Outdoor Gazebo

What is an outdoor gazebo?
It is an outdoor structure that can be used as either a garden shelter, outdoor room, or viewing pavilion. Gazebos go back 5,000 years in history to Ancient Egypt. The modern outdoor gazebo, however, is based on the combined design motifs of Japanese teahouses, Chinese garden shelters, and small Dutch buildings.

What types are there to consider?
There are several different types that you can choose from. There is the conventional style that is basically an outdoor room with a floor, supporting pillars, and a ceiling. Some people, however, prefer to have a custom patio substituted as the floor, or to have the gazebo itself built on top of a courtyard patio.
You can also have a portable gazebo constructed that can be moved from point to point within your yard.
What shape are they built in?
They can be built in hexagonal, octagonal square or rectangular designs.

Why should I consider an outdoor gazebo?
It is a great way to enjoy a view of your home, garden, and the surrounding Houston landscape. The covering gives you shelter from the sun on hot days, and it gives you shelter from rain on cloudy days. A screen can even be built around the sides to keep out mosquitoes.

What are these structures made of?
They are almost always made of wood. Cedar and pressure treated pine are the two most common wood types used. Cedar is much more expensive. Pressure-treated pine can be stained and painted to make a strong, sturdy structure that will last and that looks good near any garden, pool, pathway, or natural pond.

Can any other materials be used to build an outdoor gazebo?
Yes. In contemporary gardens, such a structure can be built out of metal, reinforced concrete, or even stone. The roof can be made from copper, slate, or some other inorganic material to contribute to the Mentalist themes of contemporary landscaping and contemporary gardens.

What are a few features to consider?
Outdoor lighting is always a good thing to have in any outdoor structure. It will not only make it easier for you and your guests to see each other at night, but it will also make the gazebo itself a notable landscape element in its own right.

You can also have a small bar installed, complete with an electrical outlet so you can plug in a blender for mixing drinks. Most Houstonians also want a ceiling fan installed in the top of their gazebo.

What is the best architectural style for an outdoor gazebo?
To a certain extent, the style is flexible. The only absolute here is that it has to compliment the architecture of the home. Beyond that, anything from an Amish design (which you typically see in garden pictures) or a wrought iron Victorian style will work with a variety of outdoor landscaping themes.

Try not to restrict yourself to a preconception of style, however. What we prefer to do is to create a landscape master plan that reflects the entirety of your dream of an outdoor lifestyle. The many elements of your landscape will both individually and collectively create this experience. The actual style of your gazebo will ultimately be determined by its location. If it is built near the home or garage, it will compliment building materials in those structures.

If, on the other hand, it is built in or near a garden, or setback among the trees, it will reflect a more organic theme and geometry. The colors and stains used will also support these motifs, so that when you look at your outdoor gazebo, you see an extension of the landscape itself in the form of a structure that both pleases the eye and invites your attendance.

Outdoor Living Space Design

What is the purpose of outdoor living space design?
It connects the home, outdoor rooms, and outdoor buildings to the environment. This link between the inorganic and the organic results in a fusion we call outdoor living space.

What are some considerations in outdoor living space design?
You want to subdivide your lot into zones of activity and special interest. This will make your landscape an outdoor equivalent to a house with many rooms inside. Without this process of subdivision and allocation, your yard will remain only a yard that lacks the structural complexity needed in a true living environment.

What types of zones do you create?
Generally we create zones that enhance mood or zones the serve a specific function. We can also blend mood with function with many of the elements that we design. Outdoor kitchens, for example, create a feeling of fine dining outdoors. They also serve a very practical function by making it possible to cook and enjoy an entire meal without ever once having to go inside. Play areas for children are another example. Play creates a feeling of fun for kids. A professionally designed play area can be built that gives them a place to practice for a sports team they may belong to, and it gives them a safer place to do it than simply playing in an open yard or a park without supervision.

How important is vegetation in outdoor living space design?
It is the heart and soul of everything. You can think of architecture and hardscape as the body of the design, and the organics of gardens, lawns, and trees as the spirit within the body. It is very important to develop organic element with as much care and deliberation as possible. The more of a feeling of life you have in your yard, the more apropos it feels as a living environment in its own right.

What types of vegetation do you plant?

• Special grasses more vibrant and attractive than San Augustine
• Vines and creepers that cover iron and brick with living matter
• Hedges of all kinds, ranging from tiny boxwoods to man-sized topiaries
• Trees of all sizes, ranging from trees barely taller than a child to towering oaks
• Flowering plants to add color to planters and patio edges
• Traditional and highly sophisticated garden designs

How do gardens contribute to outdoor living space design?
Gardens focus the eye onto geometric patterns that are formed out of multiple shades of green and many different colors. These patterns are formed as direct compliments to your home architecture and surrounding residential landscape design. Gardens also attract wildlife. You will see more butterflies, birds, squirrels, and even wild rabbits if you plant something that provides food and shelter for these creatures.

