The black sliding doors can be completely open to create the perfect indoor-outdoor living experience.
Inspiration for a large contemporary deck in Seattle with a roof extension.

The custom double sided fireplace helps to frame the Chicago skyline. Cynthia Lynn
Photo of a mid-sized contemporary rooftop and rooftop deck in Chicago with a fire feature and a pergola.

Indoor-outdoor courtyard, living room in mid-century-modern home. Living room with expansive views of the San Francisco Bay, with wood ceilings and floor to ceiling sliding doors. Courtyard with round dining table and wicker patio chairs, orange lounge chair and wood side table. Large potted plants on teak deck tiles in the Berkeley hills, California.

Designed using Trex Transcend decking in Lava Rock – a rich reddish-black shade with subtle shading and natural shade variations creating distinctive hardwood-like streaking and intense tropical hues and Trex Transcend decking in Tiki Torch – a warm, earthy shade features rich, reddish-brown hardwood streaking, and is designed to off the look of real tropical hardwoods with slight variations of color and streaking. Additional Trex products featured include Trex Elevations, Trex Reveal railing, Trex Pergola, Trex Outdoor Furniture and Trex Outdoor Lighting – stair riser lights, post cap lights and recessed lights.

This roofdeck highlights some of the best elements of outdoor construction materials. Highlighted with an array of reclaimed timber including Elm and Oak to the Ipe decking. A steel and cedar pergola help frame the Chicago skyline behind the stone fireplace. Cynthia Lynn

Walk through shower to outdoor deck with outdoor shower and tub. Architect: Cathy Schwabe Architecture Interior Design: John Lum Architecture Landscape Architect: Arterra LLP, Vera Gates Lighting Design: Alice Prussin Color Consultant: Judith Paquette Photograph: David Wakely

Photography by Linda Oyama Bryan
This is an example of a small contemporary backyard deck in Other with no cover.

Elegant multi-level Ipe Deck features simple lines, built-in benches with an unobstructed view of terraced gardens and pool. (c) Decks by Kiefer ~ New jersey

This is an example of a large beach style backyard deck in Chicago.

casual dining under a tigerwood ceiling on an ipe deck adjacent to a light limestone patio with an outdoor kitchen for a chef designed & built by austin outdoor design photo by ryann ford

For this remodel in Portola Valley, California we were hired to rejuvenate a circa 1980 modernist house clad in deteriorating vertical wood siding. The house included a greenhouse style sunroom which got so unbearably hot as to be unusable. We opened up the floor plan and completely demolished the sunroom, replacing it with a new dining room open to the remodeled living room and kitchen. We added a new office and deck above the new dining room and replaced all of the exterior windows, mostly with oversized sliding aluminum doors by Fleetwood to open the house up to the wooded hillside setting. Stainless steel railings protect the inhabitants where the sliding doors open more than 50 feet above the ground below. We replaced the wood siding with stucco in varying tones of gray, white and black, creating new exterior lines, massing and proportions. We also created a new master suite upstairs and remodeled the existing powder room. Architecture by Mark Brand Architecture. Interior Design by Mark Brand Architecture in collaboration with Applegate Tran Interiors. Lighting design by Luminae Souter. Photos by Christopher Stark Photography.

Klopf Architecture and Outer space Landscape Architects designed a new warm, modern, open, indoor-outdoor home in Los Altos, California. Inspired by mid-century modern homes but looking for something completely new and custom, the owners, a couple with two children, bought an older ranch style home with the intention of replacing it. Created on a grid, the house is designed to be at rest with differentiated spaces for activities; living, playing, cooking, dining and a piano space. The low-sloping gable roof over the great room brings a grand feeling to the space. The clerestory windows at the high sloping roof make the grand space light and airy. Upon entering the house, an open atrium entry in the middle of the house provides light and nature to the great room. The Heath tile wall at the back of the atrium blocks direct view of the rear yard from the entry door for privacy. The bedrooms, bathrooms, play room and the sitting room are under flat wing-like roofs that balance on either side of the low sloping gable roof of the main space. Large sliding glass panels and pocketing glass doors foster openness to the front and back yards. In the front there is a fenced-in play space connected to the play room, creating an indoor-outdoor play space that could change in use over the years. The play room can also be closed off from the great room with a large pocketing door. In the rear, everything opens up to a deck overlooking a pool where the family can come together outdoors. Wood siding travels from exterior to interior, accentuating the indoor-outdoor nature of the house. Where the exterior siding doesn’t come inside, a palette of white oak floors, white walls, walnut cabinetry, and dark window frames ties all the spaces together to create a uniform feeling and flow throughout the house. The custom cabinetry matches the minimal joinery of the rest of the house, a trim-less, minimal appearance. Wood siding was mitered in the corners, including where siding meets the interior drywall. Wall materials were held up off the floor with a minimal reveal. This tight detailing gives a sense of cleanliness to the house. The garage door of the house is completely flush and of the same material as the garage wall, de-emphasizing the garage door and making the street presentation of the house kinder to the neighborhood. The house is akin to a custom, modern-day Eichler home in many ways. Inspired by mid-century modern homes with today’s materials, approaches, standards, and technologies. The goals were to create an indoor-outdoor home that was energy-efficient, light and flexible for young children to grow. This 3,000 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom new house is located in Los Altos in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Klopf Architecture Project Team: John Klopf, AIA, and Chuang-Ming Liu 
Landscape Architect: Outer space Landscape Architects 
Structural Engineer: ZFA Structural Engineers 
Staging: Da Lusso Design 
Photography ©2018 Mariko Reed 
Location: Los Altos, CA
 Year completed: 2017

Two level deck with upper and lower wood-burning fireplaces, built-in ceiling heaters and numerous skylights for lots of sun.
Inspiration for a country patio in Seattle with a fire feature.

Indoor-outdoor courtyard, living room in mid-century-modern home. Living room with expansive views of the San Francisco Bay, with wood ceilings and floor to ceiling sliding doors. Courtyard with round dining table and wicker patio chairs, orange lounge chair and wood side table. Large potted plants on teak deck tiles in the Berkeley hills, California.

Surrounded by 30 year old trees, the homeowners were looking for an organic, modern, low maintenance finish to their outdoor environment. Utilizing the pre-existing mature apple tree in the backyard VisionScapes developed a tranquil retreat that extended the sq.ft of the home through a series of terraced concrete and wood decks. Pathways and patio systems were locally sourced from a quarry on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Photo credit: Jamen Rhodes

We transformed this outdoor space into a beautiful retreat and then gave the living room a design lift for indoor and outdoor spaces that our client can sit back and relax in!

Photo of a mid-sized eclectic backyard and ground level deck in Philadelphia with no cover and metal railing.

Deck, outdoor furniture, outdoor design layout, color, flowers, flower pots, wood deck, outdoor rug
Photo of a traditional deck in Portland with no cover.

deck and patio design
Photo of a large traditional rooftop and rooftop deck in Chicago with a pergola.