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318 Outdoor Shrubs Walkways Design Photos And Ideas

In the wintertime, the living room is cozy and welcoming with its large fireplace and warm lighting.
The all-black exterior fades into its natural setting.
Recently retired and ready to downsize, Paul and Melonie Brophy found a lot in Palo Alto that gave them the chance to start fresh. Their glass, concrete, and wood house, designed by Feldman Architecture, seems to float above a landscape by Bernard Trainor. Of the board-formed concrete wall, architect Taisuke Ikegami says, "It connects the building to the ground plane while allowing the house to be a landscape element."
About 100 miles southwest of Mexico City, nine black concrete blocks in a forest clearing make up one family's holiday home. Designed by Mexican architect Fernanda Canales with landscaping by Claudia Rodríguez, Casa Bruma makes elegant use of a construction material that's commonplace in Latin America. The texture of the black board-formed concrete contrasts with the simple, rectilinear forms of the individual parts of the residence that surround a central patio paved with stone.
Floor-to-ceiling tiles give this courtyard a major “wow” factor.
"Fabio is a triathlete and wanted a lap pool, and it also serves as a sort of plunge pool for the family," Sweet says. "It has a mechanical system that essentially turns the pool into a treadmill for his training." Western red cedar was used throughout the interior ceilings, and polished concrete flooring continues outside as pavers.
Built with a heavy timber post-and-beam structure, this renovated Tiburon kit house retains its standard footprint, framing, and tiled roof. Massive sliding glass doors were added to create an indoor/outdoor living experience.
Wei transformed the garage into a studio/office space.
Visitors experience the beauty of the courtyard upon entry as they step atop large pavers leading up to the wood deck.
Paola Lenti furniture in rich navy and burgundy tones outfit the reimagined backyard, which also features chiseled retaining walls by a local stonemason. Japanese maple trees add to the zen-like atmosphere.
The elongated walkway and porch creates outdoor circulation during the summer months
“The steeply sloping site provides three unique spaces—the living attic, the pool deck, and the garden terrace.”
Minarc’s Plus Hus is a tiny energy-efficient prefab marketed towards homeowners seeking to add an accessory dwelling unit to their property. The 320-square-foot structure is prefabricated in downtown Los Angeles, and it can be shipped flatpack to anywhere in the U.S. with prices starting at $37,000.
The new rear, two-story addition adds over 2,000 square feet of living space without sacrificing the backyard. The repetition of the curved elements, such as the tall, cement-rendered columns that band the exterior, are a subtle reference to the scale and proportions of the Victorian style.
The backyard is one of this home’s best features. With a lot that nearly equals the square footage of the home itself, there was plenty of room to play with landscaping.
San Francisco–based landscape design studio TALC helped reimagine the lot and the green spaces around the two buildings, with distinct exterior rooms: a meadow, a dining area, a fire pit area, and a patio.
On a recent phone call, the firm caught up with the homeowner while she was opening a bottle of champagne. “What are you celebrating?” Campos remembers asking her. “She said, ‘Every few months I buy a bottle of champagne, and I open it up, and I celebrate that I live in this house.’”
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.
The reflecting pool/cistern serves many functions. It collects more than 50% of roof run-off to be reused for garden irrigation, acts as a cooling element in the summer as breezes run over the surface, and also "does the whole Richard Neutra effect," says Edwards Anker, in that the water, alongside the glass facade, mirrors the house and landscape.
In inclement weather, covered walkways courtesy of the cantilevered roof come to the rescue.
The home's abundance of glass creates a peaceful dialogue between the indoors and outdoors.
Of the exterior cladding, Bryant notes, “Simple brick and cement render were chosen to not compete with the bold and heroic form.”
The walls are painted Behr’s "Polar Bear," and the artwork is by Arnold Réthy. The firm painted the ceiling beams running throughout "Space Black" by Behr. "Painting the beams in a darker color emphasized that they run from front to back," says the firm. "This came back to celebrating the timeless, indoor/outdoor experience that continues to drive demand for renovated Eichlers."