How do tree contribute to outdoor living space design?
Trees play a major role in two respects. The first is curb appeal through vertical impact. Because the Houston landscape is so flat, anything that rises up perpendicular to the ground is going to make the entire yard look uplifted to some degree.

The other role that trees play in your yard is providing you with shade. Just think about how hot it gets in the summer here and how important shade is to us all. We want the sun, but not too much of it. However, too much shade blocks out the sun in the winter time so you freeze if you go outside.

One of the marks of a good landscaper is the ability to judge where the sun will be travelling through the sky during the summer versus where it will be during the winter and plant trees according to the sun’s path. That way, summer sun is blocked, while winter sun is allowed to break through and warm the ground.

Garden Outdoor Room

What is a garden outdoor room?
A garden outdoor room is an outdoor room that directly connects to the back of a home. Many of these rooms are built with wings that connect on either side to the walls of the house itself. A custom stone, concrete, or brick patio provides a surface area for people to gather, relax, recline, and relish moments of conversation. A glass sliding door is almost always installed between the garden and the home interior.

What type of feeling should a garden outdoor room have?
Your garden outdoor room should look comfortable and inviting to those inside your house. This is why we almost always connect the two areas with a sliding glass door so people can see everything in the garden and eventually be drawn outside. It blurs the boundaries of interior and exterior space. People in the garden can see kitchens and living areas inside, and people in the house can see outdoor furniture, greenery and custom hardscape, and lighted fountains.

Is a garden outdoor room an important part of landscape design?
Yes. Adding a landscaped place so close to the house does several things for your yard. It brings nature right up to window, so to speak, with a convenience and immediacy that are literally only a few steps away. It also creates a transition area where indoor living turns into outdoor living. When you hold engagements at your home, your guests will appreciate being able to shift so quickly between the two without having to walk that far outside.

How do you determine how large a garden outdoor room should be?
The most important consideration we pay attention to is home architecture. The garden should be built to scale with the size of the house and the size of the yard.

What types of furniture do you put in a garden outdoor room?
That depends on what you plan to use the room for. If you want it to be more of a gathering place where people stand around and mingle, then a few stone benches are apropos. If this is going to be a central hub of conversation, you will certainly need more of a living room effect and a lot more comfort than stone seating provides.

Our design team will help you accessorize and color coordinate any number of outdoor furniture sets with the surroundings of the courtyard. Decorations can be a blend of indoor and outdoor motifs, including flowers, flower pots, planters, lighted fountains, and fine statuary. Patio design is always custom and made to support decorative themes without diminishing human comfort.

Can a garden outdoor room improve my property value?
Yes. The fusion of indoor and outdoor space creates a synergy between personal lifestyle and luxury outdoor living. Prospective buyers will immediately see the advantage of buying a home that already has extended living space, organic vitality, a connection to Nature, and personalized entertainment.

Patio Outdoor Room

When we design a patio outdoor room, there are certain common denominators we adhere to. These commonalities are intended to create structure and a sense of special purpose.

Why does an outdoor room need a patio?
A patio is an outdoor room’s equivalent of an indoor floor. People need some type of surface to stand and walk on because no matter how flat the Houston landscape is, the soil is too muddy and clumpy to provide the same stability as a patio does.

What types of patio outdoor rooms do you build?
We build everything from simple garden seating areas to elaborate outdoor kitchens, and everything in between. Many patio outdoor rooms have fireplaces, courtyard gardens, luxury furniture, and arbors. Architectural style, detail, and size of structure are based upon the intended use of the room and the number of people expected to use it.

What do you build outdoor patio rooms from?
Both organic and inorganic building materials can be used. The boundaries of the structure can be made from something as basic as a row of hedges or low-growth trees, or they can be physical walls made of sophisticated masonry much like that used to build a custom home. Again, it’s what the room will be used for and how it compliments both the home and the landscape that determines all of this. The most complex patio outdoor rooms are actual buildings that have three walls and ceilings, so you have one side open to the world, and the rest of the room sealed off in a controlled environment.


How do these rooms compare to rooms inside the home?
Other than having one side left open so you can view the landscape, they can be built almost identical to indoor rooms. Climate controls and lighting systems can be added to bring creature comfort to summer night outings. In fact, even open-aired rooms with no ceilings will always have some kind of lighting in order to create visibility and establish emotional tone. Summer kitchens with walls and ceilings will have modern appliances, living room areas, and dining areas. Kitchen areas are just like those found inside, and can include ovens, stoves, pizza ovens, and cocktail bars.

What about patio rooms built around gardens?
Such rooms are often called entry gardens and are ideal developments for unused property to the side of larger homes. They provide a warm, inviting setting for conversation under the trees, moon, and stars and can designed with a fusion of artwork and softscape. Planters, pottery, and garden elements keep the senses grounded in Nature, while fountains, bird baths, and statuary seamlessly blend with the best representations of human creativity at its finest.

