Deck

Embodied energy, gray water, black water, carbon footprint—the list of sustainable design terms goes on and on, and we're here to help you make sense of them.

The addition of black metal perforated screens along the perimeter of the garden provide privacy and light, without appearing to be too austere.

Cox initially conceived the deck as a conventional surface for relaxing and entertaining. With the bench, however, he seized an opportunity to create something both functional and visually arresting. “You go down these paths and, as the design mutates, other ideas attach themselves and make it stronger and more interesting,” he says.

The vertical planter in the deck contains ten varieties of succulents.

Taking cues from this home's Japanese-influenced slatted screen, Hufft Projects applied a ring of ipe wood around the perimeter of this outdoor fire pit.

The house is set on a forested hill, which means the backyard—though scenic—is too steep to enjoy. It’s also perpetually shady. Schicketanz wanted somewhere she could soak in the sun, so she added a roof deck. “It’s really the only usable, large outdoor space I have,” she says.

The top floor holds two offices—one for the husband, the other for the wife. Hers opens out onto a small private deck furnished with wire Eames chairs.

An ipe deck slopes sharply skyward behind Amy Persin’s house in Menlo Park, California, creating a secluded backyard getaway that feels like an outdoor extension of her living room. A single step on either side leads to patches of gravel, which her children have claimed as areas for unstructured play.

Look behind the mid-century facade, and a back patio offers an unexpected 180-degree view of the Los Angeles basin.