outdoor spaces

“At the end of the day,” says Gregory, “we retreat to the screened porch, following the sun.” The coveted space, which is framed in locally band-sawn hemlock, doubles as a peaceful spot for morning coffee.

In the backyard, a pergola with a green roof shelters a patio and outdoor kitchen. “It’s unusual for a house of this style, but it works,” says Christensen. “It’s a fun way to take a flat surface and make it green.

Containers overflow with lush annuals on the front patio.

A belvedere porch extends from the primary bedroom, delivering water views in three directions.

The new swimming pool reflects the serenity of the home’s redesign while referencing its spectacular coastal setting. Installing the pool required extensive blasting of the granite ledge.

The spa-and-pool area is lined with lounge chairs from Harbour.

In between these two structures is a covered outdoor living area complete with a stone fireplace.

On the terrace, furniture can easily be reconfigured for entertaining. To keep guests safe without detracting from the view, a very fine (“like netting,” says landscape architect Michael Lindquist) mesh fencing with an almost transparent top rail perches on the seawall.

A brise soleil breaks up sunlight over a seating area with ikat cushions in the wife’s favorite color combination: orange and green. Custom Quality Pools built the pool, which replaced a smaller one. The pool house is also new. This space helped unite the two properties and operates as a transition from the main house to the guesthouse.

“The bar was one of the most charming things about the former property, but it was in such sad shape,” recalls Knerr. “This structure is indicative of the place and lifestyle. In fact, it has become the go-to neighborhood hangout spot.”

An existing tiki bar on the property was too far gone to salvage, so KVC Builders constructed a new cedar structure on the original footprint.

The rear elevation reveals the two-story nature of the house; a bluestone grid visually ties the plunge pool to the house’s stone cladding.

The rear elevation reveals the two-story nature of the house; a bluestone grid visually ties the plunge pool to the house’s stone cladding.

“The bar was one of the most charming things about the former property, but it was in such sad shape,” recalls Knerr. “This structure is indicative of the place and lifestyle. In fact, it has become the go-to neighborhood hangout spot.”

An existing tiki bar on the property was too far gone to salvage, so KVC Builders constructed a new cedar structure on the original footprint.

A screened porch located off the pub can be closed off with folding glass doors. In the clients’ former house, the main living areas were on the upper level with little connection to the outdoors, so the goal for this project was to unite the living spaces with nature as much as possible and allow the lake to take center stage. “We wanted to create the feeling of these big public spaces stretching over the water,” notes Knerr.

Architect Don Knerr designed the home in keeping with the traditional New England lake-house vernacular, incorporating materials like cedar shingles and siding, local stone, and timber beams.

A shingled pavilion with a fireplace sits between the Har-Tru and platform tennis courts.

The remnants of a brick tea house inspired the homeowners to weave historical elements of the property into the current design, including a reinvention of that structure—constructed out of granite instead of brick—and its formal gardens.

The space acts as a pretty pass-through, but it’s also used for entertaining. “The masonry on this project is truly phenomenal,” says architect Michael McClung.

For a nineteen-acre property on Cape Cod, Shope Reno Wharton architects designed a pool and recreation area that functions as a central meeting hub for the homeowners’ family and their frequent guests. The 4,600-square-foot pool house, one of many outbuildings on the grounds, was situated to align views with a salt marsh and the ocean beyond.

Designed as a year-round home, the beach house especially shines in the warmer months when decks to the front and rear become extensions of the living space in an otherwise compact structure.

A second-floor outdoor shower, cleverly concealed but still affording unblocked views of Cape Cod Bay, counts among the owners’ favorite spaces in the home.

A pair of Minotti chairs with pillows upholstered in Loro Piana fabric sit on the covered porch; in the background is a circular dining pavilion requested by the homeowner.

One of the main mandates for the project was indoor/outdoor living, so a substantial covered porch with plenty of seating was a must. A pair of Minotti sectionals form two separate sitting areas perfect for taking in the views.

The pool is invisible from the front road and side lane thanks to its position behind the carriage house and landscaping by Donaroma’s Nursery, Landscaping + Floral Design.

The screened porch boasts a massive fireplace, slate tile floors, and a nickel-board-lined coffered ceiling.

The pavilion can even be enjoyed in cooler weather, thanks to the granite fireplace and the infrared heating that’s embedded in the ceiling beams.

