as a unified space, they transform a yard into a destination.
The Neighborhoods Getting It Right
We’ve worked in neighborhoods across Plainfield, and it’s clear that homeowners here are starting to figure this out.
In Hickory Woods, we built a covered porch with a concrete patio, a full fireplace, and a tongue-and-groove wood ceiling, all attached directly to the house. That project turned a standard backyard into a space the family uses from April through Thanksgiving. The fireplace isn’t decorative. They light it on cool evenings and sit out there with coffee on weekend mornings when there’s still frost on the grass.
Over in Saratoga, a homeowner wanted something that connected the house to the yard without a massive construction project. We designed a covered porch attached to the house with a composite deck. Clean lines, low maintenance, and a covered area large enough to actually use for dinner with friends. It’s the kind of project that doesn’t look over-the-top but completely changes how the family lives day to day.
In Rockingham, we went bigger. Covered porch and pergola combination with a paver patio and a dedicated hot tub pad, all tied together with landscaping that made the whole thing feel intentional. Before the project, the yard was flat, open, and mostly unused. After, it had zones. A covered area for rainy days. An open area for sun. A pergola for shade. A hot tub for unwinding. Landscaping that gave it privacy and finished the look.
Homeowners in Willow Pointe, Hawthorne Ridge, and Nottingham Hill have some of the best lot sizes in Plainfield for this kind of work. Those backyards are big enough to do something meaningful but not so big that the project feels overwhelming. If you’re in one of those neighborhoods and you’ve been staring at an empty yard, you’re sitting on a canvas.
Why Design Matters More Than You Think
Here’s where most outdoor projects go wrong: people start building before they start designing.
They pick a patio shape from a catalog. They choose a grill and figure out where to put it. They add a firepit because it seemed like a good idea. And when it’s all done, it looks like exactly what it is: a collection of things sitting in a yard, not a space that was thought through.
Good outdoor design starts the same way good interior design starts. You look at the space, you think about how you want to use it, and you build from there. How does the space connect to the house? Where does the sun hit in the morning? Where does shade fall in the afternoon? Where do you want privacy, and where do you want an open view? How many people do you typically have over? Do you cook outside, or do you just grill?
These aren’t questions most homeowners think to ask, and they’re not questions most contractors ask either. But they’re the difference between an outdoor space you use every week and one you forget about by August.
At BGW, we handle the design and the build. We start with your lot, your house, and how you actually live, and we design the space before a single shovel hits the ground. That means 3D renderings so you can see what it’ll look like before you commit. It means a scope of work that tells you exactly what’s happening, in what order, and why.
Covered Porches: The Foundation of Any Outdoor Living Space
If you’re going to do one thing, start here.
A covered porch attached to your home is the single biggest upgrade you can make to your outdoor experience. It gives you a usable outdoor space regardless of weather. Light rain? You’re covered. Ninety degrees and sunny? You’re in the shade. It extends the number of days per year you can actually be outside by a significant margin.
In Plainfield, we typically build covered porches with either a gable or shed-style roof that ties into the existing roofline of the house. This isn’t a freestanding structure sitting in the yard. It’s architecturally connected to your home, which means it looks like it belongs there and adds real value to the property.
The ceiling is where it gets interesting. A standard painted ceiling works fine, but a natural wood ceiling, tongue-and-groove cedar or stained pine, changes the entire feel. It makes the space warm instead of utilitarian. Add recessed lighting or a ceiling fan, and you’ve got a room that’s just as functional at 9 PM as it is at noon.
Fireplaces and Firepits: Extending Your Season
Most Plainfield families stop using their backyard sometime in October. The evenings get cool, there’s no reason to be out there after dark, and the space just sits until the following spring.
A fireplace or firepit changes that equation.
An outdoor fireplace built into a covered porch area gives you radiant heat, ambiance, and a natural gathering point. It’s the outdoor equivalent of your living room fireplace.
People gravitate toward it. Conversations happen around it. And it stretches your outdoor season by a solid month on each end. Late March evenings that would normally drive you inside become comfortable. November weekends that used to mean hibernating become firepit weekends.
Firepits serve the same purpose but in a different way. They’re typically set into the patio area, away from the covered structure, and they create a separate zone in the yard. A firepit with stone seating or Adirondack chairs gives your kids somewhere to roast marshmallows in October and gives you somewhere to sit with a drink on a Friday night when there’s a chill in the air.
