S ome of the best rooms in a home have no walls at all. A morning coffee on the porch, a leisurely lunch beneath the trees, or patio cocktails as the sun begins to set become all the more memorable when the setting is thoughtfully designed. Whether enclosed by climbing vines, shaded by a pergola, or framed by panoramic views, these outdoor rooms gathered from the FREDERIC archives prove that great design doesn’t end at the door.
Zone Your Space
In the courtyard of Bill Brockschmidt and Richard Dragisic’s colorful cottage in New Orleans’s French Quarter, separate seating and dining areas make a long, narrow terrace equally suited to cocktail hour and dinners al fresco.
Frame the View
At this 16th-century French retreat designed by John Dransfield, the terrace feels like a seamless extension of the home’s limestone architecture while framing the picturesque landscape beyond. “Every room has windows that pull you to views of the valley,” says Dransfield. “Those views haven’t changed. They’re like framed works of art.” The terrace is grass, and the wicker furniture is cushioned in dark gray so that the views are the main attraction.
Bring the Inside Out
Rather than filling his screened porch on Long Island’s North Fork with typical outdoor furniture, designer Dan Mazzarini furnished it like a living room, complete with indoor lamps and pillows that are brought inside each evening. “It’s totally worth the extra effort,” he says.
Let Nature Set the Stage
On the compact deck off designer Lindsay Anyon Brier’s Mill Valley home, she replaced an old hot tub with an intimate dining nook. With help from landscape design firm Terremoto, it’s now shaded by a pergola draped with California grapevine and ringed with native grasses.
Go Bold With Color
Designer Allison Abney looked to the surrounding landscape when choosing the palette for this screened porch on Sullivan’s Island, painting the floor and shutters Sherwin-Williams’s Arugula to echo the jasmine vines and palmetto trees outside, while the vintage rattan chairs were given a sunflower-yellow makeover.
Create Indoor-Outdoor Flow
Designed to mirror the scale of the adjoining living room, this spacious Southampton loggia creates a seamless transition between house and garden. Designer Quinn Pofahl chose clean-lined, modern teak furniture, and tested eight shades of blue before landing on Benjamin Moore’s Sheer Bliss for the ceiling, echoing the color of the Hamptons sky.
Extend the Season
A wood-burning fireplace ensures this courtyard in Traverse City, Michigan isn’t reserved for warm-weather lounging alone. “They use the fireplace in cooler months and host movie nights for their friends and family,” says designer Summer Thornton, who softened the space with blush-pink seating.
Maximize Small Spaces
It might be petite in scale, but this pint-size terrace at Scott Formby’s Hollywood Hills home packs major appeal, with cushy banquette seating, cocktail tables, and an awning to shield loungers from the midday sun. Bonus: It’s located right next to the kitchen window—a perfect pass-through for cocktails!
Embrace Natural Textures
Jenni Kayne designed the side patio of this Brentwood, California, home so that it feels like a natural extension of the interior, with wood and woven wicker seating and airy white cushions. The stone outdoor fireplace adds eye-catching rugged texture and warms up chilly California nights.
Make It Multipurpose
The zigzag zellige-tiled terrace at Gavin Houghton’s Tangier home La Di Dar isn’t reserved for dining alone; it also doubles as Houghton’s plein air art studio. Bright red-striped cushions on the green bentwood chairs add to the pattern play.
Envision an Urban Oasis
Plentiful containers filled with shrubs, trees, and hydrangea bushes turn this Upper West Side terrace designed by Alison Downey into a verdant bastion of calm in the heart of Manhattan. A French limestone fountain by Charme D’antan provides a focal point for the rear sitting area and ups the country-garden feel.
You Can’t Go Wrong With Blue and White
For a grand 1886 Victorian house in Greenwich, Connecticut, designer Georgia Tapert Howe mixed wicker (including a custom 14-foot-long sofa from Wicker Works), ceramics, and fresh blue-and-white patterns to create an irresistibly pretty back porch. Ceiling fans and heat lamps help make the screened-in space a three-season hang. Howe painted the ceiling in Yarmouth Blue and the floorboards in Coventry Gray, both from Benjamin Moore.