Steps lead from the master bedroom balcony to a spacious deck. Situating the deck away from the house gives it the feel of a getaway, says Trainor, who worked on the project with colleague David LeRoy. “We liked the idea of going further into the garden amid plantings for privacy,” adds Trainor. Granite boulders and persimmon, Japanese maple, and oak trees lend what he calls “a California-Japanese feel.”
The 10-Star Home is a design collaboration between Clare Cousins Architects and The Sociable Weaver. The shapely exterior blends into the surrounding landscape.
"Overall, the lot was flat and grassy with a few beautiful trees," Lum says. "We nestled the house among the heritage redwood tree and the other mature oaks on the property."
Zumaooh designed Sonoma Residence to be the perfect space for family activities that interact with the beautiful surrounding landscape. Large windows peer out into the meadows, and cozy patios allow the family to soak up the fresh air.
This tiny one-bedroom rental was designed by Cornwall-based architecture firm Studio Arc, with interiors by Jess Clark. Originally a thatched cottage, the space was updated with aged concrete for a modern feel, while wood shingle walls add a sense of nostalgia.
Landscape designer Lillian Montalvo swapped disparate plantings for a cohesive plan centered on a pergola. The elevated, covered deck acts like a less constricted gazebo with more air flow.
Architects Simone Carneiro and Alexandre Skaff transformed a cramped São Paulo apartment into a mid-city refuge for Simone Santos. On the terrace, plants, vines, and pergolas form a barrier against the city’s notorious noise and pollution.
Carlos Somoza “really brought the project home,” says Brillhart. “With our hope of the architecture being connected to landscape, you need a great landscape architect on-board, and we had that in Carlos.”
The couple tapped landscape designer Carlos Somoza to capture the wildness of the site throughout the landscape plan. This grove of old-growth trees was saved, with new Ipe hardscaping wrapping around them.
An outdoor lounge area is tucked into the juncture made where the new kitchen wing joins with the renovated Trip Russell house.
A view of the new kitchen wing. “We weren’t trying to mimic Russell’s architecture, but we were trying to be sympathetic to the structure and the materiality in our additions and renovations,” says Brillhart.
The pool was relocated and the couple redid its finishes with the Tuttle Pool Company, installing Pebble Tec, a waterfall feature, and surrounding it with modern, large-format pavers.
The kitchen wing now sits in roughly the same area as the pool used to. Says Brillhart: “The one-story wing is CMU block with exposed wood rafters – a similar system to Russell’s but a little more 21st Century.”
The façade received fresh paint, as well as new impact resistant windows. The two-story addition rises behind it. “Given that the two-story wing was larger than the existing structure, it was critical for the new building to appear as lightweight as possible,” says the firm. “The reading of concrete, which is an almost universal residential structural system in South Florida, would have been too heavy against the reading of the low-slung wood roof of the original house.”
Beyond the large, pivoting wooden gate lies the front entry.
Perched on the northwest coast of Mallorca, S'Estaca offers mesmerizing Mediterranean views.
Despite the estate's secluded location in the heart of the Serra de Tramuntana mountains, the international airport of Palma is just a short drive away.
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.
The South Elevation provides complete transparency through the main level to established gardens beyond
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.
A cozy reading nook on the rooftop.
The roof garden, which offers sweeping views of Berlin, plays with volumes at different heights to create varying spaces and vantage points.
A natural, stacked-stone fin is the grounding element below the cantilevered bedroom wing.
The home features romantic al fresco entertaining spaces, including this dining pergola enveloped in greenery.
Stone stairs on the perimeter of a main courtyard ascend to a rooftop garden. Large windows on the other side of the living area overlook an enclosed water feature with a statue of a monk.
Water features pepper the gardens throughout.
Gardens surround the stone facade for a softening effect.
Expansive glass doors open onto the main courtyard.
The home's lush surroundings.
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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.