40 Outdoor Structures That Bring the Indoors Out

Outdoor structures — from pergolas to outdoor kitchens and fireplaces — can completely transform the look of a deck or patio and turn a seldom-used space into a stylish outdoor room.

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March 04, 2021

By: Chelsey Bowen

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Invest in Screens

Off the back of HGTV Urban Oasis 2018 is a modern pergola dotted with illuminating bistro lights. The deck is walled in on one side to create privacy and the sense of an enclosed space. Climbing vines wrap around the beams, softening the exterior.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Extend Your Home

Think of your outdoor space as an extension of your home. This backyard, designed by Juergen Partridge Limited, is an excellent example. Here, a Douglas fir pergola provides structure over the back patio, while the composite deck connects the entries of the house acting as an outdoor hallway.

Modernize a Classic

The porch of a traditional farmhouse is the hub, where conversations, sweet tea and life are shared. While porches of yore relied on rockers, simple side table and planters full of flowers, our outdoor spaces have blossomed into complete living spaces. Whether the walls are fully open or not, this covered porch acts as an addition to the interior.

From: Terracotta Design Build

Design Layers of Entertaining

Whether you're spending time with your family or hosting a big shindig, create several different areas throughout your outdoor space that allow people to spread out and enjoy a variety of activities. In addition to a luxurious swimming pool, this expansive contemporary home boasts a comfy lounge area around the fire pit, outdoor kitchen and bar-top eating.

From: Environmental Design Studio

Keep It Simple

Opt for a straightforward solution. Create an escape from the sun with an effortless arrangement of posts, beams and canvas. Define a portion of your deck or patio with a streamlined structure, and anchor sail shades overhead to provide shade.

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Visualize Your Evenings

Think about day to night when planning your outdoor spaces. Incorporate a smart lighting plan, like the backyard of HGTV Urban Oasis 2020. String lights over the deck, an ambient fire and flanking lanterns illuminate the deck and fire pit area.

SEE MORE: Backyard Pictures From HGTV Urban Oasis 2020

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Make a Path

Establish zones and how to get to them throughout your outdoors for dining, lounging, swimming and more. From the rooftop terrace to the sunken living area, this contemporary oasis offers meandering paths — a spiral staircase, a grid of pavers in the grass and low stone steps — that easily lead throughout the space.

From: Knaak Design Group

Get Playful

Have one element, such as a fun, bohemian swing, that adds an unexpected, frolicky note. The pergola is built right off this home to instantly expands the living space, and contemporary, light-toned wood furniture surrounds a sleek fire bowl for an inviting outdoor seating area.

From: Amy Elbaum

Craft a Shelter

Your feet will soon learn the pathways to your outdoor destinations. A simple paver walkway leads from the house to this petite retreat. Tropical landscaping and a wood-and-stone screen provides absolute privacy around the touch-of-prep gazebo.

From: Luxury Portfolio International®

Build the Ultimate Fireplace

Instead of rustic stacked stone or brick, look for an unexpected material that will take your fireplace from typical to stunning. Light-colored stone tile forms an impressive design, and sleek sconces flank the linear firebox to aid in nighttime illumination.

SEE MORE: 30 Cozy Outdoor Fireplace Ideas

From: Sire Design

Brave the Elements

Stay outdoors no matter the weather. This Florida room is designed around the swimming pool, providing shade and a respite from the sun and heat, as well as the ability to be outside even when it's raining. White curtains encompass the sleek pergola, which sits over cozy seating and a built-in grill.

From: Knaak Design Group

It's All About Balance

For a successful outdoor design, it's important to strike a balance between the hardscape and softscape. Here, guests follow a brick path from the dining area to the next "room," an intimate sitting area with three plush chairs. An outdoor rug softens the patio below, while an umbrella promises to keep the space cool.

From: Casa Smith Designs, LLC

Create an Outdoor Haven

Use your outdoor space as a place to get away from it all. Designer Matt Partridge of Juergen Partridge Limited creates a stunning getaway with a pond surrounded by birch trees, which provide the perfect canvas for showing off the aquatic lighting at night. A small waterfall keeps the water moving to prevent mosquitoes and provide ambient noise. The cedar pergola creates a ceiling above the sitting space, tying the cooking, lounging and walkway from the home together.

Introduce Ambiance

Warm up your patio or deck with a dramatic outdoor fireplace. Here, all the details that make an indoor living room comfortable — rug, fireplace, cushy sofas — come together to create an outdoor space you'll never want to leave.

SEE MORE: 30 Cozy Outdoor Fireplace Ideas

From: Lloyd Fleischer Landscape Design

Lounge in Luxury

Waste away the day curled up with a good book on a luxurious canopied daybed like this tropical design from Giselle Mays.

