Design ideas for a contemporary patio in Los Angeles.

Inspiration for a patio in London.

Marion Brenner Photography
This is an example of a large modern front yard patio in San Francisco with a fire feature and natural stone pavers.

Inspiration for a mediterranean patio in New York with a pergola, gravel and with fireplace.

The residence received a full gut renovation to create a modern coastal retreat vacation home. This was achieved by using a neutral color pallet of sands and blues with organic accents juxtaposed with custom furniture’s clean lines and soft textures.

Patio and back exterior view of Traditional White Colonial home with green shutters. Expansive property surrounds this equally large home. This classic home is complete with white vinyl siding, white entryway / windows, and red brick chimneys. Large stone patio with glossy red and brown stone tile, has a surrounding low red brick wall.

The finished garden, an abundance of plants compliment the design of this garden.
This is an example of a contemporary patio in London.

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.

The design intent for this modest home and garden, located on a tree-lined street in Culver City, was to create a family-friendly, versatile, sustainable outdoor environment that grew with the rapidly changing needs of the owners, their three children and their close-knit community. This became the site of the "Neighborhood Film Festival" where family and friends could settle into the oversized sofa, warm themselves by the outdoor firepit/coffee table, and enjoy a movie under the stars.

Photo of a large transitional backyard patio in DC Metro with with fireplace, natural stone pavers and no cover.

Contemporary patio in Miami.

The back yard patio is the new living room. Let’s discuss. If you’ve tried to purchase an outdoor, propane heater, new grill, or even outdoor seating in the past six months, this is not news to you. We’re all doing our best to manage through the pandemic while still enjoying social connections and time with family and friends. The solution that so many of us have adopted is to spend more time outside. There’s a Norwegian saying that says, “there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.” It’s a mantra worth adopting these days. We have a lot of customers who are ready to bundle up and enjoy their back yards as much as they enjoy their living rooms. But these lucky homeowners have had that opportunity for the past six months. Reading any further may make you pretty jealous, but we hope that it inspires you for a future project in your own back yard.

Design ideas for a small contemporary backyard patio in Chicago with a fire feature, natural stone pavers and a pergola.

Eclectic patio in London with no cover.

Restoration and expansion of backyard estate patio area. Bluestone patio with capped seating wall expanded to include extensive plantings, low level lighting, and the addition of a bocce court. - Sallie Hill Design | Landscape Architecture | 339-970-9058 | salliehilldesign.com | photo ©2013 Brian Hill

Brick walkways and a brick patio work in concert with boxwood and yew hedges on this farmhouse landscape. A fire pit, Adirondack furniture and plenty of annual flowers are also woven into the fabric of this landscape design.

Courtyard Garden: Central London: Materials: Cedar wood slatted trellis to the dress the walling, cedar wood smooth decking to the rear with built-in seating framed by bamboo planters. Childrens play sand pit built into the decking showing the cedar top closed to create an adult space. Portland limestone, sawn, all units at the same size adjacent to 2 specimen Acer palmatum. The stems have been pruned to show the sculptural essence of the branch form. Up lighter concealed within a pebble dressing.

Landscape by Gardens by Gabriel; Fire Bowl and Water Feature by Wells Concrete Works; Radial bench by TM Lewis Construction
Design ideas for a mid-sized modern backyard patio in San Luis Obispo with a water feature, concrete slab and no cover.

This is an example of a patio in Toronto.