Jamie Durie knows his way around a backyard. The landscape designer and horticulturalist has made a name for himself and his outdoor room movement in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. Through his company, PATIO Landscape Architecture and Design, and a litany of TV shows and books, Durie has honed his Russian nesting doll technique of building outdoor rooms within outdoor rooms until a space is complete.

His focus on the freedom and individuality of these spaces can be spotted in his HGTV show, "The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie," during which he and his team makeover problem yards and create sanctuaries within expansive outdoor spaces.

"My philosophy is to create smaller rooms within the larger space to bring a feeling of intimacy and privacy," he explains. "I think where the freedom comes into it is that because you are creating an outdoor space there is more give when it comes to being evocative and sensory... like designing a sitting area to sit in a shallow pool of water."

Space and scale dictate all elements of a design, Durie says. When rethinking a landscape, start with them.

Think big. "Always make the space a little larger than you think is adequate. A generous space is much more inviting than a small, poky one," he says. "Spaces can be deceiving, even when drawn to scale on a plan."

Look to the right and the left for design cues. To envision the best scale, consider the context of the outdoor room. "What is around it? Tall buildings or open fields? How do you want it to feel? If a space is not in scale with its surroundings, it is going to feel awkward and you will not want to spend time in it," Durie says. "Space and scale are like the skeleton of the design. "Once you have them right, the rest will fall into place."