Create a World Away

Step outside into a space that feels like a vacation away from your daily life, even if it's in your backyard. Enveloped in soft curtains, the covered deck is punctuated with global decor. Natural materials add warmth to the overly white palette.

From: Bender & Associates

Protect Your Privacy

One thing your home's interior has that your back porch doesn't? Doors. A stylish twist on a basic door, these DIY wooden herringbone privacy screens section off the porch sitting area, adding much-needed privacy.

SEE MORE: Smart Privacy Solutions for Outdoor Spaces

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Prioritize Your Wants

When planning an outdoor space, think about your lifestyle and how you'll use it — whether as a recreational area for a young, active family or as a private, serene spot for relaxing and reading. Designer Matt Partridge of Juergen Partridge Limited covered all the bases here with multiple structures that provide shady, gathering spots on even the hottest days. To enhance the woodwork, he applied multiple stain colors to the cedar structure and decks.

SEE MORE: 36 Backyard Pergola and Gazebo Design Ideas

Fortify Your Fire Pit

Featuring tall, hexagon tile privacy walls and surrounded by lush vegetation, this open-air patio is the perfect place to sit and sip by the fire. Built-in benches situated next to the corner fire pit ensure the space feels clean and modern, yet welcoming. A set of stairs and a wrought iron stair railing lead up to the patio, making the space feel exclusive.

SEE MORE: Hillside Hermosa Beach Property With Contemporary Coastal Style

From: Ecocentrix Landscape Architecture

Prep Your Waterside

To make the most of your pool time, equip the surrounding areas for all your sunshine and lounging needs. Pergolas and awnings provide much-needed shade, and the pool house is outfitted with a kitchenette to keep snacks and drinks nearby. Furniture inside gives guests another spot to relax. Slipcovers are easy to wash and bleach when they get dirty.

From: Pinnacle Estate Properties and Luxury Portfolio International®

Enchanting Entrance

Create a whimsical welcome with an ivy-covered brick archway like the one that leads to the outdoor patio at this sprawling Montecito, California, estate. Just beyond the arch, an outdoor dining table and chairs, stone patio and large cushioned sectional beckon.

From: Village Properties and Luxury Portfolio International®

Establish Landing Places

You don't have to live the island life of Hawaii to embrace their beloved outdoor space: the lanai. This covered area has bifold doors that full open up to the backyard and pool to seamlessly blend the indoors and out. Create multiple hangout destinations to accommodate small and big gatherings, as well as different needs: sunbathing, staying out of the heat, swimming and running around on the lawn.

From: Pinnacle Estate Properties and Luxury Portfolio International®

Bring On the Style

Dining alfresco can be as elegant as indoor dinner parties. Designer Brian Thompson of Thompson Custom Homes creates a rustic outdoor kitchen and dining area complete with chandelier. Blue stone tile grounds the space, while distressed Douglas fir beams on the ceiling and knotty cedar cabinets in the adjacent kitchen give the space a true Old World feel.

Rinse the Day Away

Elevate your morning routine with a chic open-air shower. This gorgeous modern outdoor shower features trendy Swiss cross-patterned tile and chic black fixtures. Wood flooring and a paneled privacy screen make the space feel warm and intimate, while a small plant adds just the right amount of natural color.

SEE MORE: 40 Luxurious Outdoor Shower Ideas

From: Molly Wood

Use Locally Sourced Materials

Whenever possible, use local materials so structures better fit into the natural surroundings. Designer Margie Grace of Grace Design Associates Inc. chose native fieldstone to build this 18-foot-long bench. To create the table, she used an 8-foot-long by 3-foot-wide stone slab found on the property. Not only does it reflect the area, but locally sourced materials are also a real money saver.

From: Margie Grace

Pull Up a Stool

Imagine yourself relaxing by the pool in this outdoor lounge. Complete with a bar and plenty of cushioned seating, you'll want to spend most of the warmer months right in this spot.

From: Design 4 Corners

Amplify Your Living

This house takes doubling its living space to the next level with a lower patio and a fully equipped upper deck. An outdoor kitchen has everything needed for prepping and making a meal, and a cozy dining spot is nearby. To provide shade, a pergola spans across the entire deck.

From: Mom's Design Build

Build a Wall

For a multifunctional outdoor living room that would serve as a family gathering space and a meeting area for the owners’ clients and colleagues, landscape architect Mark Tessier added a gorgeous wood wall along one end of this pretty patio. Not only does the tall structure add privacy, but it makes the space feel like an open-air living room. Eye-catching paper lanterns above cast a warm, inviting glow, completing the cozy look.

