Inside Newlyweds Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd's ‘Southern But Not Over-the-Top’ Backyard

When country singer Maren Morris, 28, and her husband, fellow musician Ryan Hurd, 31, first saw their three-bedroom, three-bathroom home in Nashville, they instantly felt connected to its classic southern charm. “It has a wraparound porch, which I love,” says the Grammy winner. “That was one of the things that drew me to the house.”

The backyard, however, was far from welcoming for the couple, who wed in March. “It was completely blank,” Morris recalls. “But we are such entertainers, so we had a lot of wants when it came to tackling it.”

For help they turned to Tara Donovan, design expert and style director for Wayfair Registry, who went to work transforming the empty area into a relaxing retreat.

“I love the rocking chairs,” Morris says. “They’re almost like an heirloom piece that we’ll have forever.” Hurd spends his time on the porch in the morning, sipping coffee and catching up on work. Morris, however, is more of an evening person.

“I’m out there 11 hours later,” she says with a laugh. “I love having a couple friends over. I’ll make margaritas and we’ll just sit out back and talk for hours.”

Multiple seating areas make it easy to host friends and family for both pre-planned events, like their engagement party which they held at their home, or “impromptu hangs,” as Hurd says. “We’re not too crammed, but it still is small enough where it feels like there’s one party going on.”

The vibe of the backyard matches the aesthetic of their interiors. “It’s southern but it’s not over the top,” she explains. “There’s still some rock ‘n’ roll flair back there.”

Although Morris is “definitely a Pinterest person” and makes the majority of the design choices, Hurd fully backs her taste.

“Maren’s good at taking a cool idea and not making it super feminine,” he says. “I’m really comfortable in our home. I just love her eye.”

The fire pit was “something we couldn’t compromise on,” according to Morris, but the projector screen was an add-on that now might knock their favorite centerpiece out of first place.

“We watched the Oscars out there. It’s a really cool space,” Morris says. “Ryan loves watching the [Nashville] Predators, so we’re definitely going to have a play-offs party.”

While both of the singers are often on the road, their favorite moments spent at home are when they can have a quiet evening outside.

“I feel like that’s when Maren and I hang out the latest at night and those are when our coolest conversations are,” Hurd says.

“We solve a lot of the world’s problems on that porch,” she adds.