outdoor spaces

The contrast between old and new is especially appreciated in this view of the back of the house. Made of poured concrete and topped with granite, “the firepit is the heart of the garden,” says landscape designer Jen Stephens. To the left is a full outdoor kitchen. The porte cochere is to the right.
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The deck of the forty-five-foot-long pool is paved with Goshen stone. “It gives the pool a clean, contemporary yet natural flavor,” says landscape designer Miroslava Ahern, who used Caledonia granite for the pool’s apron. The wellness pavilion is reflected in the water. It has a serene outdoor patio space used for yoga.
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To create a confetti of color at the back of the house, Scanniello planted the deep crimson Darcey Bussell with Heritage and other repeat-blooming varieties that would extend the drama throughout the season. In the beginning, Scanniello let the roses perform without competition. Later, other perennials were added to the beds.
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The exterior materials palette includes natural cedar siding (horizontal in the front, as seen in this image, and vertical in the rear), white fiber-cement panels, and ebony-stained cedar accents. “The cedar is already in the process of aging, and the goal is for it to weather to a nice silvery gray,” says architect Matt Genaze.

Architect David Scott Parker designed the pool pavilion to act as a proscenium for the view of Long Island Sound. As a symbolic tribute to painter John Frederick Kensett, who once lived on the site and whose circa 1872 painting, The Old Pine, Darien, Connecticut, is part of The Met’s permanent collection, the team went to great lengths to preserve the pine tree (not the same one that’s in the painting) that sprouts from the granite ledge on the left.
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The roof-deck’s original pavers got so hot during the summer that the space was difficult to use, especially for the kids. Bourque replaced the pavers and worked closely with Tuuci to install the exterior umbrellas via crane; everything, including the toss pillows, is weighted so it stays put for safety during life’s inevitable squalls.
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With its retractable screens, the elegant porch of this New Hampshire vacation home can be converted into an open-air, three-season outdoor room with the push of a button. The homeowners and their guests relax on hearty resin-wicker outdoor furniture while enjoying the home’s views of Lake Winnipesaukee.
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Architect Tom Catalano was tasked with designing a summer residence (left) for two sisters on a waterfront property located next door to their parents’ house, which Catalano conceived fifteen years ago. The existing pool and pool house (right) now serve both properties and act as a central entertaining space and social hub.
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“It’s a bird-watcher’s paradise,” the wife says of the estuary out back, where seals sometimes frolic between the mounds of marsh grass. The eighty-six-acre property is also home to chickens and goats, as well as an apple orchard and crops, which the children help tend as a kind of outdoor environmental classroom.
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In addition to the renovation of the main house, the project also included building a pool, a cabana, and a carriage house. The latter, which functions as a garage, a guesthouse, and a game room, features a bar area that can be enjoyed indoors or outdoors thanks to a handy folding window; the barstools are from Palecek.
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On the terrace, furniture can easily be reconfigured for entertaining. To keep guests safe without detracting from the view, a very fine (“like netting,” says landscape architect Michael Lindquist) mesh fencing with an almost transparent top rail perches on the seawall.
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A brise soleil breaks up sunlight over a seating area with ikat cushions in the wife’s favorite color combination: orange and green. Custom Quality Pools built the pool, which replaced a smaller one. The pool house is also new. This space helped unite the two properties and operates as a transition from the main house to the guesthouse.

An existing tiki bar on the property was too far gone to salvage, so KVC Builders constructed a new cedar structure on the original footprint.

A screened porch located off the pub can be closed off with folding glass doors. In the clients’ former house, the main living areas were on the upper level with little connection to the outdoors, so the goal for this project was to unite the living spaces with nature as much as possible and allow the lake to take center stage. “We wanted to create the feeling of these big public spaces stretching over the water,” notes Knerr.
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For a nineteen-acre property on Cape Cod, Shope Reno Wharton architects designed a pool and recreation area that functions as a central meeting hub for the homeowners’ family and their frequent guests. The 4,600-square-foot pool house, one of many outbuildings on the grounds, was situated to align views with a salt marsh and the ocean beyond.
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A pool pavilion designed by architect Kevin ten Brinke is the focal point of this new backyard entertaining area in Weston, Massachusetts. Interior designer Rachel Reider furnished the space with a sofa and coffee table from Sutherland, pillows upholstered in a Perennials fabric, and a rug from Landry & Arcari Rugs and Carpeting.

A pool pavilion designed by architect Kevin ten Brinke is the focal point of this new backyard entertaining area in Weston, Massachusetts. Interior designer Rachel Reider furnished the space with a sofa and coffee table from Sutherland, pillows upholstered in a Perennials fabric, and a rug from Landry & Arcari Rugs and Carpeting.
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