Flip/Flop House(S) Modern Deck, Seattle

1. Add a retractable awning. The idea of an awning may call to mind a cheerfully striped traditional shade, but these days more modern options abound, including high-tech versions that are automatically raised and retracted depending on weather conditions.Bonus: This option also helps shade windows, which keeps the house cooler and saves on energy costs.Awnings: WaremaSee more of this house

The Nitty-Gritty Patio floor: Variegated bluestone pavers set in a “random” pattern. The pavers are sand set and have an epoxy-based sand joint stabilizer. “This reduces the chance of weeds growing in the joints,” says Mohler. The patio is impervious, but water drains away from the house into the planting bed at the yard’s edge. Threshold: The house’s floor sits 2 feet (61 centimeters) above the patio level. Mohler bridged that transition by building a 6-foot-deep deck and a wall of French doors. Two extra-wide steps move visitors smoothly down onto the patio, and also double as seating when a lot of people are over. The deck is made of a tight knot cedar with stair nosings made from clear cedar. It is finished in Cetol DEK Finish by Sikkens in color Natural.Awning structure: Custom aluminum and Sunbrella retractable awnings from Warema, a German firm that offers shade structures and window treatments. “Each awning is roughly 9 feet long and projects 6 feet out from the house,” says Mohler, who installed them himself. The yard faces west, so the awnings shade the interior of the house in summer. The awnings are retracted during the rest of the year to let maximum light into the house during the dark Seattle winters. “They do what they need to do, work well and are beautifully constructed,” says Mohler. Attached or detached? The awnings are bolted onto the rib beam of the second floor framing. “Because they cantilever out from the house, they must be anchored to a substantial structural member,” Mohler says. “The rib beam is solidly fastened to the floor joists it supports to keep it from rotating when the awnings are extended.”Plants: Japanese maples and mature pines provide the garden’s structure. Jill Fresonke, Mohler’s wife, planted a palette of drought-tolerant, mostly native plants around the patio. The foliage shades the west-facing patio and house in summer and allows the sun to warm them up in winter.

15. Patio for a Shared Property in SeattleLocation: Backyard of a home in SeattleSize: 461-square-foot (42.8-square-meter) patio; 297-square-foot (27.6-square-meter) deck and stepsA wall of glass doors from the home’s great room opens to a long deck of tight knot cedar with steps down to a bluestone patio. Architect and homeowner Rick Mohler extended dining, living and entertaining outside on this corner lot in Seattle. Foliage plants and retractable awnings shade the house and landscape in summer; the deciduous foliage drops and the awnings are pulled up to keep the garden warm in winter.See this patio’s detailsTell us: Have you recently built a patio, or do you plan to? Upload your photos and show us in the Comments. More10 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Landscape DesignerFind landscape architects in your areatSee more patios

Extendable shade from house, ground transition

french doors & retractable awnings