Patio

Tsutsui continued the Oregon pine from the floor to the steel-reinforced cantilevered staircase, which appears to float above the floor.

The lower level has a natural stone facade while polished concrete defines the upper level. Windows made with ClimaGuard glass provide sweeping views of the scenic landscape.

Cline incorporated a number of green features into the design including a super-insulated envelope, ultra-efficient heat pump, and skylights for natural daylighting. "It approaches standards," he says. Pavers lead to the front door.

Get Fired Cooper’s yard is small, but she wanted a spot for barbecues and socializing. The fire pit she devised was actually made of construction castoffs—she used leftover ends of framing two-by-fours for forms and poured the small concrete fire pit at the same time as the driveway slab—which means that it was very cheap but still offers a hot spot to relax with guests.

Concrete planters frame the facade—a union of monolithic slabs that offers privacy and compositional integrity to the building. The exterior is a plaster finish over insulation and concrete.

Landscape designer Bernard Trainor’s creative use of poured-in-place concrete pavers—such as off the living room, where they break up a low-maintenance lawn of June grass—give the irregularly shaped lot a sense of order. Foxtail ferns and blue chalk sticks, a succulent, lend dashes of color to the entry courtyard, while thyme makes for a fragrant accent between the pavers.

In fall, the color of this backyard in Charlottesville, Virginia, changes daily with the foliage. Elizabeth Birdsall marvels how new outdoor spaces on her property, like a patio furnished with upholstered seating from Gloster, make enjoying the woods an easy experience: “It’s like comfortable camping, all the time.”

A palette of stone, concrete, and greenery greets guests at the home’s front entrance.