As multitudinous as the possibilities are here, one thing is absolute. A patio outdoor room by Exterior Worlds is an outdoor lifestyle extravaganza that remains accessible throughout the year and at any time of night. It will give you luxury living that is never more than a few steps away from the vast world of Nature that surrounds you.

Houston Landscaping Creates an Outdoor Dinner Room

What is an outdoor dining room?
An outdoor dining room is an environment that is created through landscaping elements that creates a special space where dining feels appropriate and meals can be enjoyed in comfort. Traditional walls are typically not the norm for enclosing such spaces, although low-level architectural walls made from custom masonry may at times be used. More common enclosures are typically built from hedges that are low to the ground or from columns that set the space apart with a sort of “invisible wall between them” appeal that appears at once both contrasted from the surrounding landscape and simultaneously open to the full view thereof.

What are common furnishings in an outdoor dining room?
Common furnishings include chandeliers, fireplaces, and ceiling fans. Gas lanterns are also popular. Larger outdoor rooms can be decorated with curtains that partially enclose the space and still leave some space open to view the Houston landscape.

What does Exterior Worlds do to make this actually FEEL like an indoor room?
We make sure that the dining room tables have adequate space between the chairs. We set the room up on an axel basis to give it a sense of balance and proportion so that any vantage point looks equivalent to all others within the space. This contributes to a feeling of intimacy in the midst of open spaces.

We also sometimes add decorative stone mosaics beneath able to emulate the patterns seen on indoor rugs. If the room is designed between columns, these stones can also be placed between columns to create a feeling of grand entrance from either of two directions.

Where do you normally build these rooms?
Outdoor dining rooms are normally built near an outdoor kitchen or just behind a house.

Are they usually a part of an outdoor kitchen?
Yes.

Do they always have ceilings and hardscape walls, or can they be courtyard style surrounded by trees and hedges?
When it comes to using the term walls, we want to clearly define this term as meaning more than what you think of when you think of the walls inside your house. Walls that surround outdoor environments can never block the view of the Houston landscape. Instead, they have to be skillfully constructed to actually magnify its appeal by sectioning off a unique area which in turn provides a unique vantage point onto the rest of the Houston landscape.

What are common flooring materials?
We want these environments to be as comfortable as possible. Formality is something that nine times out of ten the homeowner prefers we avoid. Since a more casual environment is therefore preferable, any number of simple materials can be used to build a solid, attractive, floor surface that is workable and aesthetic enough to create mood—but never so overdone as to draw attention away from the moment and down to the ground.

What would be the point of that?

Do you place climate controls in these?
Normally we do not place climate controls in outdoor kitchens. Outdoor buildings like summer kitchens and entertainment rooms are better suited for AC and Heating. There have been exceptions to this per homeowner request, with the understanding that cooled air in such an enclosure is immediately lost to the environment.

Do you have restrooms in them?
Sometimes, yes.

What entertainment media, if any, goes into these rooms?
We can easily configure audio distribution centers, iPod connections, and television sets with all weather equipment.

Outdoor Living Designs

What is outdoor living?
Outdoor living designs by Exterior Worlds bring the inside world of the home into the outdoor realms of social opportunity and natural wonder. Conversation and relaxation are always to be found somewhere in an Exterior Worlds landscape master plan. Mobility is essential so people can move from point to point freely and escape the feeling that often accompanies being confined within four walls of a room. Special activities such as dining can also be integrated into a landscape design so that creature comforts and luxury transform the outdoor world into a world of refined Houston outdoor living.

How does it differ from indoor living?
Outdoor living designs differ from interior design in a number of respects. To begin with, they are far more organic in terms of sense. Even in the more modern landscape designs where vegetation is minimized and contained within geometry and abstract forms, living presences are still more common in the world outside the house than they are inside the house. Other, more traditional landscape designs are even more abundant in life force. The green elements of French, Italian, English, and Mediterranean gardens punctuate areas of growth and vitality that form the organic softscape constructs of superior landscape design.

Outdoor living designs are also more open than indoor equivalents and therefore give you far more. There is always a view of the sky, the many different elements occurring throughout the yard, and the trees, hedges, flowers, and grasses of the lawn. Even when residing in the enclosure of a so-called outdoor room, you are far less confined than you are inside a typical house. Outdoor rooms normally have at least one wall open to the rest of the landscape, and some do not even have walls per se at all. What we call a wall in such as structure can be a row of boxwoods or special planter with year-round blooming flowers. With outdoor structures, geometric focus is the intent more so than surrounding and complete enclosure.

