The comfortable elegance of this French-Country inspired home belies the challenges faced during its conception. The beautiful, wooded site was steeply sloped requiring study of the location, grading, approach, yard and views from and to the rolling Pennsylvania countryside. The client desired an old world look and feel, requiring a sensitive approach to the extensive program. Large, modern spaces could not add bulk to the interior or exterior. Furthermore, it was critical to balance voluminous spaces designed for entertainment with more intimate settings for daily living while maintaining harmonic flow throughout. The result home is wide, approached by a winding drive terminating at a prominent facade embracing the motor court. Stone walls feather grade to the front façade, beginning the masonry theme dressing the structure. A second theme of true Pennsylvania timber-framing is also introduced on the exterior and is subsequently revealed in the formal Great and Dining rooms. Timber-framing adds drama, scales down volume, and adds the warmth of natural hand-wrought materials. The Great Room is literal and figurative center of this master down home, separating casual living areas from the elaborate master suite. The lower level accommodates casual entertaining and an office suite with compelling views. The rear yard, cut from the hillside, is a composition of natural and architectural elements with timber framed porches and terraces accessed from nearly every interior space flowing to a hillside of boulders and waterfalls. The result is a naturally set, livable, truly harmonious, new home radiating old world elegance. This home is powered by a geothermal heating and cooling system and state of the art electronic controls and monitoring systems.

Large contemporary backyard patio in Phoenix with an outdoor kitchen, a gazebo/cabana and brick pavers.

Casey Dunn
This is an example of a large modern backyard patio in Austin with natural stone pavers and a roof extension.

This kitchen includes a stone built-in grill, bead board ceiling, exposed rafters, and a stone in-lay on the formal patio. Designed and built by Land Art Design, Inc.

Bluestone terrace with custom built in kitchen to match the elegant architecture of the home.
Large traditional backyard patio in Providence with an outdoor kitchen, natural stone pavers and no cover.

Outdoor Living - Remodel Photo by Robert Hansen
This is an example of a large contemporary backyard patio in Orange County with a fire feature, a roof extension and natural stone pavers.

We were contacted by a family named Pesek who lived near Memorial Drive on the West side of Houston. They lived in a stately home built in the late 1950’s. Many years back, they had contracted a local pool company to install an old lagoon-style pool, which they had since grown tired of. When they initially called us, they wanted to know if we could build them an outdoor room at the far end of the swimming pool. We scheduled a free consultation at a time convenient to them, and we drove out to their residence to take a look at the property. After a quick survey of the back yard, rear of the home, and the swimming pool, we determined that building an outdoor room as an addition to their existing landscaping design would not bring them the results they expected. The pool was visibly dated with an early “70’s” look, which not only clashed with the late 50’s style of home architecture, but guaranteed an even greater clash with any modern-style outdoor room we constructed. Luckily for the Peseks, we offered an even better landscaping plan than the one they had hoped for. We proposed the construction of a new outdoor room and an entirely new swimming pool. Both of these new structures would be built around the classical geometry of proportional right angles. This would allow a very modern design to compliment an older home, because basic geometric patterns are universal in many architectural designs used throughout history. In this case, both the swimming pool and the outdoor rooms were designed as interrelated quadrilateral forms with proportional right angles that created the illusion of lengthened distance and a sense of Classical elegance. This proved a perfect complement to a house that had originally been built as a symbolic emblem of a simpler, more rugged and absolute era. Though reminiscent of classical design and complimentary to the conservative design of the home, the interior of the outdoor room was ultra-modern in its array of comfort and convenience. The Peseks felt this would be a great place to hold birthday parties for their child. With this new outdoor room, the Peseks could take the party outside at any time of day or night, and at any time of year. We also built the structure to be fully functional as an outdoor kitchen as well as an outdoor entertainment area. There was a smoker, a refrigerator, an ice maker, and a water heater—all intended to eliminate any need to return to the house once the party began. Seating and entertainment systems were also added to provide state of the art fun for adults and children alike. We installed a flat-screen plasma TV, and we wired it for cable. The swimming pool was built between the outdoor room and the rear entrance to the house. We got rid of the old lagoon-pool design which geometrically clashed with the right angles of the house and outdoor room. We then had a completely new pool built, in the shape of a rectangle, with a rather innovative coping design. We showcased the pool with a coping that rose perpendicular to the ground out of the stone patio surface. This reinforced our blend of contemporary look with classical right angles. We saved the client an enormous amount of money on travertine by setting the coping so that it does not overhang with the tile. Because the ground between the house and the outdoor room gradually dropped in grade, we used the natural slope of the ground to create another perpendicular right angle at the end of the pool. Here, we installed a waterfall which spilled over into a heated spa. Although the spa was fed from within itself, it was built to look as though water was coming from within the pool. The ultimate result of all of this is a new sense of visual “ebb and flow,” so to speak. When Mr. Pesek sits in his couch facing his house, the earth appears to rise up first into an illuminated pool which leads the way up the steps to his home. When he sits in his spa facing the other direction, the earth rises up like a doorway to his outdoor room, where he can comfortably relax in the water while he watches TV. For more the 20 years Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's fine neighborhoods.

An outdoor kitchen adjacent to the family dining area offers well-lighted space for food preparation, with bar height seating, a stainless steel grill, refrigerator and a bluestone footrest.

A herringbone brick pathway lit by beautiful iron lanterns and surrounded by small green bushes leads to an outdoor sitting area of rugged elegance. There is plenty of seating before the large stone fireplace where a single pair of antlers hangs above the mantle. Well placed fixtures provide soft lighting to the area while exquisite French doors and windows allow interior glow to filter out onto the patio.

Photo of a large contemporary backyard patio in Portland with a fire feature, concrete pavers and a roof extension.

This project combines high end earthy elements with elegant, modern furnishings. We wanted to re invent the beach house concept and create an home which is not your typical coastal retreat. By combining stronger colors and textures, we gave the spaces a bolder and more permanent feel. Yet, as you travel through each room, you can't help but feel invited and at home.

A concrete patio with a modern planter box compliments this modern home. A rounded concrete coping defines the flower bed, while concrete retaining walls and steps soften the overall look. Ultra-Low surface roughness concrete is sandblasted with dark glass beads to achieve the patina finish.

Beautiful, Natural Bluestone Patio with a Dry-Stack Retaining Wall. Demolished existing peastone patio, expanded the space, and installed the above in Old Trail Village, Crozet, VA.

Modern Spanish, wrought Iron Raining, Potted plants, Container garden, Mahogany Stone, Courtyard, Wonderfull Container Planting, Award Winning Landscape Lighting

This is an example of a large modern backyard patio in Las Vegas with a fire feature, stamped concrete and no cover.

Design ideas for a large contemporary backyard patio in Townsville with a fire feature and concrete pavers.

Large transitional backyard patio in Houston with with fireplace, natural stone pavers and a roof extension.

Perfect outdoor living space to entertain family and friends
Design ideas for a large modern backyard patio in Other with an outdoor kitchen, concrete pavers and a gazebo/cabana.

Architectural advisement, Interior Design, Custom Furniture Design & Art Curation by Chango & Co. Photography by Sarah Elliott See the feature in Domino Magazine