Landscape Design
Trending Now: Cool Off With 10 Patios That Keep Temperatures Down
See the latest ideas for outdoor rooms, including shade structures, water features and accessories
Summer is all about outdoor living — if your climate allows it, that is. If you’re looking for inspiring photos of outdoor rooms with ideas that might help you keep cool outside, check out the 10 most popular patio photos added to Houzz from April through June this year, as measured by the number of people who saved them to their Houzz ideabooks during that time. Where would you like to kick back and relax? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
10. The space beneath a deck or cantilevered home can provide a great spot to escape the sun, as showcased by this shingled beach home in Sag Harbor, New York. Note how well the gray cushions of the sectional sofa pick up the colors in the tiled patio and how the wood-framed furniture ties in with the home’s wood siding.
9. Outdoor showers are a welcome accessory for summertime, and this boulder-mounted one anchoring a patio in Los Altos Hills, California, takes it to another level.
Due to this shower’s location and exposure, it would most likely be used for rinsing off, but the sunny location and rock surround are good examples to follow, reducing the chances of rot.
Browse outdoor showers | How to Add an Outdoor Shower
Due to this shower’s location and exposure, it would most likely be used for rinsing off, but the sunny location and rock surround are good examples to follow, reducing the chances of rot.
Browse outdoor showers | How to Add an Outdoor Shower
8. A deep overhang covers this contemporary courtyard in even shade throughout the day. And if things just get too hot, a petite plunge pool makes for a great place to cool off. The sound of the fountains adds another cooling layer to the space.
Sofa: Restoration Hardware
Sofa: Restoration Hardware
7. Cool off with curtains. They can help protect outdoor seating areas from hot summer sun and also add privacy and glamour to a space. When the sun goes down, open them up to welcome the cooler night air. While these curtains surrounding an outdoor dining table in Phoenix appear to be more for decoration, they frame the pool area and offer luxe drama.
Table and chairs: Custom-made by CC Patio
Table and chairs: Custom-made by CC Patio
6. An undulating canopy of natural fiber rolls over the pergola of this Mediterranean-style patio in Phoenix, providing protection from the intense desert sun while also allowing filtered light to shine through.
5. Satellite patios can draw people out into the garden. Adding a shade structure enhances the allure, as the patio becomes even more of a destination and place to linger. This patio in Portola Valley, California, features a rusted steel pergola frame and caned roof. Yellow flowers (Phlomis sp.) surround the clearing.
Expand Your Outdoor Living Space With a Satellite Patio
Expand Your Outdoor Living Space With a Satellite Patio
4. It might be hard to beat the heat in Dallas, but this backyard patio is the picture of cool. From the flip-up garage doors that connect the outdoor space directly to the home to the industrial shade structure and adjacent pool, these homeowners will be keeping cool, or at least having fun, all summer long.
Read more about this home
Read more about this home
3. While this outdoor dining area by Pacific Outdoor Living is part of a designer showcase, and perhaps beyond what we would normally include in our outdoor spaces, the bamboo woven panels and canvas roof help create privacy and shade while the water feature contributes a soothing, cooling sound. Shade structures like this one are useful because the canvas cover can be pulled back and opened when not needed.
Read more about this designer showcase home
Read more about this designer showcase home
2. Meals would be a treat to enjoy while sitting at this outdoor dining table beneath a classic white wood pergola. While a uniform grid keeps everything feeling ordered, the wicker furniture, distressed wood and light cushions maintain a casual, coastal vibe.
1. In this Palo Alto garden, olive trees frame an outdoor dining space, creating pockets of shade as the sun’s position changes throughout the day. The clean, geometric concrete pavers frame the gravel patio on the ground plane and are more likely to say cool on a hot summer day than a darker material would.
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The Rules of Summer: Backyard Edition
While It’s Still Hot Outside, Design a Landscape for Cooling
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The Rules of Summer: Backyard Edition
While It’s Still Hot Outside, Design a Landscape for Cooling