What landscape elements are necessary to create differentiation?
To make outdoor living designs interesting and engaging, we have to break up the monotony of too much of any one thing. We avoid devoting too much of any one section of the yard to any one form. Instead, we like to build patios near gardens, and outdoor buildings under trees. We prefer courtyards to be integrated into entry gardens, and ornaments like statues and fountains to occupy otherwise empty space to provide unique focal points along transit areas that link the various gathering places that are designed around homeowner lifestyle and preferred activities.

How do we maintain comfort?
Comfort is a relative term when it come to outdoor living designs. The biggest complaint that Houstonians voice is the searing heat and humidity we experience for most of the year. There are a variety of ways we can compensate for this, including ceiling fans, AC in outdoor buildings, and outdoor fireplaces that can provide heat during cold and damp winter months.

Fine furnishings can be place d in both indoor and outdoor rooms regardless, and transit areas can be built to mimic the rhythm of the human footstep. Forms can be built around activities and personal preferences. For example, small seating areas can be built in a circle around a disappearing fountain or lighted garden area to create a sense of privacy and isolation for a few select guests chosen to be removed from the jostle of the crowd.

Outdoor Living Space

The intent of outdoor living space is to extend the definition of home beyond the boundaries of the house proper into the open areas beyond the walls and into the hardscapes and softscape beyond.

Outdoor rooms are a very important part to the creation of this whole thing we call outdoor living space. An outdoor room is not necessarily four walls and a ceiling. It can be anything from a courtyard surrounded by small architectural walls, or it can even be a patio ringed by clipped hedges. The important thing is the furniture. Furniture defines both décor and supports activity, so choosing the right style and pieces of furniture is a major factor in creating the right look and feel of outdoor living space.

Space management is always a big driver of cost and design when developing outdoor living space in a landscape master plan. The type of occasion hosted and the anticipated number of guests are two major criteria for determining outdoor living space. For example, we recently designed an outdoor summer kitchen that featured a living room and fireplace adjacent to the kitchen. Space was an issue in this project, like it is in so many others.

We had to really talk a great deal with the homeowner to determine if this was going to be a room primarily used for cooking and dining, or primarily for seating. The homeowner really wanted more of an outdoor living room and outdoor fireplace design. A fully functioning kitchen was needed here in order to prepare meals, but the main attraction was the living room setup. We helped consolidated the two requirements much like many indoor custom kitchens where the kitchen and dining areas are really one floor plan adjoined to the living room. With the right living room furnishings, our outdoor living space mimics a home interior very closely.

Transition spaces are also very essential to the ultimate success of outdoor living space design. It is simply not feasible to create points of interest throughout a landscape without also creating a motivation to move from point to point. Transition areas can be very many different things. Walkways and pathways are obvious transition areas. Other areas include stairs and special custom hardscapes. The form is established by the emotions you are looking to create.

For example, to put people at ease, you have to make everything on the landscape extremely comfortable. When we design stairs, for example, we build all steps to be 5-5 ½ inches high. This mimics the natural gate of people walking across the ground. They hardly ever notice they are climbing up or down the stairs. It lends a nice feeling to any occasion. Such natural ease turns outdoor living space into a comfort zone that rivals home interiors, and gives guests time to admire structural elements such as pools, gardens, fountains, and tree lines.

Houston Covered Outdoor Kitchen

If you are looking to create a new realm of Houston outdoor living for your family and friends, invest in a covered outdoor kitchen designed and built by Exterior Worlds. These all-purpose outdoor rooms are nothing less than fine indoor living space inverted and transformed into outdoor luxury areas that are constructed with everything a custom indoor kitchen or living room can provide.

In addition to convenient and dependable functionality, we can build your outdoor kitchen with any number of special features, amenities, and luxuries that you desire. Furniture and media systems that you would typically associate with living and family rooms can also be added to your outdoor floor plan in to give your landscape a central hub of fine food preparation, comfortable dining, luxury repose, quiet conversation, and high-tech entertainment.

Many of the features we build into our covered outdoor kitchens are standard, functional features that are essential to the function of the structure. These features designed first and are intended to make the room completely self-sustaining. There is no point in building an outdoor living environment that is dependent on the world inside. Instead, our outdoor rooms are so constructed that it is possible to begin and end an afternoon or evening outside no need to return to the house.

This high-level of convenience is made possible by a wise choice of essential appliances and conveniences.

Refrigerators Rated for Outdoor Use Separate Freezers to give you plenty of storage space Side burners for soups and sauces so you do not have to use us precious stove space for liquids Full-feature ovens Weather-resistant, attractive, stainless steel cabinetry Ice makers Granite or Marble countertops for food preparation Dining room areas Lighting systems and controls

There are also a great many custom options that can be added to any covered outdoor kitchens. Much creative license can be taken here, and the power of that license lies in the hands of you—the client. We want this room to be a room that you feel you personally customized as an expression of your core values, lifestyle, and personal taste. Provided nothing added violates safety regulations of interferes with the functionality of appliances, you practically have free reign in selecting the options that best meet your home entertainment needs.

