40 Stunning Outdoor Rooms For Al Fresco Gatherings
Porches and patios and gazebos, oh my!
Outdoor rooms are the most rejuvenating spaces in a home—especially those that are well-designed. The ability to drink morning coffee while breathing in crisp, fresh air, as well mixing evening cocktails on a back patio as the sun sets, makes moments of rest all the more restorative. And while it’s impossible to compete with the magic and beauty Mother Nature bestows upon our gorgeous gardens, outdoor living designs have made great strides in the past few years to catch up to her wonder.
For example, patio furniture, from outdoor seating ideas to patio umbrellas to outdoor rugs, along with fabric designs for outdoor living are more beautiful and varied in style and material than ever—and they’re specially produced to withstand the elements unique to life outdoors. Colors are long-lasting, and rust is no more. Furthermore, now its possible to design an outdoor room that can be used all year long.
Once you have furnished your outdoor room, from porches and patios to gazebos and even garden follies, it's time to consider landscaping ideas that will truly make it feel like an escape. After all, when it comes to creating an atmosphere outside, what could be better than fragrant flowering vines and shrubs or outdoor fountains with a soothing sound?
For design-lovers who won’t settle for anything less than outdoor rooms as luxurious as indoor spaces, look no further than our collection of the 40 of the very best outdoor rooms. They represent outdoor living at its finest.
Relaxed Poolside Lounge
Architect Andrew B. Cogar and garden designer Charlie Marder let the centuries-old architecture of this 1840s New York property guide them to design the poolhouse and garden. Forest green paint (Fine Paints of Europe) on board-and-batten walls and fencing allows the building to play off the privet hedges and fescue. The pool’s Kota Stone terrace help integrate the square pool and spa into the landscape.
Pink Pool Party
Virginia-based designer Janie Molster pulled inspiration from Palm Beach's famous pink hues for the pool deck of the Kips Bay Decorator Show House. A poolside pergola, outfitted with cabana-striped drapery fabricated by The Shade Store and Sutherland three-seat sofa, anchors the linear space. Aluminum planters by oomph Home line the pool with lush ferns, orchids, and other vibrant plantings.
California Cool Dining
In the verdant garden of California home, Chairish co-founder and president Anna Brockway sets a tablescape embodying "classic California." Brockway mixes antique finds from Chairish such as the chinoiserie salad plates with a buzzy Lisa Corti fabric.
Serene Garden Strolls
Landscape architects James Doyle and Matthew Willinger spent six years cultivating a series of structured outdoor rooms and wispy gardens throughout this six-acre property in New England. The back porch invites guests to explore the upper allée and rippling pond before settling down for dinner. A roughly 80-year-old sugar maple provides shade during the late afternoon.
English Tea Room
For the four-acre garden of her Wiltshire estate, Esther Cayzer-Colvin called in Frances Rasch of Heale House to create a series of rooms inspired by the gardens of Colonial Williamsburg. A terrace dining set passed down by Cayzer-Colvin's grandmother Nancy Lancaster sits on the patio edged with yew and beech.
Quiet Cottage Dining
At this Napa Valley cottage, designer Dan Fink reimagined the basketball court as a gravel-paved outdoor dining area shaded by craggy olive trees. Striped cushions featuring Perennials fabric outfit the seating around a custom iron-and-teak dining table.
Indoor-Outdoor Terrace
Embracing indoor-outdoor living to its fullest, design duo Brooke and Steve Giannetti designed the family room of this Los Angeles villa to open on an adjacent outdoor terrace. Steve places the same unfinished oak ceiling beams across both spaces to ensure continuity.
Sunny Dining Rooms
During the holidays at their San Miguel home, designers Jeffry Weisman and Andrew Fisher placed bronze-tone nesting tables under the jacarandas tree in their courtyard for a festive dinner party. Red candles embellished by Oaxacan artists and pale green Talaveran pottery decorate the tablescape. The tables and teak Klismos chairs are by Fisher Weisman Collection.
Rowhouse Retreat
Designer Gary McBournie worked with landscape designer Iain MacDonald to tame the overgrown garden of this London rowhouse. Custom latticework, an antique stone fountain, ivied walls, and white hydrangeas create a verdant wonderland on the terrace. The furnishings are by McKinnon and Harris.
Playful Coastal Living
Since her clients love to spend much of their time outdoors, designer Sara Gilbane made sure that the furnishings on the Georgia loggia were both functional and fun. Gilbane insisted on a heavyweight, super-durable outdoor dining set (McKinnon and Harris) to ensure it withstands the harsh elements. The custom chandelier was designed by the home's architects Thad Truett and Joanne Sims, crafted by Ma Maison.
Bamboo-Shaded Outdoor Dining
At this home in Santa Monica, California, the family room opens to the ultimate outdoor dining room. Landscape designer
Scott Shrader installed a 25-foot steel trellis topped with bamboo fencing and shaded with espaliered fig trees. Overhead lighting inset in the structure illuminates a 12-seat dining table, pizza oven, and bar.
SoCal Chic Courtyard
In this Santa Monica courtyard, Forest Pansy trees, known for pink blossoms that bloom in early spring, square a 13th-century well reclaimed as a firepit.
Morocco-Inspired Poolside Perch
In the pool garden of this Santa Monica retreat by Scott Shrader, mature kumquat trees bookend a fireside sitting room anchored by a Morocco-inspired fireplace and chimney. The loungers are from RH.
Bay Area Tucked In Lounging
At this cottage garden in Ross, California, landscape designer Erica Timbrell devised a program of rooms around the pool that are equally welcoming to children and adults. Here, a teak sectional commands a stone-wrapped alcove.
Designed by landscape designer Kathryn Herman, this Greenwich, Connecticut, garden features a series of outdoor rooms, including this shaded dining area reached by terraced limestone steps that cut through the sloping meadow.
Dreamy Dallas Poolside Porch
At this Dallas home designed by Meredith McBrearty and architect Ryan Street, the line between indoors and out is beautifully blurred. On the porch, native dry-stack limestone from Leuders, Texas, cloaks the house in sculptural, organic beauty. Douglas fir ceiling paneling extends from indoors out, stretching across the home’s deep overhangs. Lounge chairs, Sutherland. Cushion fabric, Perennials.
Crowd-Pleasing Patio in Nashville
At this Nashville home designed by Richard Hallberg, southern hospitality meets luxurious style on the patio, where intimate dinners by the fire are served at a French limestone table with a shapely urn base. Furniture, Formations.
All-Natural West Hollywood Pergola
Tucked in the backyard of this West Hollywood home is a lush oasis designed by landscape architect Anna Hoffman, who shaded a poolside living room is shaded with an alderwood pergola. The pool decking is French limestone.
Abacos Escape
In the Bahamas, the weather is just right for every meal to be enjoyed outdoors. “Though they lean modern, these teak director’s chairs are classic, comfortable, and easy to move around,” says interior designer Miles Redd. Colonial-style columns made of classic stucco frame the stunning views. The table is by Serena & Lily; chairs, Michael Taylor Designs.
West Palm Beach Terrace
At the West Palm Beach home of antiques dealer and interior designer Lars Bolander, the terrace is arranged with a convivial mix of tables and seating. A fringed Balinese umbrella provides extra shade in the space. The dining table, Becara; mushroom sculptures from Lars Bolander.
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