New Year’s Sale: Get 20% off Dwell with promo code YEAR20
  • Home Tours
    • Dwell Exclusives
    • Before & After
    • Budget Breakdown
    • Renovations
    • Prefab
    • Video Tours
    • Travel
    • Real Estate
    • Vacation Rentals
  • Photos
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Bathrooms
    • Kitchens
    • Staircases
    • Outdoor
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • All Issues
  • Shop
    • Shopping Guides
    • Furniture
    • Lighting & Fans
    • Decor & More
    • Kitchen & Dining
    • Bath & Bed
  • Projects
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Modern
    • Midcentury
    • Industrial
    • Farmhouses
    • Scandinavian
    • Find a Pro
    • Sourcebook
    • Post a Project
  • Collections
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Shopping
    • Recently Saved
    • Planning
SubscribeSign In
  • FILTER

    • All Photos
    • Editor’s Picks
    • outdoor
  • Locations

    • Back Yard(1368)
    • Front Yard(426)
    • Rooftop(138)
    • Side Yard(499)
    • Garden(269)
    • Slope(165)
    • Field(75)
    • Woodland(231)
    • Desert(62)
  • Landscapes

    • Trees(2986)
    • Shrubs(1247)
    • Grass(1199)
    • Hardscapes(645)
    • Gardens(493)
    • Flowers(149)
    • Vegetables(35)
    • Boulders(161)
    • Raised Planters(189)
    • Walkways(624)
  • Pools, Tubs, Showers

    • Large(388)
    • Small(167)
    • Plunge(45)
    • Swimming(374)
    • Lap(65)
    • Infinity(79)
    • Salt Water(13)
    • Concrete(75)
    • Prefab Container
    • Standard Construction(19)
    • Hot Tub(50)
    • Shower(25)
  • Patio, Porch, Deck

    • Large(1008)
    • Small(510)
    • Wood(728)
    • Concrete(588)
    • Metal(77)
    • Stone(285)
    • Decomposed Granite(58)
    • Pavers(161)
    • Tile(71)
    • Decking(358)
    • Planters(63)
  • Fences, Walls

    • Horizontal(316)
    • Vertical(208)
    • Wood(321)
    • Metal(205)
    • Wire(49)
    • Concrete(181)
    • Stone(139)
    • Retaining(53)
  • Lighting

    • Hanging(256)
    • Landscape(218)
    • Post(27)
All Photos/outdoor/landscapes : trees

Outdoor Trees Design Photos and Ideas

Architects Mathilde Nicoulaud and Olivier Lekien recreated a 1930 compact house in Montreuil, France, on the outskirts of Paris as their ideal family home.
A firepit and an inflatable hot tub with a wicker surround add a bit of luxury to Joe and Rachel’s Venice Beach rental.
Rachel and Joe relaxing with their dog Camp around the fire pit in the outdoor space. The fire pit was purchased on Facebook Marketplace and the seating is from Oasis Imports in Malibu.
“Many people said ‘you’re crazy,’ because it’s a circular house,” says homeowner Sergio Goyri. “But in the end, we just love how easy it is to go from one place to the other and how we communicate. Every room is integrated, and that’s what we were looking for for a weekend family house."
"Our many ideas were floating around the mountain, and we needed someone to bring them down and turn them into reality,
Another move that reduces the house's environmental impact is the inclusion of photovoltaic panels on the roof. The panels generate enough energy to offset 95% of the house’s consumption.
According to the homeowners, one concession they made to save money was downgrading the exterior retaining wall from a gabion retaining wall to native limestone blocks.
In this Australian project, a resort-worthy swimming pool sits beside the industrial-chic kitchen and living area. It's a joy to swim in, of course, but the body of water also provides evaporative cooling for the courtyard.
“We had been searching for a pine with the appropriate shape for quite a long time,” says Wakebayashi of the garden’s signature planting. “Then, Mr. Nakamura strongly recommended this special pine tree to us.”
The Cotage
Unique among tiny homes, ESCAPE's Classic wraps the entryway in a screened-in and roof porch. It could also be fully enclosed to add an extra room to the home.
The hot tub is a highlight of the home. “It was worth the investment,” says Kara. “Especially late at night when you can see the stars.”
While Nature Pod pictured here has a showerhead installed outside, it is normally placed in the in the bathroom behind a glass door (or a curtain if the home is purchased without insulation).
At Casa Cantellano, light is omnipresent, with vegetation-rich courtyards around every corner.
“Our drive to have a landscaped garden was for the kids to be able to have a space where they could adventure around the place,” says Natalie. “And part of what we enjoy is being able to sit and admire something that’s so beautiful.” They chose hardy Australian native plants to make the garden easy to maintain with minimal water.
Natalie and Lauren wanted to replicate the feel of a Zen garden with their home’s central courtyard. The garden features a Japanese maple that pops against the charred timber cladding, while structurally, the U-shape design ushers light right through to the back of the house.
The balance of mint green-painted ironwork, plants, pool, and blue sky capture the warmth of the Mérida indoor-outdoor living environment.
Red- and blue-pigmented cement augments the color palette of the courtyard.
FMT Estudio renovated the pool deck with sanded red bricks manufactured in central Mexico.
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.
Moss-covered rocks and twisted tree trunks give the landscape a fairyland-like quality.
Danny envisioned the space between the ADU and the house as an informal place to gather. "It creates a sort of courtyard sensibility, which works for our intergenerational family dynamics."
The reading nook corridor has a sizeable sliding glass door that pockets into more glass, with thresholds flush between the cork floors on the interior and the large format porcelain tile on the exterior. The center of the atrium is filled with raked 1/8” Desert Gold crushed granite.
The home's wood deck is a neutral base that compliments the home's back and white features.
<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">The simple wood deck features innovative cutouts that allow full-grown Yucca trees to peek through.</span>
<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;"> </span>
A perfectly groomed backyard lawn with a paver patio.
<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">Wood adirondack chairs surrounding a stone firepit. </span>
A healthy budget for landscaping allowed Leah to achieve a natural, wild look with plants. “I wanted to look out and see just lush plants growing wild,” she says. The collage of native vegetation was also used to soften the transitions between surface materials and backyard zones.
The terrace is a favorite gathering place. The house is positioned facing south to get the most sun exposure.
Living in between the woods
The Douglas fir deck that extends from the front facade of one of the cabins features a sunken tub that lets users feel as if they're floating above the clouds while bathing.
The house is divided into three sections connected by a series of outdoor galleries. “When I walk from one room to another, I have to go outdoors and feel the weather and nature—rain, cold, and sun,” says Sævik. 