A pool pavilion designed by architect Kevin ten Brinke is the focal point of this new backyard entertaining area in Weston, Massachusetts. Interior designer Rachel Reider furnished the space with a sofa and coffee table from Sutherland, pillows upholstered in a Perennials fabric, and a rug from Landry & Arcari Rugs and Carpeting.

The pool and spa area features a mix of granite, bluestone, and ipe decking. In addition to chaise longues sitting in the pool itself, RH chaise longues line the far end of the pool terrace; the umbrellas are from Tuuci.

Ten Brinke designed the pavilion to complement the aesthetic of the main residence, incorporating columns, Douglas fir beams, stone, shingles, and a copper roof; on either side of the fireplace are storage closets for firewood and towels.

The pavilion features a built-in stone bench that overlooks the yard.

The south-facing roof-deck, with its quartz-clad spa, is accessed by climbing a set of third-floor stairs and stepping through a motorized skylight that effortlessly slides open with the flip of a switch.

Furniture from Janus et Cie adorns the deck off the great room.

The massive board-form concrete fireplace flows from the ground-floor living room, where it’s woodburning, to the ipe roof-deck, where it’s gas, which means the owners don’t have to worry about hauling logs upstairs or installing spark screens.

The pavilion can even be enjoyed in cooler weather, thanks to the granite fireplace and the infrared heating that’s embedded in the ceiling beams.

A pool pavilion designed by architect Kevin ten Brinke is the focal point of this new backyard entertaining area in Weston, Massachusetts. Interior designer Rachel Reider furnished the space with a sofa and coffee table from Sutherland, pillows upholstered in a Perennials fabric, and a rug from Landry & Arcari Rugs and Carpeting.

The pool and spa area features a mix of granite, bluestone, and ipe decking. In addition to chaise longues sitting in the pool itself, RH chaise longues line the far end of the pool terrace; the umbrellas are from Tuuci. BELOW: The pavilion can even be enjoyed in cooler weather, thanks to the granite fireplace and the infrared heating that’s embedded in the ceiling beams.

Ten Brinke designed the pavilion to complement the aesthetic of the main residence, incorporating columns, Douglas fir beams, stone, shingles, and a copper roof; on either side of the fireplace are storage closets for firewood and towels.

The outdoor shower, which is located on the intermediate level between the pool area and the walk-out basement, is sheathed in granite slabs and stone pebbles.

Adjacent to the pavilion is a pergola-covered outdoor kitchen, complete with a smoker and a pizza oven; the barstools are from TB Contract Furniture

The pavilion features a built-in stone bench that overlooks the yard.

Wagner and Herrmann collaborated on the design of the roof-deck, which boasts a fireplace, an outdoor kitchen, and a border planted with sedum. “The railing is held back from the edge, so it’s less pronounced from below,” Wagner says.

The homeowners’ dinnerware, including the raffia-wrapped salt and pepper shakers, sets an idyllic summer scene

A porch stretches across the back of the Osterville home, offering any number of opportunities to relax and enjoy the view. Here, a dining area sports an updated version of directors’ chairs, outfitted in classic nautical stripes.

The porch holds a breakfast area off the guest bedroom.

Between the house and the formal lawn, a slope planted with tall fescue adds a gentle touch.

Near the entrance, boxwood, smoke bush, and liriope are low-maintenance plantings that add year-round interest.

Delightful views from the back terrace include a square sculpture garden that was cleverly installed just off the Shingle-style house designed by Shope Reno Wharton. Planted with purple hardy geraniums and Japanese Stewartia trees that bloom all summer long, it features a playful royal-blue-glazed ceramic apple sculpture by Lisa Pappon.

Behind the pool area, which features twin pavilions, stands a stately century-old sycamore. “We deemed it sacred and made every effort to save it,” says landscape architect James Doyle.

Gardens and terraces create a plateau at the same level as the main house for entertaining; just beyond, the landscape dips down several feet to the formal lawn and pool.

For the grounds of a home in Greenwich, landscape architects at James Doyle Design Associates created a graceful allée lined with nepeta and golden sedge; it connects a screened porch with the pool area

An infinity pool and ipe deck make the home seem like it’s floating in the middle of Five Mile River.

