305. Turn Land Into Home: Design Outdoor Spaces You Actually Want to Be In | Tessa Pinner

Simple Farmhouse Life

Lisa Bass

Home & Garden, Leisure

4.9 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Creating a sense of history and place on raw land takes vision and patience, and garden designer Tessa Pinner shares how to make it both practical and beautiful. We chat about designing outdoor “rooms,” why smaller spaces can sometimes be easier than wide-open acreage, and how trees, fences, and timeless materials add history and charm. Tessa offers simple, long-term strategies to beat overwhelm and cultivate outdoor spaces that truly feel like home, whether you’re on acreage or working with a small backyard. In this episode, we cover: Creating a sense of place on raw land through thoughtful landscape design Why outdoor spaces deserve as much attention as interiors for function and enjoyment Designing “garden rooms” that encourage gathering, eating, and everyday living outside How wide open acreage can feel overwhelming and why smaller yards are sometimes easier to design Using permaculture “zones” to plan spaces from most-used near the house to more relaxed areas farther out The importance of making outdoor spaces safe and hospitable for children and guests Choosing materials that feel timeless and appropriate to the style of the house Balancing beauty, practicality, and budget when designing for features like pools, patios, and fencing Planting trees early to establish maturity and history on a new property The hidden benefit of casting a long-term vision and phasing projects in gradually over many years How to avoid analysis paralysis when planning: books, drawings, and vision over Pinterest overwhelm Hardscaping as the backbone of outdoor spaces— surfaces, boundaries, and seating areas View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make this show possible! RESOURCES MENTIONED GIVEAWAY! Leave a 5-star review on my beginner sourdough recipe to be entered to win a $500 Amazon gift card ⭐️ How to Design a Garden by Pollyanna Wilkinson Food Forward Garden by Christian Douglas Check out Monty Don’s current publications and youtube channel, Gardening with Monty Don Check out the Garden Gab podcast hosted by Tessa Join my FREE masterclass to learn my 4-step framework for making money on YouTube Master the rhythm of sourdough with confidence in my Simple Sourdough course Gain the sewing knowledge and skills every homemaker needs in my Simple Sewing series Turn your content creation dreams into a profitable business with my YouTube Success Academy Keep all my favorite sourdough recipes at your fingertips in my Daily Sourdough cookbook CONNECT Tessa Pinner | Website | Youtube | Instagram | Podcast Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.

Transcript

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0:00.0	After having nine kids, it is very clear to me that all children are different with their personalities.
0:07.0	They learn differently. They're motivated by different things. Parents, imagine a school day built around
0:11.8	your child's needs and interest. It's possible with K-12-powered schools. You don't need to wait until
0:16.9	next year. You can make the switch to K-12 at any time and set your kid up for success.
0:21.7	K-12-powered schools are accredited tuition-free online public schools for students in kindergarten
0:26.6	through 12th grade. They've been a leader in education for over 25 years with their engaging
0:30.9	curriculum that supports individual learning styles. But this isn't like typical homeschooling.
0:35.4	K-12 has state certified teachers specially trained in
0:38.4	teaching online who use hands-on innovative technology to make learning interactive. And that's what's so
0:44.2	great about K-12 is the flexibility. Schools anywhere, there's internet access, whether that's from
0:49.2	the comfort of home or on the go to keep up with your family's busy schedule. See why more than 3 million families have chosen K-12 to empower their students. Go to k-12.com slash farmhouse today to learn more. That's the letter K, the number 12.com slash farmhouse. K-12.com slash farmhouse. But I think somewhere to sit and somewhere to eat are probably the two things of like,
1:11.4	what are you going to want to go do outside, somewhere to sit and somewhere to eat? Because if you can sit and watch your kids play, that's a win. I don't know how you are, but I rarely just like sit to sit. But I will sit to eat and I will sit sometimes to watch my kids. I think if you don't know where to start with, okay, what do I want to focus on first? I would say sitting and eating.
1:30.9	Yes.
1:31.0	Maybe especially. sometimes to watch my kids. I think if you don't know where to start with, okay, what do I want to
1:27.6	focus on first? I would say sitting and eating. Yes. Maybe especially eating. Yes. Because you have to do that.
1:34.4	My name is Lisa, mother of eight and creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse on Boone. On this
1:39.3	podcast, I like to talk about simplifying your life so you can live out your priorities. I help you
1:44.0	learn how to cook from scratch and decorate on a budget through this podcast and my
1:48.2	courses simple sourdough in the simple sewing series.
1:51.2	I also help people reach their goals from home through my business course in YouTube Success
1:55.4	Academy.
1:56.0	I will leave links to these resources in the show notes and description box below.
	...

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