Elegant pool photo in Birmingham

This is a pergola we just finished up in Miamisburg, Ohio. The client lives on a golf course in Miamisburg, Ohio and the sun came in the back windows. The client got the idea for a pergola after seeing the pergola we installed on his daughter's patio. This pergola is 100% custom and made from the finest quality cedar. You can see more pictures of pergolas we've installed around Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus on our website http://www.twobrothersbrickpaving.com or our Facebook http://www.facebook.com/twobrothersbrickpaving

Elegant patio photo in Boston

Photo of a mid-sized traditional backyard landscaping in Philadelphia.

This shade arbor, located in The Woodlands, TX north of Houston, spans the entire length of the back yard. It combines a number of elements with custom structures that were constructed to emulate specific aspects of a Zen garden. The homeowner wanted a low-maintenance garden whose beauty could withstand the tough seasonal weather that strikes the area at various times of the year. He also desired a mood-altering aesthetic that would relax the senses and calm the mind. Most importantly, he wanted this meditative environment completely shielded from the outside world so he could find serenity in total privacy. The most unique design element in this entire project is the roof of the shade arbor itself. It features a “negative space” leaf pattern that was designed in a software suite and cut out of the metal with a water jet cutter. Each form in the pattern is loosely suggestive of either a leaf, or a cluster of leaves. These small, negative spaces cut from the metal are the source of the structure’ powerful visual and emotional impact. During the day, sunlight shines down and highlights columns, furniture, plantings, and gravel with a blend of dappling and shade that make you feel like you are sitting under the branches of a tree. At night, the effects are even more brilliant. Skillfully concealed lights mounted on the trusses reflect off the steel in places, while in other places they penetrate the negative spaces, cascading brilliant patterns of ambient light down on vegetation, hardscape, and water alike. The shade arbor shelters two gravel patios that are almost identical in space. The patio closest to the living room features a mini outdoor dining room, replete with tables and chairs. The patio is ornamented with a blend of ornamental grass, a small human figurine sculpture, and mid-level impact ground cover. Gravel was chosen as the preferred hardscape material because of its Zen-like connotations. It is also remarkably soft to walk on, helping to set the mood for a relaxed afternoon in the dappled shade of gently filtered sunlight. The second patio, spaced 15 feet away from the first, resides adjacent to the home at the opposite end of the shade arbor. Like its twin, it is also ornamented with ground cover borders, ornamental grasses, and a large urn identical to the first. Seating here is even more private and contemplative. Instead of a table and chairs, there is a large decorative concrete bench cut in the shape of a giant four-leaf clover. Spanning the distance between these two patios, a bluestone walkway connects the two spaces. Along the way, its borders are punctuated in places by low-level ornamental grasses, a large flowering bush, another sculpture in the form of human faces, and foxtail ferns that spring up from a spread of river rock that punctuates the ends of the walkway. The meditative quality of the shade arbor is reinforced by two special features. The first of these is a disappearing fountain that flows from the top of a large vertical stone embedded like a monolith in the other edges of the river rock. The drains and pumps to this fountain are carefully concealed underneath the covering of smooth stones, and the sound of the water is only barely perceptible, as if it is trying to force you to let go of your thoughts to hear it. A large piece of core-10 steel, which is deliberately intended to rust quickly, rises up like an arced wall from behind the fountain stone. The dark color of the metal helps the casual viewer catch just a glimpse of light reflecting off the slow trickle of water that runs down the side of the stone into the river rock bed. To complete the quiet moment that the shade arbor is intended to invoke, a thick wall of cypress trees rises up on all sides of the yard, completely shutting out the disturbances of the world with a comforting wall of living greenery that comforts the thoughts and emotions.

Design ideas for a mediterranean partial sun side yard landscaping in Orange County with a pergola.

Example of a huge farmhouse backyard concrete paver patio design in Salt Lake City with a pergola

A freestanding six-column cellular vinyl pergola with cellular vinyl lattice privacy panels captures the imagination, defines an outdoor area, and encourages climbing plants with dignity and style.

Design ideas for a mid-sized traditional shade backyard landscaping in Philadelphia.

Example of a mid-sized tuscan backyard stone patio design in San Francisco with a pergola and a fireplace

© Alyssa Lee Photography
Inspiration for a timeless backyard stone patio remodel in Minneapolis with a pergola

Design/Build by Jpm Landscape
Example of a mid-sized classic backyard patio design in San Francisco with a pergola

Project designed and built by Atlanta Decking & Fence.
Example of a classic deck design in Atlanta with a pergola

Angie Seckinger
Patio - traditional patio idea in DC Metro with a pergola

ALTUS Architecture + Design
Inspiration for a contemporary gray exterior home remodel in Minneapolis

When we met with the owners of this home, they presented us with a book illustrating the work of Greene and Greene (architectural predecessors to Frank Lloyd Wright.) They told us that they wanted the work in that book to be the inspiration for their landscape. Excited about this new creative opportunity, we brought the book back to the office and pored over it. The Greene and Greene philosophy is captured in this quote: “The Style of the house should be as far as possible determined by four conditions: First, Climate; Second, Environment; Third, Kinds of materials available; Fourth, Habits and tastes—i.e., life of the owner” (C. S. Greene). We built the landscape with those elements in mind. The patios are proportional to the house and suitable for their intended use. We used an eclectic blend of reclaimed materials to create the elegantly simple outdoor living spaces that surround this home. When we installed the plant material, we re-used and transplanted as much of the existing plant material as possible. All the mature trees were left untouched. For new plants, we chose from native cultivars that would transition smoothly to the wooded space surrounding the home. The house sits on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River. Greene and Greene referred to such homes as ultimate bungalows. O'Grady's Landscape

On a tiny lot on a quiet little dead-end street, we tucked this high-performance gem between two other small houses. Photo: Brian vanden Brink
Example of a small classic two-story wood exterior home design in Boston

Nancy Hill
Inspiration for a mid-sized victorian screened-in back porch remodel in New York with a roof extension

Marques Hardin
Patio - traditional patio idea in Los Angeles with a fire pit and a pergola