The sports-loving family plays football and accesses their dock and canoes from the grassy area on the back side of the slate-clad infinity pool. The wicker, rattan, and wood daybeds, sofas, and lounges surrounding the pool come from Silver’s own line of outdoor furniture.

The pool house is divided into two sections: one contains a bath and outdoor shower, while the other has a laundry room and storage area.

Landscape designer Jennifer Anderson selected low boxwood hedges, hydrangeas, boxwood globes, a seasonal mix of Angelonia, and stepping-stones to “soften the transition between spaces,” she explains.

The in-demand vegetable garden yields a bounty of produce for the family, from spring lettuces to autumn squashes.

Architect Zac Culbreth says the work of Japanese architect Kengo Kuma inspired his design of the pergola. The design team called it “cedarhenge” because of the weighty twelve-inch-square cedar posts that hold up the lattice roof. A shallow swim-in area helps create the sense that the pergola is floating on the water.

The swimming pool feels like a paradise, surrounded as it is by a riot of colorful and often fragrant perennials that drape, climb, and flow among the split-rail fencing and stone walls that border the area. Mature trees brought to the once-bare property offer shade, while at the pool’s far end, native grasses wave in the breeze and offer textural interest in every season.

Copious use of reclaimed granite fieldstone for steps, walls, and the greenhouse’s foundation and attached shed helps the new structures blend beautifully with the old.

The screened porch, framed in mahogany, is furnished with outdoor pieces from Industry West.

The new swimming pool sits several feet above the house; the steps in the background lead to the top of the property.

Fluffy giant allium add color and texture to the perennial border.

Architect Brad Walker’s contemporary addition ushers the classic midcentury ranch house into the twenty-first century. The landscape plan by Matthew Cunningham and Jen Stephens creates a similar bridge between eras by combining clean, linear stone elements with lushly textured masses of native shrubs, groundcovers, and perennials

Rather than regrade the sloping lot, Cunningham and Stephens tamed it with a series of steps, terraces, and walls.

The pool was set above grade and screened by a pretty perennial bed so that in the colder months the covered pool doesn’t dominate the view.

Landscape architect Janet Cavanagh worked with Sue Howard of Pyrus Horticultural to create a planting scheme with strong colors that stand up to the bold red exterior trim, a nod to the clients’ love of Asia.

Interchangeable glass and screen panels allow this space to operate as a three-season porch. A Kingsley Bate sectional provides ample seating, while the patterned Saxony rug adds visual interest.

The pool room contains a bath with an outdoor shower featuring walls of ipe and Vermont-sourced stone mixed with rock blasted from the site.

Since this newly built 5,000-square-foot shingled home sits on the foundation of the previous house, Haynes inherited the existing half-step strategy. “The goal was to reference the traditional Vermont vernacular while integrating more contemporary details, such as steel windows,” notes the architect.

At a seventy-eight-acre hilltop property in Norwich, Vermont, indoor-outdoor living was a must, so architect Byron Haynes conceived four outdoor gathering areas, including a covered terrace clad in local Woodbury Gray granite that overlooks the pool area.

The design pros switched out finishes and furnishings in the outdoor seating area, accenting the ceiling with a dark stain and bringing in wicker furniture in a mix of natural and white.

Because of visibility and setback restrictions, members of Payne | Collins Design met with the Back Bay Architectural Commission during the mock-up phase of the copper-clad headhouse and roof-deck to successfully integrate it into the neighborhood, ensuring it was minimally visible from the street.

Behind the house, the new wing comprising the kitchen and family room anchors a patio equipped with a grill, smoker, and dining area.

The old backyard was nothing more than a sloping expanse of lawn. Mark Hicks regraded the property to create a series of terraces that step down to the swimming pool. Hick’s colleague Agnes Kacperczyk selected all the JANUS et Cie outdoor furniture.

The geometric design of the firepit area echoes the geometry of the house. Hicks used the grass and flowering plants to soften the straight lines.

The exterior of the library/nymphaeum recently completed on the grounds of Newport, Rhode Island’s Bellevue House features such Federal-era details as the demilune and bay windows and the ornamented pediment. The lap pool leads toward the library, and there are cabanas on the right.

Sunlight plays through gaps in a pergola under which a wall of sliding glass doors connects the kitchen and living area to the outdoors.

