SubscribeSign In
All Photos/outdoor/landscapes : trees/patio, porch, deck : decomposed granite

Outdoor Trees Decomposed Granite Patio, Porch, Deck Design Photos and Ideas

Red- and blue-pigmented cement augments the color palette of the courtyard.
The fire pit area displays a 48-inch concrete fire bowl, woven chairs, and upcycled tree stumps for kid-friendly-seating.
Richie walks through the shared plaza between the main house and ADU.
Kuo transformed the original back house and attached garage using playful geometries and creative uses of space.
The new design is intensely personal. "We don’t do anything by halves," Jessamy says. "This is our legacy." Hunter notes the grace with which the couple handled the aftermath of the fire and resulting redesign. "It was very emotional to lose a business and then have the scrutiny of a community with so many opinions. Jess and Jake were very gracious throughout the process."
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.
The couple planned out all of the exterior landscaping themselves. "[It was] painstaking, the time spent measuring," says Emily.
A small deck and a custom concrete planter complete the seating area off of the main bedroom.
Clara spent most of her renovation efforts on the backyard, transforming it into her vision of an English countryside.
“The height of the new extension has been kept low, while still keeping all interior spaces on one level,” says the firm. “This approach led us to establish the project’s design identity in detail and materiality rather than in a ‘grand architectural gesture.’"
The new brick-and-wood pavilion faces north for optimal sun exposure.
Whitney designed a living wall with a large round mirror for the side garden, where the rescue beagles nap in the sunlight.
West plays on the steps that carry the family members from the bedroom to the rear garden.
If you already have a projector, white sheets and some popcorn are all you need to create your own outdoor cinema. Alternatively, you can set up a backyard screening with a monitor, TV stand, and an extension cord.
"The H-shaped plan and outbuildings create an assemblage of forms that celebrates the site and creates a continuing sense of surprise," Epstein adds.
A gravel trail winds through greenery into the entryway of the home, reinforcing the parklike nature of the site.
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.
Situated amid the forest in Rhinebeck, New York, the geometric, eco-friendly Ex of In House by architect Steven Holl stars a large window capable of heating the living space with sunlight during the winter months. In the summer, a shade ensures it keeps cool. In accordance with the home’s sustainable mission, the interiors are finished with natural oiled wood and plywood, and all light fixtures were 3D-printed in PLA cornstarch-based plastic.
Garden Patio with Cedar Hot Tub
The VDL Pavilion is open to nature, with no glass walls. Vertical fins provide shading along one wall.
Backyard
Cedar soaking tub and fire pit at night
“We had these incredible live oak trees, and so we built the house around the trees and the view,” says Raike.
The Olmos Park Residence sits in an established neighborhood in San Antonio. Heavy limestone walls screen neighbors on both sides, while the fourth side opens up to a verdant flood basin.
The small swimming pool is a serene place to enjoy sunset views.
The enclosed garden features lovely landscaping and has the feeling of a serene escape.
A border hedge provides privacy for the backyard, where distant views of the San Jacinto mountains can be appreciated.
"This home is intended as both a place of refuge and of play," says Emily Summers Design Associates.
Glass walls surround a courtyard, sunken so as to provide respite from the wind. Landscape elements encourage interplay with the outdoors.
After cleaning up the landscape, the team custom-made a few benches for the backyard and added gravel from Penn’s Stone Supply. The string lights and West Elm Planters add a stylish touch.
A Cuadra San Cristóbal courtyard surrounded by vibrant pink walls.
A striped hammock is perfectly placed for relaxing and taking in the sunset.
Tom's House was designed by Anna-Marie Chin with the surrounding landscape in mind. A soaking tub sits a few paces down the slope, capturing stunning views of the surrounding mountains.
In Sonoma, California, a historic farmhouse receives a contemporary makeover. Large sliding doors allow for seamless indoor-outdoor connection.
For the landscape and redesigned pool area, Terremoto kept “their movies simple and elemental,” matching the subtractive approach taken in the house. The firm collaborated with Farnham on the design of the long-span pergola, which is cleverly engineered to only need four support posts.
The home is elegantly set into its surroundings and overlooks a serene garden patio with a koi pond.
The facade of the cottage beautifully blends both past and present.
The Ex of In House exterior
A huge rock that Liebermann picked out himself as as a diving board into the pool. Liebermann was very proud to design the house in a way that it reflects in the pool when you first walk in through the front gate. The reflection doubles the size of the house.
861 Lovell Avenue in Mill Valley, California is surrounded by redwood trees and offers that California dream of living an indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Sounds of the Cascade Falls stream in from the East, while the afternoon sun floods the courtyard and swimming pool to the West.
The social spaces are located above, maximizing ocean views. A glass guardrail enables a seamless connection to the outdoors.
The home features clean midcentury lines and clerestory windows.
The landscaping outside the master bath.
The concrete pool and firepit located in the communal courtyard.
Escape with nature.
Carstensen updated the deck, replacing the vertical posts with screen to create a more open feeling.
Carstensen landscaped the backyard and added a simple firepit circle with chairs. This seating area merges easily with the new screened porch.
The three structures are linked by a covered walkway and surround a north-facing courtyard protected from coastal winds. There is no fence to encourage interaction with neighbors.
Garden and greenhouse
Massive volumes of dry stacked, locally supplied granite supports the roof.
A spacious outdoor deck with a path that leads down to the lake.
Swimming pool at rear yard
Wire fox terrier on guard at the raised wood deck and bedroom beyond
A 10 foot deep cantilevered roof provides consistent shade pool side in the courtyard
Firepit and wire fox terrier with hardscape and landscape to exterior dining terrace at raised deck beyond
A quiet, sheltered outdoor dining area