outdoor space

A wicker sectional from Target and a custom fire table that Todd designed sit under Sunbrella shade sails.

An artist and an architect built their home, studios, and an exhibition space inside a lushly landscaped Antwerp warehouse.

Architectural designer Sebastian Mariscal and project manager Jeff Svitak created a house in Venice, California, for Michael and Tamami Sylvester. Known as Dwell Home Venice for its role as an exemplification of modern architecture, the house is an homage to indoor-outdoor living. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

Outer Space Landscape Architects refreshed the courtyard with new hardscaping.

The clients insisted that none of the trees on the property be disturbed, so Kevin Alter and his team at Alterstudio Architecture built a deck and an overhang around two of them.

Two native vine maples, planted just a few feet away from each other, bloom weeks apart thanks to the varied soil.

Reclaimed-wood staircases and boardwalks, lowered by a crane that was designed into the structure of the building and deck, and a copper-clad natural spring crisscross the multilevel yard, which Wilson considers a diverse geographic universe in miniature.

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A gravel path leads to a guesthouse, where Trainor supplemented an existing garden of yuccas and palm trees with succulent aeoniums and flowering euphorbias.

Ingrid Blans and Tjibbe Knol relax outside their home, which is made of various recycled materials such as dismantled cable reels, old billboards, and broken umbrellas. Inside, a vintage shop display case exhibits a small fraction of the couple's collection of art and objects.

Stepstone's narrow concrete pavers add a graphic touch to the garden in the Mill Valley home of Dwell founder Lara Hedberg Deam and architect Chris Deam. Photo by Dustin Aksland.

The large wraparound porch links the two main houses and two guest cabins, and is the site of many impromptu shared meals.

When a nearby road washed out in a flood, Chris and Tanya hauled the broken bits of asphalt to their property and made a walkway leading to the entrance.

Viewed from a good distance down the slope running to the Union River, the Maison Amtrak is clearly oriented toward the river. The deck is sheltered from the neighbors’ view by Cohen’s bedroom to the right and the living room at left.

South: Mark Word Design Mulch and living ground covers—like Big Blue liriope, marsilea, and Palisades zoysia turf—keep moisture within the soil and lowers the soil’s temperature, protecting the live oak trees’ roots.

Midwest: Hoerr Schaudt Ample amounts of Russian sage add visual interest, and manicured bluegrass offers recreation space. “I always like to say, strike half of your original plant list out and double up on the rest. It keeps you from getting too busy.”

California: Andrea Cochran On a two-and-a-half acre landscape in Geyserville, California, Andrea Cochran found that compatibility was key. “Although not all of the plants are native to California, they are native to the Mediterranean and arid regions with similar climates,” she says. Lomandra— an Australian herb—flanks a Cor-Ten steel staircase and a walkway lined with Yosemite tan pebbles and concrete.

Permeable hardscaping retains moisture and helps reduce the need for watering.

Two of the must-haves for the Jorgensens were a seamless connection between indoors and out since they frequently dine and play outside, and large expanses of glass to allow natural light to illuminate the interior. The living room opens into the backyard a spacious deck constructed from Trex.