And here’s a thought most people don’t consider: even in January and February, there are evenings in Indiana when the temperature pushes into the 40s or 50s. With a firepit going, those are perfectly usable outdoor evenings. You’re not throwing a pool party in December, but a fire, a blanket, and a clear sky? That works.
Outdoor Kitchens: More Than Just a Grill
There’s a difference between grilling and outdoor cooking.
Grilling is standing over a propane tank on your patio, running inside for plates, running back for the spatula, running back in for a drink, and spending more time in the kitchen than you do outside.
An outdoor kitchen solves all those problems. Counter space for prep. A built-in grill or smoker. A small refrigerator so your drinks and sides are within arm’s reach. A sink so you’re not carrying dripping dishes through the house. Some homeowners go further with pizza ovens, griddles, or dedicated bar areas. But even a basic setup with a grill, counter space, and a fridge transforms how you cook and entertain outside.
In Plainfield’s climate, an outdoor kitchen works best under a covered structure. Rain and full sun both make cooking uncomfortable. Put it under a covered porch or pergola, and you’ve got a space that works from the first warm day in spring through the last cookout in fall.
Landscaping: The Part People Forget
You can build the best covered porch, patio, and outdoor kitchen in Hendricks County, and if the landscaping isn’t thought through, it’ll still feel unfinished.
Landscaping is what ties an outdoor living space to the rest of the yard.
It creates privacy between you and the neighbors. It softens the edges of hardscape. It adds color and texture that make the space feel alive instead of like a showroom.
This is one of the reasons BGW brought Kevin Ladd on board as Director of Operations when we acquired Laddscape in 2024. Kevin built his reputation in Hendricks County on landscape design and installation. Combining that expertise with BGW’s construction capabilities means we design and build the entire outdoor space: the structure, the hardscape, and the landscaping, all as one coordinated project. No separate landscaping contractor coming in after the fact trying to work around what’s already been built.
When landscaping is part of the plan from day one, the result is a space that looks like it grew out of the property instead of being dropped onto it.
What It's Like to Live With an Outdoor Space
The homeowners we’ve worked with in Plainfield all say the same thing: they didn’t realize how much they’d use it.
The family in Hickory Woods uses their covered porch and fireplace almost every evening from April through October. It’s where the kids do homework on warm afternoons. It’s where the adults have coffee on Saturday mornings. It’s where dinner happens three or four nights a week during the summer.
The family in Rockingham planned their space around entertaining, and now they’re the house where everyone wants to hang out. There’s a covered area for the adults, an open patio for the kids, a hot tub for after everyone goes home. What used to be a backyard that sat empty is now the most used part of their property.
That’s the real return on an outdoor living project. It’s not just about property value, although a well-built outdoor space does add real value to your home. It’s about how you actually live. It’s about meals outside instead of in the kitchen. It’s about Friday nights around the firepit instead of on the couch. It’s about getting eight months of use out of a space that was giving you zero.
Frequently Asked Questions About Outdoor Living in Plainfield
How long does an outdoor living project take to complete?
It depends on the scope. A covered porch with a patio typically takes four to eight weeks from start to finish. A full outdoor living space with kitchen, fireplace, landscaping, and multiple structures can take three to four months. We work through the design before construction starts, so there are no surprises once we break ground.
Do I need a permit for a covered porch in Plainfield?
In most cases, yes. Any structure attached to your home requires a building permit in Hendricks County. BGW handles the permit process as part of the project, so you don’t have to deal with the township office.
Can I add an outdoor living space to my existing patio?
Absolutely. Many of our Plainfield projects start with an existing concrete slab or small patio and build around it. We can integrate what’s already there into a larger design.
What's the best time of year to start planning an outdoor project?
Late fall and winter are the best times to start the design process. If you want your space ready for spring and summer, beginning the conversation in November or December gives us time to design, pull permits, and schedule the build so you’re enjoying it by May.
Ready To See What's Possible In Your Backyard?
Browse our [outdoor living projects] to see what we’ve built for homeowners across Plainfield and Hendricks County. When you’re ready to talk about your space, [schedule a consultation] or call us at (317) 268-4487. We’ll walk your property, talk through what you’re imagining, and show you what the space could look like before you commit to anything.