Match Your Design Styles

Create a style that flows together. This quaint farmhouse veranda complements the main house, as well as the brick-lined swimming pool. Pretty-in-blue furniture has prime view of the pool, while cozying up to the traditional fireplace. Hidden away above the mantel is a TV.

From: Tim Barber Ltd.

Cozy Conversations

When building an outdoor space, include a conversation area in a "U" or "O" shape anchored by a fireplace. It would be tempting to spend all weekend with good friends and a bottle of wine out on this cozy screened-in porch.

SEE MORE: 30 Cozy Outdoor Fireplace Ideas

From: Southern Studio

Add Some Shade

A classic outdoor structure, the pergola, provides a shaded spot for this outdoor entertaining area.

SEE MORE: 36 Backyard Pergola and Gazebo Design Ideas

From: Nar Bustamante

Work With Strengths

Maximize a property's strongest asset, like the sloping hill of this beautiful backyard. To one side of the wild plantings, wide concrete steps lead down to the swimming pool and patio. A fire pit situated in front of an artful retaining wall makes the perfect spot for entertaining as the sun goes down.

SEE MORE: 26 Sturdy Retaining Wall Ideas for a Sloped Yard

From: Shades of Green Landscape Architecture

Get Creative With Seating

Perfect for entertaining large parties, a built-in bench curves around the entire lower section of the deck. Planter boxes are integrated into the bench, bringing lushness to the deck. A band of composite decking in a different shade visually separates the stacked stone fire pit area. Photo courtesy of Trex

Play With Materials

Use different materials to create a striking juxtaposition. Here, a sunken lounge and dining area has a rustic wood and stone façade that contrasts against the mid-century modern home's exterior. Cushioned bench seating and an array of neutral and creamy pillows balance the hard surfaces and create a comfy spot to share food and convos.

From: Jamie Durie

Map Out Zones

When designing a large outdoor space, break the area into different outdoor rooms. Using a variety of structures, like pergolas, an outdoor kitchen and even a built-in bench, you can create multiple areas to sit, sip and relax.

From: Jawitz Properties Ltd.

Plan for the Seasons

When it comes to creating an outdoor space, designer Heather Lashbrook Jones of a Blade of Grass Landscape Design says, "Design for all seasons, but always include something exciting for early spring, when you'll likely be starved for color." Heather and her team made this patio a year-round destination with beautiful flowers that spill over the fieldstone walls in spring and summer, as well as a built-in fire pit for the cooler months.

Reimagine Decking

Leave the standard deck behind, and create a one-of-a-kind design. Not only does a custom deck design add visual interest, but it allows you to define spots for gathering. Here, a dining area, hot tub spot and outdoor lounge feel like separate "spaces" on this small deck.

Go All Out

When it's within your reach, pull out all the stops. Dream up a luxurious getaway, complete with everything you'll ever need to relish in your outdoors: a kitchen with a bar area for prepping and entertaining, a dining table set for 10 and of course, a warm seating area by a truly elaborate fireplace.

From: Zucker Design Associates

Incorporate Greenery

Use plants to add life and texture to your outdoor structures. Sweet potato vines, coleus and creeping jenny soften and drape over the home's exterior and modern wall fountain. On the raised deck, bright blue Adirondack chairs encircle the fire pit to enjoy the backyard, warm fire and soothing sounds from the water feature.

From: Mom's Design Build

Rooms With a View

Designer Heather Lashbrook Jones of a Blade of Grass Landscape Design suggests to prioritize the areas that will be seen the most. From their back windows, the homeowners overlook a lovely bluestone patio so Heather chose to bump up this area's wow factor with low stacked stone walls that define the outdoor living and dining areas. To cozy up the seating area, she added a custom outdoor fireplace constructed of American and Corinthian granite.

40 Outdoor Structures That Bring the Indoors Out

Related To:

Shop This Look

Invest in Screens

Extend Your Home

Modernize a Classic

Design Layers of Entertaining

Keep It Simple

Visualize Your Evenings

Make a Path

Get Playful

Craft a Shelter

Build the Ultimate Fireplace

Brave the Elements

It's All About Balance

Create an Outdoor Haven

Introduce Ambiance

Lounge in Luxury

Create a World Away

Protect Your Privacy

Prioritize Your Wants

Fortify Your Fire Pit

Prep Your Waterside

Enchanting Entrance

Establish Landing Places

Bring On the Style

Rinse the Day Away

Use Locally Sourced Materials

Pull Up a Stool

Amplify Your Living

Build a Wall

Match Your Design Styles

Cozy Conversations

Add Some Shade

Work With Strengths

Get Creative With Seating

Play With Materials

Map Out Zones

Plan for the Seasons

Reimagine Decking

Go All Out

Incorporate Greenery

Rooms With a View

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