A hornbeam hedge and a canopy of mature trees provide privacy. To offset the pergola from the pool area, it’s slightly raised, and the bluestone patio takes on a basket-weave pattern.

Landscape designer Verne Fisher’s masses of lavender, Snow Hill and May Night salvia, and Elf kalmia frame the view of the Merrimack River from the Gompers’s sloping Newburyport property.

Stone steps nestled into plantings lead from the lower terrace to other seating areas

Landscape designer Verne Fisher’s masses of lavender, Snow Hill and May Night salvia, and Elf kalmia frame the view of the Merrimack River from the Gompers’s sloping Newburyport property.

Just footsteps from the house, a fire bowl surrounded by benches provides a warm place to snuggle on cool nights.

She used metallic paint on the cabinetry in the kitchen in the screened porch, along with a black granite countertop and backsplash.

The ground-floor courtyard, located off the family room, features one of the home’s only bursts of color in the form of citron-yellow pillows. The nesting tables by JANUS et Cie can easily be repositioned when the couple entertains.

The patio is sheathed in Caledonia granite and features an outdoor kitchen, chairs from Barlow Tyrie, and a JM Lifestyles table.

Landscape designer David Troast planted white birch and fountain grasses around the firepit area. “The firepit lines up with the living area, and I wanted that view to feel pastoral,” says Troast.

A second garage at the entrance to the property doubles as a potting shed in front of the couple’s vegetable and herb garden.

A path winds through oak and pine trees to a private beach.

The home’s patio is a favorite spot for entertaining; “A regular night in the summer has us with ten-plus around the dinner table,” says the wife.

Sudbury Design Group created a putting green, replete with water views.

The home boasts two grilling areas, one on the patio and a second at the pool house, where a New England Fieldstone fireplace provides warmth after the sun sets.

For this secluded family paradise on a private Cape Cod island, landscape architect Michael Coutu laid two shades of granite paving around the pool and spa. The granite keeps feet cool during the heat of summer. “It has that barefoot-on-the-island feeling,” says Coutu.

Coutu’s team planted an abundance of hydrangeas and roses in what he refers to as “Cape Cod summer colors.”

Extensive lawns offer ample room for rambunctious kids—and their watchful parents; native plants provide a buffer between the grass and the waterways.

“We spend a ton of time outside,” notes the wife, so it was important to create spaces for guests to gather, like this pergola-covered dining table and brick fireplace with a raised hearth.

Architect Mark Cutone used bluestone to define the outdoor spaces; the sun-shielding umbrella is from Tuuci and the chaises from Kingsley Bate.

A door from the primary bath leads to the outdoor shower and landscape beyond.

In the living room, a daybed beckons would-be nappers to take in ocean air thanks to gigantic barn doors that required extra structural supports. “There are portals to the outdoors everywhere, making it easy to commune with nature,” designer Courtney Taylor says. The house and patio overlook the red-roofed, 1930s-era Coast Guard Station.

The pergola-covered outdoor kitchen has everything needed for gathering family and friends.

An outdoor sitting area makes a perfect spot to while away a summer evening. In the cooler months of spring and fall, a fireplace fends off the chill, making the cozy arrangement a three-season location for quiet conversation.

Copious use of native stone for pathways and hardscaping allows the space to blend seamlessly with the exposed bedrock upon which the building resides.

A contemporary water fountain alongside the front entrance features a scupper set in a Corten steel knee wall that echoes the home’s siding. The concrete pool is laid with gray river stone.

“I was mindful of creating scenes that were soft and billowing, that the light would play off of,” Vincenta says, describing her approach to the site. “You want the eye to go to the greater landscape beyond.”

Between the path and the creek, a mix of salt-tolerant native plants provide interest, while taller grasses, strategically placed, form a privacy screen between the creek and pool.

The steel-and-stone structure of gabion walls seems right at home in the coastal New England environment; mounds of hyssop and twilight aster add color along their curves.

The existing gravel driveway was realigned and resurfaced. Deer-and shade-tolerant native plants, including fern, astilbe, lady’s mantle, and andromeda, line its edges.

The structures and plantings in this Westport landscape mimic the flow of the tidal creek it borders while protecting the lawn from erosion and the creek from runoff. The design, by Sandy Hook landscape architect Tara Vincenta, won a 2020 honor award from the Connecticut Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

A walkway between the house and the garage leads through the arched gate to the backyard swimming pool.

