Lanai
Install a motorized retractable screen with mesh, as seen here, to enjoy fresh air and natural light without the bugs. You can have your space completely open for easy access and clear views, then bring the screen down at the touch of a button — sensors can even retract screens automatically when the wind blows. This type of screen is becoming more and more common with every project, says Sweeney, owner of Mom’s Design Build in Minnesota. “Minimizing the wind, the bugs and the dirt that comes with outdoor spaces is desirable to a wide range of people,” he explains. Bonus tip: Keep the bugs out of your house too with retractable door screens. Ideal for oversize openings, they disappear when not in use, leaving your views unspoiled.
Lined Insulated roofing can create a seamless effect between indoor and outdoor areas and can keep a deck or pergola far cooler than other covering materials. Lined ceilings can also be handy when it comes to installing lighting and overhead fans — there will be no electrical wires in sight. Steven Ginn Architects LLC Lining pergolas with unpainted wood can add beauty along with protection from the elements. A lofty pergola that allows plenty of airflow and light will prevent it from feeling too dark or enclosed.
coverage over dining area 4. Covered in Los Angeles This Los Angeles patio has idyllic California outdoor living covered — a pull-up bar outside the kitchen window, a second bar across from the grill and a covered dining area for al fresco meals. Not shown here is the fabulous lounge area also located under this roof.
6. Compact Backyard in Key West, Florida Designer: Craig Reynolds Landscape Architecture While limited in square footage, this garden around an 1800s carriage house in Key West’s historic district presented an opportunity for Florida landscape architect Craig Reynolds. Following his client’s requests for an outdoor lounge, hot tub, outdoor dining area and outdoor shower, Reynolds worked all the outdoor living elements into the 900-square-foot outdoor area like a jigsaw puzzle, with room left to spare for tropical plants to soften the edges. “I refer to it as a little jewel box,” he says of the space.
Idea to try: Add tropical-style plantings. If you picture a tropical beach holiday when you imagine a getaway, try incorporating a few tropical (if your climate allows for it) or tropical-looking plants into your garden. Palms and large-scale foliage plants like split-leaf philodendron (Monstera deliciosa, USDA zones 10 to 11; find your zone), bird of paradise tree (Strelitzia nicolai, zones 9 to 11) and colorful coleus establish a tropical theme in mild or tropical climates.
Concrete: Flexible and Customizable OK, it’s not literally flexible, but one of the big selling points of concrete is that it’s highly customizable. Although concrete is very hard, it will still show some wear and tear. As Douglass puts it, the hairline cracks that sometimes appear can be a feature or a bug: “Some customers like the look it creates; others don’t,” he says. “And if they choose a colored concrete, it may not come out exactly as they expected.” Pros It can be formed into virtually any shape you want. It can be tinted to the color you want. Concrete pros can mold impressions into the concrete, such as a dish drain or a decorative design. Cons It can develop scratches and cracks. Exposure to the sun can cause colors to fade. Cost: Prices can range greatly, from about $100 to $150 per square foot installed, depending on the project, finishing and other labor-intensive details.
Natural Stone: Durable and Unique Some varieties of natural stone other than granite can be a great option for your outdoor countertop. Pros Natural stone is very durable. No two pieces of stone are exactly alike. It never goes out of style. Cons Stone countertops need regular refinishing. Stone is porous and can stain easily. Cost: Pros and online sources report $40 to $100 per square foot installed. The designer of this Dallas cabana by Archadeck used hand-chiseled Lueders stone, which is a natural limestone native to North Texas. “Lueders is the most preferred and the most cost-effective” natural stone in that region, Archadeck CEO Agustin Garza says. “It also holds up well outdoors.” Garza does cover Lueders countertops with a sealant, which protects the porous stone and brings out its natural colors. Other pros, however, warn against limestone and other types of stone counters. As Douglass puts it, “The problem with flagstone or thick, smooth slabs of limestone is that they’re very porous. They stain easily.”
Granite: Fits Just About Anywhere Pros often mentioned granite as the most practical surface for a wide variety of situations. Granite plays well with a variety of styles, fitting in equally well in a modern setting and a farmhouse one; the latter is seen in this inviting space designed by K&D Landscape Management in Chicago. Pros It is durable and won’t be damaged by heat. When sealed properly, it is resistant to stains, mold and mildew. The colors won’t fade from sun exposure. Cons Granite can be more expensive than some other options. Cost: $56 to $80 per square foot installed, according to U.S. national figures from the 2019 Houzz Remodel Costs Database. Estimates assume a subcontractor markup of 10 percent for materials and labor. Costs can be higher depending on the locale, scope of the project and addition of a general contractor overseeing the project.
Design tip: Squeeze in extra seating. Instead of extending the counter of the outdoor kitchen, Wood used the few square yards of extra space under the shade structure to add built-in seating. Adding permanent seating in the outdoor kitchen — where guests often congregate anyway — was a smart way to provide yet one more hangout spot in the backyard and to capitalize on the shade.
Feldman Architecture designed this residence on the central California coast for a client who had grown up in a Cliff May house and wanted to replicate the California architect’s nature-centric midcentury modern ranch style. The challenge was to accommodate expansive glass in an eco-conscious way. The team addressed it with east-west siting to maximize passive solar gain; concrete floors and rammed-earth walls to act as a thermal mass; photovoltaic panels on the south-facing roof; and overhangs, ceiling fans and operable shading to act as a passive heating and cooling system. Three tanks capture rainwater for landscape irrigation.
Architect Francisco Garcia of Modern Architecture Services designed a copper boomerang installation to partially shade the entrance of an accessible San Diego home. The motif repeats on the glass door insets as well as on windows and trusses, visible in other photos of the renovation.
