All Photos/outdoor/locations : back yard/landscapes : shrubs/patio, porch, deck : wood/patio, porch, deck : large

Outdoor Back Yard Shrubs Wood Patio, Porch, Deck Large Patio, Porch, Deck Design Photos and Ideas

Although previous owners built a pool at a lower part of the yard near the piano room, the couple decided to build a new one just off the kitchen. “We thought, it would be amazing to have a pool that was kind of jutting out, with the backdrop of the city,” John says. The patio doubles as entertaining space for summer parties.

Ridge Mountain Residence was designed to blend into the existing Palm Springs landscape. Cor-Ten steel cladding provides a naturally weathering material, while the concrete structure and flagstone terrace complement the light tones of the surrounding mountains.

Now, an eight-foot sliding door brings light into the kitchen and enables fluid movement between inside and out. The wider steps can serve as seats during a party, and they make for a graceful transition to the yard.

A concrete walkway connects the living and dining rooms to the exterior, and concrete forms a built-in bench for lounging by the Solo Stove fire pit.

Hay outdoor furniture sits underneath the steel pergola.

Photo: Willem-Dirk du Toit

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.

The house was opened up as much as the budget allowed, with oversized windows and patio doors leading to a terraced deck with a series of seating areas cascading down to the landscaped path.

"One of Steph’s goals for the project was to connect the interior to the backyard, both visually, and functionally—she is an avid grill master," says Davis. The grill and a fire pit are centerpieces the family uses regularly.

Sun loungers are integrated into the roof terrace, which features timber decking and lush landscaping.

After a years-long search for viable land, Eugene and his wife, Claire Ko, bought an old dairy farm with good soil that could be rehabbed into an organic fruit and vegetable operation.

Wood slat shading devices on the “outer wrapper” of the home help to modulate solar heat gain in the hot, often harsh, Texas climate.

The house exclusively uses water harvested from the roof and stored on-site in a 33,000-gallon cistern.

The outdoor bench is covered with Maharam fabric. The surfboard coffee table was built by one of the client’s sons.

“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.

A vintage Malm fireplace is paired with Pebble seats "K" by Atelier Vierkant.

"The architecture enhances and reinforces this weaving together of inside and outside," says the firm. "The large lift and slide doors open to allow a single corner column to feel outside."

Landscape Design by Land Morphology

External deck frame with brick that contains the exterior space while cascading into the garden. Timber deck grades at ramps to ease access and timber pergola provides valuable shade structure in summer months.

The all-black exterior fades into its natural setting.

The two structures are connect with a smoked ash terrace with an integrated hot tub.

A fully glazed wall—which incorporates both louvres and sliding doors—connects the dining room and kitchen to the deck and garden. The natural slope of the site replaces the need for a fence between the garden and the beach.

The timber deck extends the living space outside to create an indoor/outdoor living environment.

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.

Of the exterior cladding, Bryant notes, “Simple brick and cement render were chosen to not compete with the bold and heroic form.”

The deck has space for grilling and lounging alongside a lap pool that extends outward to the ocean.

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.”

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 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 sunroom connects to a deck for entertaining.

The “leisure zone” of Sea Front Villa naturally frames the sea. An infinity pool embedded in the lawn further blurs the line between the house and its surroundings.

A cement slab and wood deck offer space for meals and stargazing. Sam built the furniture himself.

Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors from panorama! encourage light and air into the interiors.

The glass and wood walls of the bathhouse, like other retractable panels on the house,

offer shade with a view.

A rear deck added in 2009 offers ample outdoor entertaining space. Here, the deck is anchored with an outdoor sofa set from Cost Plus World Market, while an outdoor dining set sits closer to the house.

A view of the backyard.

Cedar slats mark the facade of the Worple's lakefront vacation home in Ontario.

"We spend a lot of time in the backyard all year round. We wanted to take advantage of Los Angeles' weather and have a true indoor/outdoor feel in the house," says Jenn, who is a Hollywood film producer.

According to the architects, the house's "thinner dimensions not only display refinement of technique, but also remove visual weight from materials—the position being that lightness is good for the human spirit and visual heaviness is not."

Buying a home can be an exciting milestone, but do you have all of the necessary paperwork (and patience)?

Why build a Passive House? "The obvious answer is low heating and cooling bills, but we find people most appreciate the other benefits, like consistent thermal comfort, sound proofing, and air quality," say the architects.

Pictured on the left is the former cottage that's located on the north side of the house. It houses two bedrooms, a kitchenette, dining area, bathroom, and a mud room.

A look at the spectacular landscape.

The cedar-lined terrace has a fire pit which provides excellent additional space for outdoor entertaining.

The expansive terrace creates a smooth transition to the outdoors.

“We wanted to ‘cap’ the dwelling with a generous, almost sweeping canopy that would keep the majority of the high sun exposure areas in shade,” says Pande. “We also played with the roof volume to break free from the constraints of a typical ‘box modern’ home.”

“We wanted to ‘cap’ the dwelling with a generous, almost sweeping canopy that would keep the majority of the high sun exposure areas in shade. We also played with the roof volume to break free from the constraints of a typical ‘box modern’ home,” says Pande.

Protected from the northeasterly winds, the deck enjoys ample access to sunlight. “My concept of the deck was to treat it almost like an infinity pool where there’s a very sharp edge and it being coplanar with the floor when you’re in the house looking out you can’t really see anything but the water,” adds John.