Escaping to a well designed backyard can certainly be a vacation all its own. Whether or not you live in a tropical paradise, your patio can sure make your home feel like one. All it takes is some inspired landscaping, chic yet breezy furnishings, and maybe a lush pergola or two to make your patio the central hub of outdoor entertaining for all seasons. What could be more fun than an oversized patio umbrella for those breezy spring cocktail parties?
These designer patios will inspire you to spend more time embracing the great outdoors—whether you love hosting summer dinner parties or prefer to spend your time in the garden. These gorgeous patios are a much-needed breath of fresh air, and are packed with ideas for making your outdoor living space that much more comfortable in any season. Read on to discover 60 designer patio ideas that are sure to inspire you to create the perfect outdoor living room.
1
Cottage-Style Dining
A faux-bois table (Diane Husson) plays off the natural beauty surrounding the dining terrace at architect Paul Bates's Birmingham cottage. Chinese Chippendale chairs (Hall Bradley for Brown Jordan) echo the patterns of trellis which are often seen in gardens.
2
Conversation Starter
Washington, D.C.-based designer Byron Risdon envisioned the lush patio at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House in Dallas as an entertaining haven. In the primary seating area, Risdon replaced the existing fireplace with Strike’s Laguna stone mantel and created a conversational pit with crescent sofas upholstered in a woven salmon-and-cream acrylic fabric by Perennials.
3
Abstract Beauty
A larger-than-life glazed ceramic and lava stone mural by Michelle Grabner animates the inviting patio at this art collector's Florida retreat designed by Ellen Hamilton.
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4
Townhouse Charm
Designer Summer Thornton pulled inspiration from the courtyards of New Orleans for the playful patio at her Chicago townhouse. The black and white floor features stone (Exquisite Surfaces) sourced from quarries in cold parts of northern China and Europe.
5
English Entertaining
Esther Cayzer-Colvin drew inspiration from her own family when it came time to decorate the indoor and outdoor rooms of her English estate. For example, the dining set on her garden patio was passed down by Cayzer-Colvin's grandmother Nancy Lancaster, the influential post-war Anglo-American designer and co-owner at Colefax and Fowler.
6
Pergola-Covered Dining Patio
At this Napa Valley family retreat, designer Dan Fink and architect Carl Baker of Ike Kligerman Barkley extended the living space by adding a pergola-covered gravel dining patio just off the great room. Striped cushions (fabric by Perennials) outfit the seating around a custom iron-and-teak dining table.
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7
Soothing Patio Fountain
When designers Jeffry Weisman and and Andrew Fisher first discovered their San Miguel de Allende home, they were struck by the patio garden's cool, dappled light and and gentle, splashing outdoor fountains. Here, custom urns flank the entrance to a magical middle garden.
8
Dining Under Jacarandas
At designers Jeffry Weisman and Andrew Fisher's home in San Miguel de Allende, a series of sinuous bronze-tone nesting tables on the garden patio is set for Christmas dinner. Spheres of greenery and florals shroud electrified chandeliers overhead, strung from the jacaranda trees. Tables and teak Klismos chairs, Fisher Weisman Collection
9
Rowhouse Escape
Built in 1840, this London rowhouse recently redesigned by Gary McBournie features an expansive urban patio in the back. Custom latticework garden mirrors flank the terrace’s stone fountain, adding symmetry and the illusion of depth. Furnishings, McKinnon and Harris
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10
Poolside Patio
At this Ross, California, home, landscape designer Erica Timbrell carved out extra poolside seating with the addition of a patio under a canopy of California redwoods. A teak sectional commands the stone-wrapped alcove.
11
Patio Sculpture Garden
At the 2021 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, designer Ken Fulk took inspiration for the courtyard patio off of his study, where a trio of classical figures surrounds a commanding armillary as Fulk's homage to the three fates—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos—and the rites of spring. The settee is trimmed in sapphire fringe and red cord trim, both by Perennials.
12
Dining Under the Vines
At her new home in Sonoma, California, Chairish co-founder and president Anna Brockway sets a "classic California table," alive with organic craft and and electric color—and of course layered with vintage finds. Tablecloth, lisacorti.com
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13
Oceanfront Firepit
At this Pebble Beach, California, home designed by Mary McDonald, a stone firepit anchors an expansive patio overlooking the Pacific. Furniture, Janus et Cie
14
Covered and Collected Patio
At the 2020 Kips Bay Decorator Show House Dallas, designer Kevin Spearman treated his covered patio space "like an indoor room without walls," making sure to furnish it with luxurious comforts and a collected mix. Highlights include a vintage Moroccan rug from Carol Piper made by the Tuareg tribe, 1940s French wicker chairs from Galerie Novella, and the vintage wicker Parisian light fixtures from fellow Show House designer M Naeve.
15
Awning-Covered Patio
On a brick-paved patio in Hancock Park’s historic Fremont Place, designers and VERANDA 2022 Next Legends Ron Woodson and Jaime Rummerfield capture the essence of the home’s early mid-century DNA with a Regency barkcloth table covering from the same era and a vintage Salterini garden dining set. “The home was built by 1940s architect Clarence J. Smale, who was known for his brickwork and plaster-finished estates and movie theaters, including the Loyola Theater on Sepulveda Boulevard,” says Rummerfield.
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16
Fireside Patio Dining
At this Nashville, Tennessee, home designed by Richard Hallberg, a bluestone patio is one of several places designed for outdoor entertaining. Intimate dinners by the fire are served at a French limestone table with a shapely urn base. Furniture, Formations.
17
Covered Poolside Patio
Designer Meredith McBrearty collaborated with architect Ryan Street on this Dallas home, which features seamless transitions between indoor spaces and the outdoor living spaces. Here, native dry-stack limestone from Leuders, Texas, cloaks the newly built house in sculptural, organic beauty. Douglas fir ceiling paneling extends from indoors out, stretching across the home’s deep overhangs to create a covered patio. Lounge chairs, Sutherland. Cushion fabric, Perennials
18
Sunken Patio Fountain
At this West Hollywood home, landscape architect Anna Hoffman designed a simple stucco fountain along one side of the sunken dining patio to drown out noise from the nearby street, creating an utterly transportive effect using very little square footage.
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19
Sunset Cocktails Patio
At this Birmingham home designed by architect Paul Bates and designer Melanie Pounds, a cocktail patio extends off the butler’s pantry, at the ready for refills. Wicker chairs, Patina.
20
Reclaimed Firepit
In the inner courtyard patio of this Santa Monica home, landscape architect installed Forest Pansy trees, known for their early spring, pink blossoms, at the corners of this stone patio featuring a 13th-century well reclaimed as a firepit.
Lauren Wicks
Freelance Writer
Lauren Wicks is a freelance writer and editor based in Birmingham, Alabama. Before going on her own, Lauren worked for brands such as VERANDA, EatingWell, and Cooking Light, and she covers all things lifestyle from interior design and luxury travel to wine and wellness.