Side grills for barbecuing on rainy Labor Days, Memorial Days, or Fourth of July Holidays Custom maple, oak, or mahogany cabinets and drawers Living room areas with couches, fireplaces, or fire pits Entertainment systems with the finest audio, visual, and mood lighting you can imagine.

Visualize fine living and ultra-convenience when you picture a covered outdoor kitchen by Exterior Worlds. This is one of the wisest investments you can make in landscaping design and personal luxury living. It is also one of the better ways to improve your property value should you ever decide to sell your home and move on.

Covered Outdoor Kitchen

One of our recent projects involved the construction of an outdoor kitchen. This was something of a challenging construction project because this portion of the yard lies below street level. We would not have discovered this problem were it not for our systematic methodology we follow in developing a landscape master plan, and for the 3D imaging software we use to model our design.

The survey of the property and subsequent model we adopted showed us exactly what grade elevations we were working with, and they provided us with the data necessary to develop a workaround for the problem. Rather than building the room in a less convenient location and risking ruining the aesthetic of the landscape, we simply installed a special pump to siphon out waste water into the drain system.

One of the most unique features of this outdoor kitchen was a custom smoker that we built inside it. Our clients like to smoke meats as much as they like to cook traditional fare, so this added convenience allowed them to do either or both all from the convenience of a central location.

We also added side burners that were specially designed for foods such as heated sautés, soups, chili, and other similar foods can all be prepared off to the side. This frees up a great deal of stove space for meats and vegetables without forcing the cook to change location to check on sauces or sups.

Because many outdoor events occur after sunset, it is very important that an outdoor kitchen have plenty of light. In addition to typical room lights we also installed a task light for cooking. The luminance of this fixture is so superb that the finest textures and colors are clearly visible even on dark, cloudy nights.

A number of specialized appliances were also installed in this outdoor kitchen so as to make it so fully operational that no one ever has to run inside. A sink and instant water heater were installed and linked to the hidden pump that removed the waste water from beneath the structure. We also added a refrigerator that was rated for outdoor use. It is equivalent in operability to indoor refrigerators, but specifically built to withstand the climatic and temperature variables that come with outdoor use.

We wanted to do more than simply make this structure a place for cooking food. The Pesek’s wanted us to create for them an outdoor living experience that represented the epitome of décor and amenity. They requested that we install custom mahogany cabinets and drawers. These helped to better establish a sense of décor, and they also provided excellent compliments to the architecture of the home.

A fireplace was built in the center of one wall, and fine furnishings were added to create the feel of an outdoor living room. The view of the landscape is superb from this seating area, because the outdoor kitchen is built at a terminal view point for the whole yard. The swimming pool lies in a direct line of site from its entrance and can be conveniently accessed at will.

Finally, to top of the sense of fine Houston outdoor living, we installed a fully operational sound system and entertainment system. Now, the Pesek’s can prepare a full course dinner for special guests and enjoy a movie, CDs, or, on cooler nights of the year, a warm conversation by the fireplace.

Outdoor Lounge Design Houston

By definition, an outdoor lounge is a seating area whose design creates the sense of an outdoor living room without the confines of enclosure. Instead of ceiling, you have open sky or overhanging tree branches. Rather than adjacent wall structures, you are either surrounded partly on one hand by the side of the home and the greenery of gardens and foliage on the other. The strength that outdoor lounge design contributes to the landscape is its unique ability to combine this sense of openness and freedom with a feeling of unspoken separation from more busy and activity-prone areas of the yard.

Outdoor lounge design originally got its name from the furnishings that tend to populate these special seating areas. Typically, couches, chairs, sofas, and papa sans used here are every bit as comfortable and opulent as equivalent furnishings used indoors. This does not mean to say that indoor furniture is an appropriate choice for an outdoor open setting.

Furnishings used here are specially designed to withstand the wear and tear of being outside, but they are made with an equivalent level of fashion sense and colorful appeal to the senses. Exterior Worlds includes furnishings such as this in its outdoor lounge design plans in order to save the client the expense and added trouble of having to go out and find these exceptional items on the open market.

In recent years, we have seen an increasing demand for outdoor lounge design throughout the Houston area. Interest in this unique aspect of landscaping appears to be linked to homeowner concerns about improving the market value of their properties. One of the many things that an outdoor room can do for any given portion of the yard is to increase its useable space up to 10 times. This is very important to homes that have intersecting sections that form something of an “L” shape between areas like the main living room, master bedroom, or a long hallway extending to a separate wing of the house. Leaving such an area just behind the home fallow leaves little more than an unused grassy area that is too small to plant a formal garden or build a custom patio. Such an area is wasted unless something measurably creative and useable can be developed that will turn this empty space into special space that contributes form, function, and added aesthetic to the yard.

