The design for this residence combines contemporary and traditional styles, and includes stairs and a curving drive to provide a warm welcome to the home. A comfortable bluestone terrace and patio provide elegant outdoor entertaining spaces. Photo by Greg Premru.

Backyard fire pit. Taken by Lara Swimmer. Landscape Design by ModernBackyard

Photos By; Nate Grant

Kara Mosher © 2012 Houzz

The arbor over the swing is intended to shade the sitting area in this hot yard as the sun comes from the left side of the swing. Evergreen Pandorea vines eventually grew over the top. The style mimicked that of the already existing pergola on the deck. The swing gives the family a resting place to watch people practicing on the putting green.

Often, less is more. Take this landscape design composed of climbing roses, hydrangeas, and lilies surrounding a bluestone terrace. This small, suburban garden feels both expansive and intimate. Japanese forest grass softens the edge of the terrace and adds just enough of a modern look to make the garden’s owners, urban transplants, happy. “My husband and I were looking for an outdoor space that had a secret-garden feeling,” says homeowner Anne Lillis-Ruth. “We’ve had fun adding furniture, antique planters, and a stone fountain to [landscape designer] Robert Welsch’s beautiful landscape. The white and green plantings provide the perfect backdrop to my collection of colorful table linens, glassware, and china. We love our garden!” Dean Fisher loved it, too. “The setting is so lovely and relaxed. It evokes the south of France, with its intimate scale and the integration of house and patio through the use of the vines and other plantings.”

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James R. Salomon Photography

A once forgotten side yard turns into a charming gravel garden Martin Residence Cardiff by the Sea, Ca

A paver patio and fire pit are the perfect compliment to a large addition/renovation project in Clayton, Missouri. Notice the built-in lighting along the wall with a cap for seating.

Gazebo, Covered Wood Structure, Outdoor Fireplace, Outdoor Living Space, Concrete Paver Hardscape, Ambient Lighting, Landscape Lighting, Outdoor Lighting,