Collection by Aileen Kwun

Under the Sun: 13 Outdoor Spaces We Love

Whether your plans involve entertaining, grilling al fresco, or some old-fashioned R&R, get a jumpstart on the long holiday weekend ahead with ideas from these inspiring outdoor spaces.

A Bay Area landscape designer works her yard like a jigsaw puzzle, packing a bevy of distinctive destinations into a steep and diminutive plot.

Photo by: Morgan Rachel Levy

Read the entire article here.
A Bay Area landscape designer works her yard like a jigsaw puzzle, packing a bevy of distinctive destinations into a steep and diminutive plot. Photo by: Morgan Rachel Levy Read the entire article here.
Josie’s tepee playhouse stands on a platform, where she and her friends erect sets for their theatrical productions.
Josie’s tepee playhouse stands on a platform, where she and her friends erect sets for their theatrical productions.
Beach days, park picnics, and backyard barbecues—wherever your Fourth of July weekend takes you, these products will elevate your event with ease.
Beach days, park picnics, and backyard barbecues—wherever your Fourth of July weekend takes you, these products will elevate your event with ease.
“We didn’t want the pit to be an obtrusive contraption sitting in the center of a zen-like courtyard,” says architect Matthew Hufft. A low-profile fire pit is the perfect continuation of a mellow Missouri backyard. Photo by Mike Sinclair.
“We didn’t want the pit to be an obtrusive contraption sitting in the center of a zen-like courtyard,” says architect Matthew Hufft. A low-profile fire pit is the perfect continuation of a mellow Missouri backyard. Photo by Mike Sinclair.
In a Manhattan Beach home, homeowner Matt Jacobson and architect Michael Lee designed the long steel-and-Ipe bench surrounding a square, concrete outdoor fire pit, which suspends from the low concrete wall in their outdoor space. Dukes relaxes on a Willy Guhl Loop chair with her German Shepherd, Major.
In a Manhattan Beach home, homeowner Matt Jacobson and architect Michael Lee designed the long steel-and-Ipe bench surrounding a square, concrete outdoor fire pit, which suspends from the low concrete wall in their outdoor space. Dukes relaxes on a Willy Guhl Loop chair with her German Shepherd, Major.
Though the front of this 1880s home in Adelaide, Australia, maintains a traditional facade due to strict heritage laws, the rear is modern eye candy at its best. See more of the home.
Though the front of this 1880s home in Adelaide, Australia, maintains a traditional facade due to strict heritage laws, the rear is modern eye candy at its best. See more of the home.
For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”
For Gabriel Ramirez and his partner Sarah Mason Williams, following the Sea Ranch rules—local covenants guide new designs—didn’t mean slipping into Sea Ranch clichés. The architects love Cor-Ten steel, with its ruddy and almost organic surface, and they made it the main exterior material, along with board-formed concrete and ipe wood. The Cor-Ten, which quickly turned an autumnal rust in the sea air, and the concrete, with its grain and crannies, mean the house isn’t a pristine box, Ramirez says. His Neutra house “was very crisp and clean,” he says. “This house is more distressed, more wabi-sabi.”
A 500-square-foot outdoor space with a grill, a table, and a hammock sits just off the entrance level of the townhouse, offering extra room for dining, relaxing, and entertaining. The corner couch is a custom piece inspired by the large cushions of Moroccan sofas. The Fermob table is paired with Hay Hee dining chairs by Hay.
A 500-square-foot outdoor space with a grill, a table, and a hammock sits just off the entrance level of the townhouse, offering extra room for dining, relaxing, and entertaining. The corner couch is a custom piece inspired by the large cushions of Moroccan sofas. The Fermob table is paired with Hay Hee dining chairs by Hay.
None of the ten units is purely communal, but detached Unit C, Yasuo Moriyama’s 

“living room,” functions the most publicly. It houses a DVD player, a plasma screen TV, and little else, but it has a tea-room ambience. Moriyama says, “This space gives you the freedom to do anything you like, and it makes you want to.” Here, Moriyama and his pomeranian Shinnosuke visit with Ippei Takahashi, project manager and fellow resident.
None of the ten units is purely communal, but detached Unit C, Yasuo Moriyama’s “living room,” functions the most publicly. It houses a DVD player, a plasma screen TV, and little else, but it has a tea-room ambience. Moriyama says, “This space gives you the freedom to do anything you like, and it makes you want to.” Here, Moriyama and his pomeranian Shinnosuke visit with Ippei Takahashi, project manager and fellow resident.
The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.
The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.
The dining area sits adjacent to the kitchen, defined by three glass walls that open the room completely to the elements, while the roof still provides shelter and shade. A long, family-style dining table made by Larry Hepler anchors the space.
The dining area sits adjacent to the kitchen, defined by three glass walls that open the room completely to the elements, while the roof still provides shelter and shade. A long, family-style dining table made by Larry Hepler anchors the space.
Armed with a keen eye for design and a yen for vintage furniture shopping, Glee star Jayma Mays and actor Adam Campbell revitalize a formerly jumbled Los Angeles house. On an outdoor deck space, the couple placed their fire engine red fireplace, found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market.
Armed with a keen eye for design and a yen for vintage furniture shopping, Glee star Jayma Mays and actor Adam Campbell revitalize a formerly jumbled Los Angeles house. On an outdoor deck space, the couple placed their fire engine red fireplace, found at the Rose Bowl Flea Market.
Comments
Private
Start a public conversation on this collection by adding your comments below.