Being realistic about how large an outdoor kitchen you really need — compared with other use priorities — can help cut down on wasted space in a patio design. For example, landscape designer Elizabeth Przygoda-Montgomery of BOXHILL says her client for this Tucson, Arizona, project was clear that she didn’t want a bulky barbecue — just one large enough for grilling zucchini and portobello mushrooms. The space saved in the outdoor kitchen allowed more room for a spacious entertaining space and built-in hearth.
If you’re tight on space but a pizza oven tops your outdoor kitchen wish list, this sophisticated design by Harrison’s Landscaping for a home on the Sydney harbor can serve as inspiration. The moderately sized pizza oven nestles into a corner of a linear outdoor kitchen setup atop heat-resistant concrete countertops, hardly taking up more room than a standard-size grill. Work with a mason on an outdoor pizza oven
The ability to tuck a grill behind a tidy screen when not in use makes perfect sense. It not only makes for a sleek aesthetic design, but it also protects the barbecue from the elements. It’s therefore no surprise that this clever design by Andrew Mitchell of Mr. Mitchell in Australia, featuring a grill that disappears behind a mini garage-style door, has been saved to over 190,000 Houzz ideabooks.
5. Living Wall This kitchen garden designed by Patricia Fox of Aralia is a feast for the eyes and the plate. Living walls overflowing with lettuces and edible greens, and built-in planters housing citrus trees and culinary herbs, provide abundant ingredients for a backyard feast. Contemporary Landscape by Aralia: Innovation in Landscape Design Aralia: Innovation in Landscape Design Email Save While installing and maintaining a living wall of this size is unrealistic for most of us, use vertical space to your advantage when planning an edible garden. Try planting a smaller living wall with seasonal herbs, or plant a grape or kiwi vine to cover a sunny vertical surface.
Pond extension. Koi enjoy room to swim around. Keep them in good shape by using side yard space to expand their habitat.
Terraces. A side slope can present a number of design challenges that are best dealt with during the site planning process. If you are planning on new construction, don’t let your side yard be an afterthought you plan on dealing with later — work with a landscape architect to terrace or otherwise make the best use of the space before you break ground.
Dropping the seating area of this deck in Florida keeps those jaw-dropping views of the ocean completely clear and uncluttered by furniture. Careful choices on how to cut the deck boards for the sunken seating area resulted in a minimalist design for a diving-board-shaped outdoor table. We imagine that it’s just about the perfect size for a few tropical drinks and a tray of appetizers.
Michael Lee Architects Email Save Expansive sliding doors disappear into adjacent glass walls. Their tracks are flush with the ground, making the transition between indoors and outdoors nearly seamless. “The interior and exterior materials overlap through the glass walls of the house, and plants appear to come into the house because of the large glazed openings and the layering of the spaces,” Lee says. The design team focused on creating a casual, beachy space that feels contemporary but also reflects a slightly retro, Zen-inspired vibe. “Vintage-modern was our theme,” Lee says. The Spanish cedar cladding, custom white brick, soaking tub, wood decking and planting palette were selected to reinforce the theme.
The deck also features an outdoor kitchen, including a grill, a sink, beverage fridges and built-in ipe-and-stainless steel cabinets. LED lighting under a bent plate steel shelf illuminates the workspace, just as you’d see in an interior kitchen. Basaltina (a durable volcanic stone) is used for the countertop, with a coordinating stone-effect porcelain for the backsplash. Outdoor appliances and stainless steel cabinets: Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet; porcelain on backsplash: Waterfall, Quarziti 2.0 collection, Mirage
TV Lounge A covered outdoor TV lounge is a couple of steps down from the spa terrace. A pergola made from structural steel tubing painted black and two-by-four ipe louvers shades the space. Ultimately, the wood will turn gray, as will all the wood in the yard. Like the spa, the TV lounge was designed for use beyond the warm months. Acrylic panels top the pergola and protect the seating area from rain and wet weather. Ceiling-mounted heaters allow the homeowners to use the space later into the year. “You can enjoy the lounge in fall and watch football when it’s chilly and turn on the heaters,” McFadden says. The TV and the pergola are mounted on the garage, with garage access from the seating area.
The spa, measuring 5 feet wide by 14 feet long by 4 feet deep, is heated year-round. An automatic cover protects it when not in use.
Combining the kitchen and dining room made the most of the narrow width of the house, and steel-framed accordion doors completely open this area up to the backyard. This makes the outdoor kitchen, fire pit, bar and patio a natural extension of this space. Architectural moves like this make the average-sized house feel much larger than it is.
7. Heated Seating in San Francisco It turns out that “being in the hot seat” is the prime spot for this San Francisco patio. The cast stone and steel bench plugs into an outdoor outlet and offers gentle radiant heat to anyone sitting on it. The heated bench helps extend time spent outdoors on a cool fall evening or when the fog rolls in
Imperfect Interiors has an enviable conservatory feel thanks to its glass roof and expansive windows. The built-in bench allows room for more folks to cozy up in here than chairs would, while scads of throw pillows keep things comfortable.
This Hawaiian treehouse by Kauai Eco Builders is a standout due to a wave-inspired roofline that extends all the way down the back wall, and clever design elements like the log that serves as the stairway stringer and the branches that form the railing. Style note: The curved wall and hanging chair on the inside of the treehouse make this the ultimate spot for relaxing after a morning of surfing.
Vertical Gardens In this Australian garden, there’s a lot more going on than meets the eye. The vertical edible garden incorporates an aquaponics system for fish waste harvesting, which provides fertilizer. It has built-in seating on top of this system, and the homeowners’ chickens roam through here as well.
this kitchen does not interrupt or challenge the view
Q