Yards/Patios/ Courtyards

The little house has a firepit surrounded by a steel bench that McWhirter designed, and the couple grow vegetables in raised beds. They “sped up the process a little bit,” McWhirter says, on the corrugated steel fence’s patina by using hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and salt.

Naeem joins his tenants at a table designed by Studio Propolis set on the kitchen-side terrace, paved with hand-dressed stone. A vine will someday cover the steel trellis to complement the lushness of the garden.

Kenyan designer Naeem Biviji, cofounder of Studio Propolis with his wife, Bethan Rayner, added a 250-square-foot extension to their Nairobi home. The new living room has sliding doors made of recycled wood that open onto a trellis-topped terrace filled with plants grown from clippings harvested from Naeem’s mother’s garden.

Tucked away in Beverly Hills, the Sommers House was Robert Kennard’s first project after leaving Richard Neutra’s office—and it received a major renovation by Marmol Radziner.

"The generous nearly half-acre lot presents a secluded park-like setting with mature trees, and hillside nature trails leading up to Loma Linda Drive above,

The home is accessible year-round, although snowy winters and road closures make the trip from Seattle a bit longer during the colder months.

Daniela and Francisco are a psychologist and engineer by day (respectively), but they’d almost always rather be outdoors. They’re avid hikers and passionate about sustainability, so when they had the chance to build an off-the-grid vacation home on a rustic lakeside patch of land in Southern Chile, they jumped on it.

In addition to the private backyard, the home also includes spacious rooftop that captures striking city views.

In pleasant weather, most entertaining takes place on the expansive terrace, connected to the interior through swaths of floor-to-ceiling glass.

At the basement level, the home opens to a sunken courtyard that makes space for reading and contemplation.

The balance of mint green-painted ironwork, plants, pool, and blue sky capture the warmth of the Mérida indoor-outdoor living environment.

FMT Estudio renovated the pool deck with sanded red bricks manufactured in central Mexico.

Landscape studio Moody Graham collaborated on the garden design, planting mostly edibles and a riot of flowers. The steel trellis crowns the built-in limestone bench and lavender-filled planters.

A new deck was built to be wider for more accessibility, and to also make space for a dining area and hot tub.

To date, the pair and their pals have built a compound complete with sheds, tree decks, a pavilion, a wood-fired hot tub, an outhouse, an outdoor shower, and, now, a redwood cabin where an ever widening network of friends gather for skill-sharing workshops and events.