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All Photos/Editor’s Picks/outdoor

Outdoor Design Photos and Ideas

Los Angeles firm Chet Architecture crafts a deeply personal hillside home packed with primary colors—including a custom mural that now holds an even deeper meaning.
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."
On the entrance deck, a hand-crafted wooden couple welcomes visitors. The U-shaped deck surrounds the entire lower level.
"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.
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.
Thanks to the California weather, the couple can make use of the outdoor dining and living area for much of the year.
“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.”
Built to go off the grid, this remote beachside cottage can open up completely to the outdoors with its series of movable wall-sized glass panels and screens. Designed by Herbst Architects, the modest New Zealand bach comprises two rectangular pavilions built with mostly natural materials chosen for their durability, texture, and weathering characteristics.
Whether it’s cross-country skiing in the winter or trail running in the summer, the 330-foot home’s minimalist design encourages Catherine to be outside in the surrounding landscape throughout the year.
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).
The simple wood exterior can be customized based on the owner's wishes.
Fleetwood Windows were installed throughout the home, including as a partition between the living room and deck.
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.
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.
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.
On a clear day, you can catch a whiff of sea salt from atop the cliffside.
The remote location made construction a challenge. Horne ended up widening the road to the cabin in order to move the shipping containers up the cliff.
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."
Francis and RJ relax at home with their two young children.
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.
<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>
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.
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The couple<span style="font-family: Theinhardt, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, sans-serif;"> wanted the house to be a thoughtful contribution to Fire Island's distinctly modern aesthetic. The geometric shape and expansive windows call to mind the vernacular of Sea Ranch while the cedar-clad exterior fits right in with the neighbors. An overhang on the deck adds architectural flare while also helping to reflect light back into the home. </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>
The balcony is an important part of tropical living, allowing one to enjoy breeze and light but also shade.
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.
Surrounded by oak trees and lush grasslands, Field Cabin features a steeply pitched roof and an expansive glass door and decking on the front facade.
The terrace is a favorite gathering place. The house is positioned facing south to get the most sun exposure.
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.
“Typically people don't have pools on a small city lot like this, so we really had to work with what we had,” says Monika. The couple’s child, Sullivan, peaks through the pool’s window.
A vast terrace overlooks a nearby park, while the ground floor patio (connected to Vanbesien’s office) opens up to a garden.
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.
A clear railing creates uninhibited views of the surroundings.
The side walls have been treated as vertical extension of the horizontal surface of the garden, and are used for growing climbers such as jasmine, grapes, honeysuckle, raspberries, beans, peas, and even a climbing fig. Colorful bird’s houses and bug hotels are also mounted on the walls.
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