The Pavilion is a contemporary outdoor living addition to a Federation house in Roseville, NSW. The existing house sits on a 1550sqm block of land and is a substantial renovated two storey family home. The 900sqm north facing rear yard slopes gently down from the back of the house and is framed by mature deciduous trees. The client wanted to create something special “out the back”, to replace an old timber pergola and update the pebblecrete pool, surrounded by uneven brick paving and tubular pool fencing. After years living in Asia, the client’s vision was for a year round, comfortable outdoor living space; shaded from the hot Australian sun, protected from the rain, and warmed by an outdoor fireplace and heaters during the cooler Sydney months. The result is large outdoor living room, which provides generous space for year round outdoor living and entertaining and connects the house to both the pool and the deep back yard. The Pavilion at Roseville is a new in-between space, blurring the distinction between inside and out. It celebrates the contemporary culture of outdoor living, gathering friends & family outside, around the bbq, pool and hearth.

Used brick patio and fireplace create a warm and cozy outdoor living space.
Photo of a traditional patio in Philadelphia with a fire feature.

A view from the exterior spaces to the interior spaces. Photo Credit: Mark Pinkerton, vi360
Photo of a large mediterranean courtyard patio in San Francisco with no cover and brick pavers.

Outdoor furniture: EMU from Room & Board. Photography by: Chris Martinez
Design ideas for a mediterranean garden in Albuquerque with with lawn edging.

This family enjoyed a full extension of the living space by enclosing their patio with Weatherwell aluminum shutters and creating the ultimate outdoor kitchen. The lockable shutters where installed as bifolds so the family can close them to secure their furniture, give them privacy, or weather the elements, or they can open the entirely to enjoy the outside.

This masterfully designed outdoor living space feels open, airy, and filled with light thanks to the lighter finishes and the fabric pergola shade. Clean, modern lines and a muted color palette add to the spa-like feel of this outdoor living space.

A gorgeous, northwestern inspired outdoor living space, Montana style with beautiful hardwood floors to boot!
Photo of a country patio in Other with a roof extension and with fireplace.

This cozy courtyard was made for entertaining. Featuring a charcoal palette, this outdoor space embraces natural wood tones and textures throughout and throws of color through florals. Whether in the morning for a cup of tea or in the evening for drinks, this beautiful outdoor space is more than welcoming.

This intimate, interconnected landscape gives these homeowners three spaces that make being outside a joy. Low stucco walls create a courtyard near the front door that has as unique sense of privacy, making it a great place to pause and view the pond below. Under the deck the stucco walls wrap around a patio, creating a perfect place for a cool refuge from hot summer days. A custom-made fountain is integrated into the wall, a bed of lush flowers is woven into the bluestone, and a view to the surrounding landscape is framed by the posts of the deck above. The rear patio is made of large bluestone pieces. Grassy seams between the stone soften the hard surface. Towering evergreens create privacy, drifts of colorful perennials surround the seat walls, and clumps of Aspen trees define the entrance to this enchanting outdoor room.

Boodle Concepts
This is an example of a traditional front yard garden in Melbourne.

These homeowners wanted something that would make the ultimate outdoor living space with the practical functionality of sun protection and the added privacy of the lattice panels.

This shade arbor, located in The Woodlands, TX north of Houston, spans the entire length of the back yard. It combines a number of elements with custom structures that were constructed to emulate specific aspects of a Zen garden. The homeowner wanted a low-maintenance garden whose beauty could withstand the tough seasonal weather that strikes the area at various times of the year. He also desired a mood-altering aesthetic that would relax the senses and calm the mind. Most importantly, he wanted this meditative environment completely shielded from the outside world so he could find serenity in total privacy. The most unique design element in this entire project is the roof of the shade arbor itself. It features a “negative space” leaf pattern that was designed in a software suite and cut out of the metal with a water jet cutter. Each form in the pattern is loosely suggestive of either a leaf, or a cluster of leaves. These small, negative spaces cut from the metal are the source of the structure’ powerful visual and emotional impact. During the day, sunlight shines down and highlights columns, furniture, plantings, and gravel with a blend of dappling and shade that make you feel like you are sitting under the branches of a tree. At night, the effects are even more brilliant. Skillfully concealed lights mounted on the trusses reflect off the steel in places, while in other places they penetrate the negative spaces, cascading brilliant patterns of ambient light down on vegetation, hardscape, and water alike. The shade arbor shelters two gravel patios that are almost identical in space. The patio closest to the living room features a mini outdoor dining room, replete with tables and chairs. The patio is ornamented with a blend of ornamental grass, a small human figurine sculpture, and mid-level impact ground cover. Gravel was chosen as the preferred hardscape material because of its Zen-like connotations. It is also remarkably soft to walk on, helping to set the mood for a relaxed afternoon in the dappled shade of gently filtered sunlight. The second patio, spaced 15 feet away from the first, resides adjacent to the home at the opposite end of the shade arbor. Like its twin, it is also ornamented with ground cover borders, ornamental grasses, and a large urn identical to the first. Seating here is even more private and contemplative. Instead of a table and chairs, there is a large decorative concrete bench cut in the shape of a giant four-leaf clover. Spanning the distance between these two patios, a bluestone walkway connects the two spaces. Along the way, its borders are punctuated in places by low-level ornamental grasses, a large flowering bush, another sculpture in the form of human faces, and foxtail ferns that spring up from a spread of river rock that punctuates the ends of the walkway. The meditative quality of the shade arbor is reinforced by two special features. The first of these is a disappearing fountain that flows from the top of a large vertical stone embedded like a monolith in the other edges of the river rock. The drains and pumps to this fountain are carefully concealed underneath the covering of smooth stones, and the sound of the water is only barely perceptible, as if it is trying to force you to let go of your thoughts to hear it. A large piece of core-10 steel, which is deliberately intended to rust quickly, rises up like an arced wall from behind the fountain stone. The dark color of the metal helps the casual viewer catch just a glimpse of light reflecting off the slow trickle of water that runs down the side of the stone into the river rock bed. To complete the quiet moment that the shade arbor is intended to invoke, a thick wall of cypress trees rises up on all sides of the yard, completely shutting out the disturbances of the world with a comforting wall of living greenery that comforts the thoughts and emotions.

