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All Photos/outdoor/landscapes : walkways

Outdoor Walkways Design Photos and Ideas

"Our many ideas were floating around the mountain, and we needed someone to bring them down and turn them into reality,
A covered breezeway connects the main house and the guest house. Here, Legge took the opportunity to play with perspective, framing part of a tree and the sky with an abstract roof cutout.
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.
Filled with predominately Australian plants, the garden is easy to look after.
“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.
What used to be the driveway is now a private side patio where the family regularly eats dinner. Ikea chairs join a table the couple made themselves.
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.
In the backyard, the couple added a pergola, greenhouse, and outdoor dining space for $6,000.
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.
Chickens foraging in an enclosed garden with vertical planters.
On the home's east side, the overhang created by the second story volume shades the front door while still allowing morning light into the bedrooms.
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 courtyard brings natural light into the lower level of the home, which has a den/media room, guest suite/workout area, and storage and mechanical.
The couple followed permaculture principles for their garden, complete with a robust compost system. You’ll also find an orchard, native prairie grasses, and a winter pond on the land.
Rear garden
Bob sits in the entry courtyard with his dog, Goya.
The expansive grassy lawns features several ponds, fountains, native greenery, and even a tea house.
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.
“Watching the sunrise and moonrise from the living room is gobsmacking,” says James.
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.
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.
Their daughters, Annapurna, left, and Siddartha, play with their dog, Anouck, beneath the kangaroo paws in the entry garden courtyard.
Homeowner Jay Longtin served as the general contractor and performed the majority of the remodel work, aside from the outdoor floors, concrete, and pool, which were done by Architectural Blue.
These projects cleverly address issues ranging from affordable housing to building sustainably in the face of climate change.
Taking inspiration from the popular Japanese film <i>My Neighbor Totoro</i>, Sydney firm CplusC Architectural Workshop renovated a four-bedroom family residence to celebrate the importance of human relationships and a connection with the natural world. A rear extension with a spacious, open-plan living area connects to an outdoor deck and landscaped backyard.
In one of several distinct outdoor spaces, a pink terrazzo tub creates an oasis under the palms.
“The roof overhang extends the living space,” says Boyer, so the deck becomes a spot to entertain visiting friends and family. The couple have been working to restore the surrounding land, as well.
The Smiths’ new cabin, designed by Risa Boyer Architecture and completed in 2020, sits in the same spot as their previous home, on five acres on Mount Veeder, in Northern California. Somehow, the red chicken coop, which is constructed of wood, survived the fire with the chickens still alive inside.
The verdant enclave provides both moments for pausing and an invitation to stroll. “As we designed, we thought of the landscape as a picture and a place you move through,” says Van Valkenburgh. <span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">More than 60 plant species were used in the layered design.</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>
<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">Gently graded steps covered in pine needles wander through the home’s L-shaped garden, designed by landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh. A</span><span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;">six-foot-tall wooden fence shields the garden from the street, adding to the feeling of refuge. “The idea behind the garden is the opposite of minimalism,” says Van Valkenburgh. “It’s about complexity and a range of experiences and shifts. These are what make it absorbing.” </span>
To his credit, the original owner and builder of an ’80s-era home in Byron Bay, Australia, kept it “in pretty good nick,” as designer Micka Etheridge puts it. “He’d dusted the window frames once a week for thirty-five years.” Etheridge took that same care expanding the house for its new owners, Cheryl and James Kitchener, who love its greenery and mellow, vintage vibe.
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 atrium is a lovely place to sit outside while still being somewhat protected.
Two new structures were also built in the backyard, and connected to the main house via the landscape plan by Lilyvilla Gardens. One is a 485-square-foot guest house, and the other is a 375-square-foot workshop for the owner, who’s a bike builder. They have the same exterior siding as the main house: rough-sawn tongue and groove cedar.
An exterior shot of the hillside residence offers a glimpse of the property's spectacular vistas.
The backyard is a protected retreat out of the wind. The team added a balcony off the kitchen at the third floor. It has a ship’s ladder to access the roof deck, in order to service solar panels installed there. The balcony also has a grill for cooking al-fresco. “You gotta be able to go out back and barbecue – this is the beach after all,” says Levy.
"The semi-public front porch projects out from the front of the house to grab views of the 'camel head' part of the mountain,
The team squeezed a 150-square foot cabana with a murphy bed and a full bath at the back end of the property. "It does a lot for that corner by providing little in-between spaces.,
A pathway winds between a pair of Japanese maples and a myrtle tree that dates to the home’s original construction. The floor-to-ceiling windows and sliders are by Fleetwood.
This tiny one-bedroom rental was designed by Cornwall-based architecture firm Studio Arc, with interiors by Jess Clark. Originally a thatched cottage, the space was updated with aged concrete for a modern feel, while wood shingle walls add a sense of nostalgia.
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