The flooring for an outdoor lounge can either be wood or stone, depending on the design of surrounding terrain and the style and nature of home construction. Wooden decks with opulent furnishings are typically more popular when built immediately adjacent to a house, although this is not a hard-fast rule. More Old World style homes or the veritable mansions of River Oaks are more appropriately complimented by some type of custom stone work. Dimensions and geometry are planned in strict accordance with the laws of custom landscaping design: namely, nothing is ever done that does not first and foremost respect the architecture of the home and simultaneously work to unify that architecture with the surrounding elements of Nature.

Houston Outdoor Living

When developing the organic aspects of a Houston outdoor living environment, we focus on creating geometric forms that communicate the energies of Nature without violating the sense of order and system that has been ingrained in human consciousness for the past 10,000 years. This is why we put such a great deal of effort into garden services and tree maintenance. Plants need to be contained within the boundaries of a recognizable form whose style reflects the aesthetic of the landscape proper, and whose geometry and color scheme reflect the architectural style of the home. Tree maintenance protects number of parasites, diseases, so other elements of the landscape such as wooden arbor and shade gardens can be richly enjoyed both as gathering places and purely decorative elements when viewed from afar.

Once organic elements have been thematically developed, the focus of our work normally shifts toward landscape design for entertainment. Swimming pool remodeling often plays a major role in this because of the central position that the pool takes in so many events. More often than not, we find that the swimming pool the client either bought with the home or installed at a previous time does not quite fit the architecture of the home or surrounding landscape architecture. Redesigning a new custom swimming pool is the first step toward creating a more balanced and amenable back yard that creates an immediately noticeable upgrade in Houston outdoor living quality.

Other structures, of course, will be needed beyond the pool to create an environment that is more attractive to the visitor than the interior of the house. Hardscapes are also very important to comfortable Houston outdoor living because they provide areas for people to stand and sit on a solid surface. Think of a patio, walkway, or motor court as an outdoor floor, and you will immediately realize how important something as elementary as stone or concrete suddenly becomes to outdoor landscape design. Without attractive, well-constructed solid surfaces, people are left standing in the grass or the mud on spring and summer evenings—something you don’t want at your next party.

In fact, you do not want your guests to ever feel the need to go inside once they are outside. Outdoor rooms can be built that rival anything a living room or game room has to offer. Not every outdoor room has to have four walls and a ceiling, either. Some may have a fire pit, or be built in a courtyard design as part of a private entry garden. Others may be built alongside of a pool, near a fountain, or next to a natural pond to put activities an arm’s length away from nature.

Certain activities will require more than hardscape and residential landscape lighting. Things such as cooking, dining, playing video games, watching movies, and listening to music will require outdoor buildings such as summer kitchens, game rooms, and fully-functional outdoor living rooms can be built to make every aspect of Houston outdoor living a veritable rival to any conceivable experience you can have inside.

Houston Outdoor Kitchens

Outdoor kitchens, also known as summer kitchens, are becoming increasingly popular throughout the Houston area. While the summers here are truly scorching, summer kitchens can be built as climate controlled structures with fully functional HVAC systems and a host of modern appliances that rival an indoor kitchen. Aesthetically speaking, these are superb structures to add to any landscape. They can be built to respect the architecture of any style home, and they can be integrated into any style of landscaping design as well. Houston families are discovering an increasing value in these investments as a means to curtail the costs of going out and to provide family and friends with a truly superior outdoor living experience.

Outdoor kitchens give Houston residents the full service luxuries of custom interior kitchens. The point is to build a facility that is so complete and fully functional that the homeowner never has to run back inside. Outdoor kitchens have cabinets, drawers, countertops, ovens, and stoves—just like indoor kitchens. Ovens and stoves are fully functional and designed for cooking the finest main courses you would normally prepare indoors. Many Houston homeowners also ask us to install a secondary grill that will allow them to barbecue in the same area that they cook regular meals.All the appliances such as freezers, refrigerators, and icemakers are standard construction for outdoor kitchens. Houston is a hot climate, so cold storage is something we take very seriously. A partner lighting company is brought in to help install these appliances on dedicated circuits. These are special electrical wires that support each appliance independently to ensure it does not overload the surrounding appliances.

Sinks and pipes are normally made from stainless steel in order to protect these areas against corrosion. Countertops can be constructed from any number of materials, although we strongly recommend granite due to its superb aesthetic and its resistance to the elements. Cabinets are typically built out of stainless steel, but wood cabinets can be built by special request if the kitchen is sufficiently sealed off from the elements.

