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202 Outdoor Hardscapes Small Patio, Porch, Deck Design Photos And Ideas

In this home in Venice Beach, California, every interior space is accompanied by an outdoor room. The homeowners often dine on the patio adjacent to the kitchen. The rooms are intimately scaled but feel expansive due to their visual and physical connection to the environment.
Fittingly named the Courtyard House, the residence features a large outdoor space tucked underneath the cantilevered upper level, providing a quiet and shaded area for Lalita to enjoy her coffee breaks. Rotated masonry blocks extend from the courtyard wall to create succulent planters.
Emily and Mike created a small courtyard behind the office with custom concrete seating, a stone patio, and a mature tree as the focal point.
Before tackling the house, the couple converted the garage into a separate work space with a long, linear window that echoes that in the main house.
A small deck and a custom concrete planter complete the seating area off of the main bedroom.
They spent a couple months talking through ideas and sharing inspiration from Pinterest: Chris was looking for a muted, Australian-inspired sense of calm. In addition to a refurbished and more livable space, he requested a study, a guest bedroom and master suite, and a large indoor/outdoor space for grilling.
“We took some pains to save the tree,” says Humble of the mature cherry tree that was preserved in the redevelopment. “We used it to focus all of our new openings.”
The original front porch swing inspired the couple to add one at the back. “We wanted to figure out how to recreate that hangout space in the back, where the kitchen and dining room were,” says Dean.
The family’s backyard features a grape arbor and a vegetable garden. “I began gardening so our son could understand where his food comes from,” says Onna.
One half of the ruin was enclosed and is now part of the kitchen and dining area. The other half of the ruin encloses a new patio, which is accessible from the former factory entrance.
One of the owners steps out on the new terrace with one of the many household animals. “We have moved the chicken coop so we can enjoy their busy, chooky lives,” they explain.
A protected outdoor space is tucked beneath the new addition. "When you have an opportunity to breathe new life into a typology, which is indicative of a period, that's a good job to have," says Cuddington.
The seating on this terrace outside a second-story bedroom not only functions as a balustrade, but also provides privacy. It faces the raised planter wall in the courtyard.
The homeowners designed the pool and the geometric barrier, made from a foam-cast cement breeze wall and iron swing gate.
The added porch is a centerpiece of the home’s inside/outside concept.
A cypress fence and white gravel borders a side yard with a row of grass .
Architect and surfer Kenichiro Iwakiri renovates a beach house for himself in Shonan, a region of Japan known for its surf spots.
Carstensen landscaped the backyard and added a simple fire pit circle with chairs. He updated the deck, replacing the vertical posts with screens to create a more open feeling.
The same gray bricks were used inside and out for visual consistency.
With expansive space and views in every direction, the penthouse's two-story outdoor area offers a private park in the sky. The lower level can be assessed from the living room or master bedroom and features several spots to sit and dine. Here, one of the lounge areas is located on the upper level and can be reached via an outdoor staircase.
007 House by Dick Clark + Associates
Another lush patio area just off the kitchen offers a pergola-topped outdoor kitchen and bar. Other features of the backyard include a fire pit, raised-bed gardens, and matured fruit trees.
A look at the pool area of Steel House #2. Each major room features floor-to-ceiling glass panels and sliding doors that are all eight feet high.
The shutters are made of champagne-colored lapacho wood from the province of Misiones, and the stone was quarried in Balcarce, a province of Buenos Aires.
A modern stone fence made of galvanized steel mesh filled with stones surrounds the house. “We got the stones from the local stonecutter—they use the stones washed up on the beach, not the stones from the fields,” Lassen explains.
A fish pond creates a microclimate to help naturally cool the 3,326-square-foot house.
Eichler’s double A-frame models are rarely available and are highly coveted due to their design and extra square footage. Measuring in at 2,000 square feet—not including the spacious atrium—this model boasts five bedrooms and two full baths. The home also features soaring tongue-and-groove ceilings, expansive glazing, and globe pendant lights throughout.
The home has 1,506 square feet of living space and a beautifully landscaped backyard, which features one of the home's highlights—a detached, 120-square-foot studio designed to match the main house.
The home is centered around a huge center courtyard with a large tiled fountain that was opened up in accordance with the original Cody plan during a recent renovation. On the wall is a custom ceramic piece by artist Stan Bitters, which is excluded from the sale.
The small outdoor courtyards are surrounded by hit-and-miss brick screens to provide privacy while allowing light and air to flow through.
The elongated walkway and porch creates outdoor circulation during the summer months
"The colors of the ceiling actually reflect the activity inside the house, and the mood," says Edwards Anker. "That was one way of underlining that idea of how you experience the house, or how design can enhance that experience."
Depending on viewpoint, season, and time of day, says Edwards Anker, the water becomes either transparent or reflective. Here its flat surface mirrors the natural surroundings. At other times, undulations will reflect a rippling play of light into the house. "I know that in August at noon, we'll get the rippling water on the back wall in the living room," says Edwards Anker.
Multiple water features had been added to the property over the years, including a tiered fountain near the driveway that Steve and Jessy discarded. Later, Steve unearthed an original reflecting pool that had been covered up some 50 years earlier. The new owners were charmed by the little rectangular pond and choose to have it repaired with a new spout and tiles. “The funny thing is we spent all this time and effort to get rid of the fountain only to discover an original fountain buried by the entryway,” says Steve, who works as a realtor.
A perforated, corrugated metal patio cover provides a transition between the bright desert sun, and the shaded interior of the house
The lounge deck at the rear yard of Sunset Hills Residence features a swimming pool surrounded by lush gardens. Architect Hsu McCullough's design beautifully merges minimalism with an abundance of nature.
In Orange, California, a 1964 Model OC584 Eichler home designed by architect Claude Oakland was recently updated as a four-bedroom, two-bath home with an expanded master bathroom. The central outdoor atrium to the home is typical of the open-plan, indoor-outdoor style of living that Eichler homes are known form.
The bedroom opens out onto a small rear deck with potted plants and an outdoor shower.
A wooden picnic table is located off one end of the living room, creating a tranquil setting to enjoy alfresco dining while soaking up the sunshine.
Night lighting emphasizes the dramatic form of the building.
A path connects the underground garage to the main house. The house’s shape was dictated by the contour of the land.
This view shows how the front facade is detached from the rest of the house to allow a tree to grow between the two parts.
The second building contains the main living spaces and accesses the pool. The view from the second floor is framed by the separated gable.
The indoor/outdoor connection was important for entertaining as well. The windows and doors can be thrown open, and people can sit close to the kitchen, inside or out, with the raised platform doubling as informal seating.
The heavy stucco walls provide shade, and they also help separate the more private areas of the home from the public ones.
Throughout the day, light animates the limestone walls to various effects. “As the sun rotates around and is more oblique to the texture of the stone, it casts these wonderful shadows on it,” says Raike. “And you just get a real appreciation for the texture of the stone and the richness of the colors in it.”
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Whether it's a backyard patio, an infinity pool, or a rooftop terrace, these modern outdoor spaces add to the richness of daily life. Escape into nature, or get lost in city views. Wherever you are, let these outdoor photos take you somewhere new with inspirational ideas for yards, gardens, outdoor tubs and showers, patios, porches, and decks.