Exterior Design

The lower terrace, which features a hot tub, is farther down the hill to immerse its users in the landscape.

Requirements for licensed contractors depend on the scope of work and the location of the project.

South: Mark Word Design The garden Mark Word Design created for an Austin, Texas, home sited adjacent to a nature reserve puts water conservation first. “It’s about usage levels, but it’s also about the way we treat storm water and runoff, since it all goes back into our supply at the end of the cycle,” designer Sarah Carr says. Word and his team kept the ratio of paved to unpaved surfaces low and chose plants that help reduce erosion, require little irrigation, and allow storm water to percolate.

Outdoor Spa

Outdoor Patio

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.

LEDs behind the slatted cedar screen cast a soft glow on the concrete and wood surrounding the lap pool. Click here to view more photos of the renovated cottage!

Green roofs are aesthetically pleasing and have multiple positive environmental benefits, even if they are small in terms of square footage. Here, a green roof blooms atop the detached garage of a home.

In the outdoor dining room, wire chairs by Harry Bertoia for Knoll surround a mango wood table made by a local carpenter, Diego Madrazo.

A board formed concrete wall creates a solid barrier off of the open living space to allow the homeowner to feel safe yet open to the community

A board formed concrete fire pit draws you out to the back patio from the open living space

Open and inviting, the addition enables a fluid indoor-outdoor connection that didn’t exist before.

After raising the rear patio to the level of the kitchen, the team reused the original redwood decking and supplemented it with recycled pieces from other projects. Recessed planters punctuate a garden wall. Scott and Regina warm themselves by a Solus fire pit on chilly evenings.

Scott MacFiggen and Regina Bustamante, tech industry veterans from Silicon Valley, called on architect Christi Azevedo to rebrand a fusty house in San Francisco’s Noe Valley, starting with the street view. Cedar boards, charred using the Japanese technique shou sugi ban, replaced plywood siding.

Unlike the north-facing side of the home, the south-facing facade is completely windowless and opaque, with the exception of an outdoor hearth built directly into its side. The lounge chairs are from IKEA, and the MacNellys sourced the slate flagstones and gravel surrounding the home from a local quarry.

The courtyard with its fire pit and infinity pond—extends the living area outdoors. The family has hosted events, weddings, and even a funeral here, and annual solstice parties are always a big hit with the neighbors.

Though the fire pit was “kind of an after-thought,” says Hannah, the family uses it year-round. “In the spring and fall, it warms you up on cool nights, and in the summer, it just adds ambience.”

Marine-grade stainless steel resists corrosion so that even in coastal environments, the products have longevity and are easy to maintain. Above, thin cabling allows a panoramic view.

The gabled roof on Enough House puts it in conversation with the adjacent Troop barn and Cheboque schoolhouse, but its Cor-Ten steel exterior makes it a unique addition to Shobac.