Landscape architect Neil Brunetti completely reworked the backyard, creating a series of relaxing and entertaining spaces linked by stonework, fencing, and low-maintenance plants in a variety of shapes and textures.

The outdoor shower, custom built from a granite pillar, is an unfussy, practical structure that inhabits a graceful moment at the pool entry.

Working with existing changes in grade, the pool sits higher than the landscape beyond, providing an elevated view of the harbor; local granite coping and ipe decking create the pool’s quiet palette, which is offset by the property’s most colorful gardens, filled with catmint, ferns, viburnum, and lowbush blueberry.

The roof deck features furnishings from Casa Design Group.

Adjacent to the main living areas is an atrium, the scale of which was reduced to maximize interior living space.

A stone floor and Western red-cedar timbers make the screened porch feel as though it’s part of the outdoors.

Raised beds hold edibles and marigolds in the vegetable garden.

Rows of lockers by SchoolLockers.com offer plenty of storage for the family and their guests to stow everything from flip-flops to sunscreen.

Landscaping by Jennifer Anderson Design & Development adds the right touches of green to a backdrop of blues and whites in order to complete the bucolic scene.

A custom teak shower surround allows for a luxurious—and private—outdoor bath.

A Holly Hunt sectional surrounds a firepit from Restoration Hardware.

Nancy Monahan enjoys a glass of wine with Boca, her Havanese, in the backyard, where a fire table expands the seasons and ceramic stools allow seating for several guests.

An urn from Terrain was given its own pocket garden in the front courtyard where a dining table waits to entertain company.

To reflect the curved gates to the entry courtyard that doubles as a dining area, homeowner and designer Nancy Monahan installed a bluestone pathway. The weathered brick pillars exemplify her respect for the past.

“This is the one room where we went with the more typical blue-and-white nautical feel, although with a more youthful, contemporary touch,” says Boothby of the three-season screened porch.

This picnic table, which is set upon the foundation of an old outbuilding at the edge of the owner’s apple orchard, seats eight comfortably and offers drop-dead views of the Taconic Mountains. It is decorated with fresh-cut dahlias from the home’s vibrant gardens. The ANICHINI cashmere blanket on the bench keeps picnickers warm during cool evenings.

A raised terrace and infinity pool extend into the backyard, which abuts a saltwater pond with views of the bay beyond. Connecting landscaping and hardscaping with the architecture was an important element of the design for Polhemus Savery DaSilva, the firm responsible for the architecture, landscape architecture, and construction of the house.

The covered porch features a collection of wicker and a Crate & Barrel sofa that Skok reupholsters every five or six years. “Snoozing there in the afternoon is the most luxurious thing,” she says.

A classic gate bids welcome.

The screened porch with its teak trim is meant to invoke yacht designer Nathanael Greene Herreshoff. The homeowner loves the seasonal Lexan storm panels that help keep the room warm in the cooler months (a double-sided fireplace helps, too).

The original home didn’t have a porch, but the reimagined structure includes the perfect spot to sip lemonade from one of the Kennedy rockers.

A pedestrian bridge connects the main house to three small cabins, designated for the homeowners’ sons.

Accompanied by informal foot paths, a 360-foot stone wall follows a long arc matching the

A Rohl rainhead in the outdoor shower takes care of sandy beachgoers.

A copper wall on the outdoor shower simulates the reflective quality of a waterfall, while clusters of lush banana plants ratchet up the tropical vibe.

No detail was overlooked, from pillows and umbrellas to conveniently placed baskets to stow damp towels.

Retractable glass panels open to a pool that is thirty feet wide by sixty feet long; “that’s a big pool!” notes Skolnick, and it incorporates a submerged spa and a series of gradual entry platforms for soaking in the water.

Bleached pine boards and bluestone slabs provide a beachy, yet sophisticated backdrop for contemporary lighting and a tropical palette; the chair fabric is a fun nod to a traditional batik pattern.

The centerpiece of the patio is a broad firepit in a design that echoes the water feature.

Landscape architect Dan Gordon used granite, a traditional material, in unexpected ways; here he created a bold, scene-stealing water feature.

The home’s traditional front portico offers a sheltered spot to relax.