An outdoor kitchen will very quickly become the hub of entertainment in any Houston yard. These outdoor rooms are more than simply food preparation and cooking areas. They also include full seating and dining areas custom-built to the anticipated number of guests expected to attend outdoor events. Custom patio design is normally done to create an amenable, attractive surface area on which to comfortably dine and mingle. Steps are taken in a variety of ways to render the structure insect proof. This way, guests can enjoy the attractions of the outdoors without the annoyances of pests.

Making the structure work with the surroundings is the job of the landscape architect, whose design-build planning also gives equal priority to aesthetics as it does to functionality. Gardens are typically planted either around or adjacent to an outdoor kitchen to give it an extra sense of an outdoor feeling. Both interior and exterior lights are installed in the structure to make it visible and safe and optional lighting control systems can be added to create mood-altering effects by changing the intensity of the light or varying its degree of color rendering. Outdoor kitchens can even be equipped with audio and video systems that allow the best in music and film to be enjoyed over dinner.

Outdoor Kitchens

Exterior Worlds was contacted by a client with a unique landscaping challenge. Between one wing of their home and their garage, there was pie-shaped area of the yard that had never been used. This area was too large to ignore, but it was also too small to build a structure of any considerable size. At first the challenge was a bit perplexing. What were we to do with such a unique and difficult space? Fortunately, thanks to our in-depth consultation process aimed at finding out as much as possible about the client’s interests, we learned that this couple loved to host dinner parties at their home. We asked them if they would be interested in having an outdoor kitchen built in this spot. To this they heartily agreed, excited at the possibility of combining outdoor entertainment with the very best in culinary experiences.

In order to make the outdoor kitchen both aesthetically sensible and fully functional, we had to make the most of the limited space we had available. Following the example of interior architects, we decided to build the outdoor kitchen along the side wall of the garage. It stretched from the side door all the way to the corner of the garage. A smaller segment was built at a right angle to this, creating both a sense of enclosure around the patio area, and offering additional surface area for use as a wet bar or food storage area. Cabinets and drawers were then installed in both segments, and a granite counter top was added to provide a durable, and also very ornamental, surface area upon which to work.

The intent was to make this outdoor kitchen a completely self-sustaining area that would never require the owners to run back inside to retrieve or prepare anything. A number of high-end appliances that are standard to custom indoor kitchens were installed to make cooking outside convenient and quick. There was a freezer and a refrigerator which could be used to store food for indefinite periods of time, just as indoor models can do. We also installed an ice maker to keep drinks cool on hot summer afternoons. For cooking, we built our clients a stove with a special side burner that they heating up sauces so the homeowners when cooking spaghetti and chili for their guests. To keep smoke from annoying our clients’ neighbors, we also installed an overhead exhaust vent. All of these appliances were designed for electrical operation on dedicated circuits. The only exception to this was a small, gas-powered grill we installed to allow the homeowners to cook hot dogs, hamburgers, and barbecue in the same area they prepared other foods outside.

We then added a travertine patio to the outdoor kitchen, and used the remainder of the space adjacent to it for a few organic touches. To liven up the appearance of the wall, we built a custom iron trellis with suspended plants growing in the middle. This added a nice contrast of green and black to the white backdrop of the white brick wall. The plants were individually lit as well, so at dusk and nightfall they appear to rise out of the wall and create a superb three-dimensional, organic presence. Near the smaller segment of the countertop, we planted a small herb garden and framed it with a lemon tree and an orange tree on either side. This garden not only added a more robust aesthetic to the area, but it also allowed our clients to grow the herbs they normally cooked with and pull them straight from the garden when preparing meals.

We then enclosed the entire garden area and trees with a special fence made from pressure treated pine framed by iron around the edges. This had the effect of enclosing the patio area with a sense of life and growth that gave the outdoor kitchen a much greater sense of life and vitality than many kitchens of similar design builds found indoors.

Custom Outdoor Fireplaces

I’ve been reading a lot about outdoor fireplaces. What can you tell me about them?
Outdoor fireplaces are a perfect outdoor luxury for the Houston climate. Wherever they are positioned—as a stand-alone, part of an outdoor kitchen or in a garden gazebo—are beautiful architectural elements. And they quickly become the central place where everyone gathers. Practically all of our clients want to have one, especially to take advantage of the mild winters we have in this part of the country.

If you are serious about installing an out-of-doors fireplace or fire pit, we suggest you consider the following design issues:

• Consider the views from the house. Are there privacy issues? Where are your focal points? Consider the view from the yard and take advantage of any outlook over a greenbelt, bayou or water way.
• Just as in a house, break up your landscape design into “rooms.” Often the outdoor fire element anchors an outdoor room.
• Large structures, like outdoor fireplaces, tend to alter the flow of traffic, so design accordingly.
• If you have a theme already established, work within that overall landscape intention. Perhaps you’ve selected a modern landscape design or Mediterranean landscape design, two very distinctive residential garden styles. If so, you want the fireplace to be of the same design and material.
• Incorporate the fireplace with other hardscapes. For instance, landscape lighting adds drama. Out-of-doors fireplaces and fire pits are all about ambiance. We recently built a dining area that is situated in front of an outdoor fireplace. Now we’re training a tree limb to grow over the dining table so that when the limb gets big enough, we can wire a chandelier to hang from it.
  

