Deck - mid-sized traditional backyard deck idea in Seattle with no cover

Ipe deck with cable railing. Under deck storage and horizontal deck skirting, stainless LED deck lighting
Trendy deck photo in San Diego with no cover

Patio vertical garden - traditional brick patio vertical garden idea in Boston with a gazebo

Project Details - Stone Terrace, walkway and Garden wall, Azek decking and Railling, Beadboard ceiling and landscaping
Elegant stone covered patio photo in Philadelphia

This modern home, near Cedar Lake, built in 1900, was originally a corner store. A massive conversion transformed the home into a spacious, multi-level residence in the 1990’s. However, the home’s lot was unusually steep and overgrown with vegetation. In addition, there were concerns about soil erosion and water intrusion to the house. The homeowners wanted to resolve these issues and create a much more useable outdoor area for family and pets. Castle, in conjunction with Field Outdoor Spaces, designed and built a large deck area in the back yard of the home, which includes a detached screen porch and a bar & grill area under a cedar pergola. The previous, small deck was demolished and the sliding door replaced with a window. A new glass sliding door was inserted along a perpendicular wall to connect the home’s interior kitchen to the backyard oasis. The screen house doors are made from six custom screen panels, attached to a top mount, soft-close track. Inside the screen porch, a patio heater allows the family to enjoy this space much of the year. Concrete was the material chosen for the outdoor countertops, to ensure it lasts several years in Minnesota’s always-changing climate. Trex decking was used throughout, along with red cedar porch, pergola and privacy lattice detailing. The front entry of the home was also updated to include a large, open porch with access to the newly landscaped yard. Cable railings from Loftus Iron add to the contemporary style of the home, including a gate feature at the top of the front steps to contain the family pets when they’re let out into the yard. Tour this project in person, September 28 – 29, during the 2019 Castle Home Tour!

Arlene Williams
Eat-in kitchen - traditional medium tone wood floor eat-in kitchen idea in Other with granite countertops, an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, white cabinets, white backsplash, stone tile backsplash, paneled appliances and an island

Inspiration for a timeless backyard concrete paver patio kitchen remodel in Columbus with a gazebo

This freestanding covered patio with an outdoor kitchen and fireplace is the perfect retreat! Just a few steps away from the home, this covered patio is about 500 square feet. The homeowner had an existing structure they wanted replaced. This new one has a custom built wood burning fireplace with an outdoor kitchen and is a great area for entertaining. The flooring is a travertine tile in a Versailles pattern over a concrete patio. The outdoor kitchen has an L-shaped counter with plenty of space for prepping and serving meals as well as space for dining. The fascia is stone and the countertops are granite. The wood-burning fireplace is constructed of the same stone and has a ledgestone hearth and cedar mantle. What a perfect place to cozy up and enjoy a cool evening outside. The structure has cedar columns and beams. The vaulted ceiling is stained tongue and groove and really gives the space a very open feel. Special details include the cedar braces under the bar top counter, carriage lights on the columns and directional lights along the sides of the ceiling. Click Photography

The masonry grill station and adjoining bar added maximum entertaining value for our clients. The grill station is wrapped in Eden cut stone veneer with a detail sailor row of the home’s bricks. A thermal bluestone coping provides a clean uniform surface and matches the adjoining patio. Included within the grill station are a ProFire 48” gas grill, a double gas side-burner, a large Kamoda Joe grill, a pullout trash and recycling drawer and a double wet sink/bar station. The raised bar area provides ample casual dining space and view of the outdoor television under pavilion. A custom cedar trellis supports Sweet Autumn clematis and has integrated LED under-ledge lighting.

Mid-sized arts and crafts backyard deck photo in DC Metro with no cover

Scott Feuer
Patio kitchen - traditional patio kitchen idea in San Francisco with a gazebo

We began with a structurally sound 1950’s home. The owners sought to capture views of mountains and lake with a new second story, along with a complete rethinking of the plan. Basement walls and three fireplaces were saved, along with the main floor deck. The new second story provides a master suite, and professional home office for him. A small office for her is on the main floor, near three children’s bedrooms. The oldest daughter is in college; her room also functions as a guest bedroom. A second guest room, plus another bath, is in the lower level, along with a media/playroom and an exercise room. The original carport is down there, too, and just inside there is room for the family to remove shoes, hang up coats, and drop their stuff. The focal point of the home is the flowing living/dining/family/kitchen/terrace area. The living room may be separated via a large rolling door. Pocketing, sliding glass doors open the family and dining area to the terrace, with the original outdoor fireplace/barbeque. When slid into adjacent wall pockets, the combined opening is 28 feet wide.

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

Photos by Manolo Langis.
Example of a mid-sized beach style u-shaped medium tone wood floor kitchen design in Los Angeles with an undermount sink, glass-front cabinets, white cabinets, green backsplash, subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances

Outdoor Living Spaces, Seat Wall, Firepit, Outdoor Fireplaces, Gazebo, Covered Wood Structures, Wood Fire Oven, Pizza Over, Custom Wood Decking, Ambient Landscape Lighting, Concrete Paver Hardscape

Photography: Ken Vaughn
Patio - traditional patio idea in Dallas with a gazebo

Huge trendy master white tile and marble tile marble floor bathroom photo in Chicago with an undermount sink, raised-panel cabinets, gray cabinets, marble countertops, an undermount tub and gray walls

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.

Patio kitchen - mid-sized mediterranean backyard stone patio kitchen idea in Other with a gazebo