Terraces on each level were designed by Zen Associates with low-maintenance, natural-palette furnishings and vegetation that can survive New England winters.

To contrast the sharp angles of the planters and steel edging corralling the groundcover sedum “lawn,” ZEN Associates custom designed an oval stainless-steel spa.

From the comfy four-season sitting room, the evergreens form a vista to frame the skyline.

The terrace, which opens off the living room and overlooks the city, is a summertime haven. “It’s our tiny backyard,” Frazier says.

Simple, informal plants surround a swath of grassy lawn.

Hydrangeas and other native plantings border the dining area. Amanda and John Rich discovered that the space under the floating WWOO benches in the grilling area make a perfect spot for storing firewood.

Homeowner Amanda Rich cloned her summer tomatoes and raised them in her greenhouse over the winter.

Frameless glass fencing, treated to keep salt at bay, keeps the focus on the view. A major challenge, says landscape architect Peter White, was subtly changing the design vocabulary to go from Cape Cod classic at the house level to contemporary at the pool level.

The outdoor shower gets a spa-like look with blue granite walls.

The bar is a stylish mix of French limestone and black granite; the doors behind it open to storage.

The lower-level deck takes on a contemporary vibe with its French limestone tile flooring and a low wall of stone supplemented by soft plantings behind the chaises.

An entertaining deck holds an outdoor kitchen with everything needed to throw a party, plus a fire table for gathering even on chilly nights early in the season.

Architect Rolf Kielman incorporated garage doors on two sides of the house to let summer breezes flow freely. Designer Chapman salvaged an old trough of galvanized metal to stand in for a sink at the bar.

The TV sits above the bar, hidden behind a Vermont maple syrup sign interior designer Cathy Chapman commissioned.

Keith Wagner’s landscape plan includes segmented serpentine walls of local Panton stone.

“The pool house was designed to look like it emerges from the woods,” Wagner says.

Where better to enjoy the fire than on one of a pair of red-cushioned swinging benches?

This look at the back of the house shows how the designers used oversize windows and sliding doors to maximize waterfront views and fit the home to the sloping lot.

On the back patio, a Santa Barbara umbrella provides shade for a dining area with seating for up to ten. Landscape architect Anne Penniman also carved out spaces for lounging and sunning as well as an outdoor kitchen.

A bluestone-topped fireplace compliments the patio pavers and cozies up a seating area.

Two sets of French doors in the Summer House let warm breezes pass through from the Connecticut River to the garden.

Apple Bartlett at her Maine home overlooking Penobscot Bay. Her parents, Henry Parish II and Dorothy May “Sister” Parish, bought the property in the 1940s, although her family retreated to Islesboro for generations beforehand.

Views from the sitting room and deck offer infinite interest, regardless of the weather.

The revamped front porch sports a new teak floor and tiered teak railings. “This is a deliciously cool spot for enjoying evening cocktails,” interior designer Leslie Dunn says.

A glass railing and Adirondack chairs on the second-floor deck offer long vistas across the dunes, connecting the coastal scenery with the palette of the interior decor.

Views of conservation land are appetizers for relaxed outdoor meals.

Dinner is often enjoyed on the rear terrace.

The porch floors are cumaru, a Brazilian hardwood.

Beyond the boathouse, the second home on the property peeks through the trees.

Perched above a picturesque cove, the refurbished pool and deck area is a secluded bit of paradise.

Made of durable, mold-resistant Garapa Gold—a South American hardwood—the multi-level decks have lightened to a silvery gray that complements the shingled house.

The dining deck abuts the new addition and affords room for a generous table that’s used frequently. “The sunsets, the fog and mist—it’s all beautiful from here,” Park says.

Interior designer Anja Park created a lush landscape including a wisteria-draped pergola to link the handsomely refurbished main residence with the guest house.

Sparsely developed Lake Waramaug is best viewed from the comfort of an Adirondack chair.

The cottage roof slopes down from street level to shade the porch outside the second-floor bedrooms.

A shaded, lakeside granite patio sits between the cottage and the screen house.

The open part of the front porch has a gap at the base of the wall so water can drain out.

The front porch offers this lovely view. The house to the right is now privately owned but was once the Albonegon Inn, where Charlie Chaplin twice stayed.

The pool connects the main house and guesthouse in a unified landscape.