Dining under the pergola can be enjoyed year round at this San Diego residence. The columns, wood members, and vines come together to create an ideal al fresco dining location. The outdoor fireplace heightens the ambience in this special gathering space. The large woven dining set seats up to 12 for outdoor dinner parties. Credits: Hamilton-Gray Design, San Diego

pergolas, arbors, outdoor fireplace, outdoor living space, privacy screen, custom wood structure, bluestone hardscaping, outdoor lighting, ambiance lighting

Photo of a large traditional backyard verandah in Atlanta with a roof extension and decking.

Outdoor living space, outdoor fireplace, outdoor kitchen, outdoor seating, ambiance lighting, outdoor lighting bluestone hardscaping, Outdoor living space, outdoor fireplace, outdoor kitchen, outdoor seating, ambiance lighting, outdoor lighting, bluestone hardscaping, wood fired over, pizza over

ZeroEnergy Design (ZED) created this modern home for a progressive family in the desirable community of Lexington. Thoughtful Land Connection. The residence is carefully sited on the infill lot so as to create privacy from the road and neighbors, while cultivating a side yard that captures the southern sun. The terraced grade rises to meet the house, allowing for it to maintain a structured connection with the ground while also sitting above the high water table. The elevated outdoor living space maintains a strong connection with the indoor living space, while the stepped edge ties it back to the true ground plane. Siting and outdoor connections were completed by ZED in collaboration with landscape designer Soren Deniord Design Studio. Exterior Finishes and Solar. The exterior finish materials include a palette of shiplapped wood siding, through-colored fiber cement panels and stucco. A rooftop parapet hides the solar panels above, while a gutter and site drainage system directs rainwater into an irrigation cistern and dry wells that recharge the groundwater. Cooking, Dining, Living. Inside, the kitchen, fabricated by Henrybuilt, is located between the indoor and outdoor dining areas. The expansive south-facing sliding door opens to seamlessly connect the spaces, using a retractable awning to provide shade during the summer while still admitting the warming winter sun. The indoor living space continues from the dining areas across to the sunken living area, with a view that returns again to the outside through the corner wall of glass. Accessible Guest Suite. The design of the first level guest suite provides for both aging in place and guests who regularly visit for extended stays. The patio off the north side of the house affords guests their own private outdoor space, and privacy from the neighbor. Similarly, the second level master suite opens to an outdoor private roof deck. Light and Access. The wide open interior stair with a glass panel rail leads from the top level down to the well insulated basement. The design of the basement, used as an away/play space, addresses the need for both natural light and easy access. In addition to the open stairwell, light is admitted to the north side of the area with a high performance, Passive House (PHI) certified skylight, covering a six by sixteen foot area. On the south side, a unique roof hatch set flush with the deck opens to reveal a glass door at the base of the stairwell which provides additional light and access from the deck above down to the play space. Energy. Energy consumption is reduced by the high performance building envelope, high efficiency mechanical systems, and then offset with renewable energy. All windows and doors are made of high performance triple paned glass with thermally broken aluminum frames. The exterior wall assembly employs dense pack cellulose in the stud cavity, a continuous air barrier, and four inches exterior rigid foam insulation. The 10kW rooftop solar electric system provides clean energy production. The final air leakage testing yielded 0.6 ACH 50 - an extremely air tight house, a testament to the well-designed details, progress testing and quality construction. When compared to a new house built to code requirements, this home consumes only 19% of the energy. Architecture & Energy Consulting: ZeroEnergy Design Landscape Design: Soren Deniord Design Paintings: Bernd Haussmann Studio Photos: Eric Roth Photography

This beautiful home features a spacious indoor-outdoor living area with a gorgeous gas fireplace adorned with Coronado Stone Products Valley Cobble Stone / Wind River. This space features a great area for family and friends to gather and relax. This home was built by Rosewood Homes

To create a colonial outdoor living space, we gut renovated this patio, incorporating heated bluestones, a custom traditional fireplace and bespoke furniture. The space was divided into three distinct zones for cooking, dining, and lounging. Firing up the built-in gas grill or a relaxing by the fireplace, this space brings the inside out.