Instead of emphasizing the expansive panorama of oak, pine, and aspen trees, the house frames select views—a move inspired by Japanese design.
On the outskirts of Grândola—a small Alentejan town in the Setúbal district of Portugal—a dramatic architectural form sits in the vast, arid landscape amidst cork trees and herds of cows. The whitewashed guesthouse is known as Casa da Volta, which translates as "Home of the Return,
Situated on a gentle slope, the tiny home features a gable roof, a rectangular silhouette, and an expansive wood deck that extends from the front facade.
The expansive grassy lawns features several ponds, fountains, native greenery, and even a tea house.
Alloi's design solution for the exterior envelope included exterior rigid insulation to reduce solar heat gain, and recycled newspaper blown-in cellulose insulation at interior and exterior walls, creating an energy efficient and peacefully quiet home.
Eisler Landscapes provided plants for the yard.
Perforated steel screens provide shading and privacy to the interior living spaces. The garden extends from the inner courtyard to the rear yard with open, connected spaces.
A white gravel allée leads to Onur and Alix Kece’s weekend retreat an hour outside Paris. The couple, a pair of creatives, oversaw the renovation of the long-neglected 1892 structure themselves, with Onur designing the living spaces and built-ins and Alix responsible for everything else. “We were looking for something that was in bad shape, a place we could completely tear apart and renovate from scratch,” says Onur.
Another side of the home opens up onto a large lawn.
“Watching the sunrise and moonrise from the living room is gobsmacking,” says James.
When Zuzana Kovar and Nicholas Skepper set to work updating an aging Queenslander cottage for a young family in Brisbane, the first challenge was the home’s orientation. “We wanted to connect the interior of the house with its garden—a vital space for the family and their children, and one that the cottage previously turned its back on,” says Kovar. Now, an updated layout sets the kitchen, dining, and living room adjacent to the verdant garden, and sight lines through the house connect the indoor and outdoor areas.
“The pool house was something I always wanted to build,” Robert says. The bar is the main attraction. And next to it, a lime tree is within reach to make fresh gin and tonics.
The exterior is constructed from cypress pine wood and lightweight polycarbonate.
The fire pit area displays a 48-inch concrete fire bowl, woven chairs, and upcycled tree stumps for kid-friendly-seating.
Furniture designer Tom Deacon teamed up with pal and architect Andrew Jones to renovate his Toronto townhouse. “Architects tend to think of the building first, the interiors second, and last, the furniture. Our approach was the opposite,” Jones says.
Weekend House, Schroeder, MN, 2009.
Guy (holding Pickles the cat) and Mark transformed the backyard, adding a pool and planting sycamore trees and native grasses. A custom dining table by Angel City Lumber is paired with vintage chairs from Amsterdam Modern.
A section of the facade—a cross between a shoji screen and a barn door—slides open. Planter boxes contain edible varieties that fuel Mary’s culinary explorations.
12345...50Next

The Dwell House Is a Modern Prefab ADU Delivered to Your Backyard

Learn More

About

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Editorial Standards
  • Careers
  • Advertise
  • Media Kit

Subscriptions

  • Subscribe to Dwell
  • Gift Dwell Magazine
  • Dwell+ Subscription Help
  • Magazine Subscription Help

Professionals

  • Post a Project
  • Sell Your Products
  • Contribute to Dwell
  • Promote Your Work

Follow

  • @dwellmagazine on Instagram
  • @dwellmagazine on Pinterest
  • @dwell on Facebook
  • @dwell on Twitter
  • @dwell on Flipboard
  • Dwell RSS

© 2025 Recurrent Ventures Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • DMCA
  • Sitemap