What do I need to know about zoning and permitting?
Most zoning regulations restrict how closely you can construct an out-of-doors fireplace in relation to all other buildings. Most regulate side and rear property line setbacks and have rules regarding slope setbacks and height restrictions. Check with your local authorities because regulations vary from city to city. A landscape architect or landscape designer can help you navigate through the zoning issues.

Tell me about some of the safety issues.
While fire pits and fireplaces enhance any landscape design, they must be used safely. Exterior Worlds advocates these safety measures:

• Always have fire extinguishers on hand.
• Use fire screens to keep logs from rolling out of the fire and limit air-borne soot and cinders from flying about.
• Keep all outdoor furniture safely away from the fire.For wood-burning fireplaces, it is a good safety practice to schedule regular professional chimney cleaning. A good rule of thumb is to base the spacing of the maintenance on the amount of wood you burn. As long as you have no problem with birds’ nest and other debris, you need to get your chimney cleaned after burning two cords of wood—however long it takes.
• If using a fire pit, follow the manufacturer’s directions and obey all city regulations.

Memorial Villages Landscaping

You can make your Memorial Villages landscaping great—and Exterior Worlds can help you do it. Memorial Villages landscaping is ripe with creative opportunity. You can turn your landscape into a haven—or, in popular lingo, turn it into a staycation vacation spot. You might be thinking of upgrading your property in order to do more entertaining. Or maybe you’re simply tired of the same-ole, same-ole and want to perk up your yards.

For more than 20 years, Exterior Worlds has been transforming Memorial Villages landscaping from the mundane to the memorable. We tailor our landscape solutions specifically to your needs and desires. For example:

• Outdoor kitchens. Outdoor kitchens provide a gathering place that people naturally gravitate to, just as they do inside the house. When planning an outdoor kitchen, we can give you advice regarding integrating it with any other existing structures, including easy access to the indoor kitchen. Lots of electrical outlets should be included in plans for the cooking and dining areas. Summer kitchens also need proper lighting for general and task lighting purposes and accent lighting as well, such as mounted in nearby trees or attached to the grill.
• Custom swimming pools. Pools create a natural extension of your indoor living space. Additionally, luxury swimming pools are great for business entertaining, informal family gatherings and as hang-outs for the kids. Add-on options include underwater benches, a spa, waterfalls, negative edges, and a sun shelf (a specially-built feature for sunning). Exterior Worlds works with expert landscape architect or landscape designer who can turn your dreams for a pool into reality.
• Outdoor rooms. Outdoor rooms also extend your living area. They can be designed so that you don’t have to depend on Houston’s mercurial weather in order to enjoy the outdoors. Examples: screened-in porch, mist system, overhead fans. Perhaps you have under-utilized spaces on the side of your home, an area just waiting to be converted to an outdoor room. Or you can play off other structures on your property such as a detached garage or pool cabana. Pergolas and garden arbors help create lovely spaces and provide a venue to show off your green thumb when they are covered with vines.
• Drainage systems. While not as sexy as the above landscape elements, drainage systems can make the difference between enjoying every square foot of your property and being a prisoner in your own home. A well-designed yard drainage system provides proper grading, which creates positive drainage away from your structures while being respectful of your neighbors’ properties and not draining onto them. In recent years, the Memorial Villages have set the standard in drainage requirements and ordinances, something Exterior Worlds has become expert at complying with and navigating through.

Comprehensive landscape services are our specialty, especially Memorial Villages landscaping. We pride ourselves on our commitment to the customer and to excellence. And this pride in craftsmanship includes everything from custom-made outdoor water fountains to doing mulch installation by hand. Our skilled staff is ready to work with you to develop a singular style of landscape that fits the singular style of your life.

Luxury Backyard

The whole point of a luxury backyard is to create a living experience that unites the highest aesthetic of Nature with the pinnacle of indoor creature comfort. Entertainment is the driving force behind the experience, with landscape design developed around points of interest and patterns of movement from point to point.

An outdoor kitchen in a luxury backyard functions in exactly the same manner as an indoor kitchen. It is built to provide full cooking facilities and has enough space to entertain the anticipated number of guests attending any given function. A true landscape architect will actually design the floor plan and size of the kitchen based on the number of guests expected to attend outdoor parties and family gatherings. The landscaper will also see to it that the architecture, seating areas, and amenities of the structure are congruent with the lifestyle of the homeowner and complimentary to the architecture of the home and the surrounding landscape.

Sometimes people only want a place to sit, talk, and enjoy various forms of media. Landscape architects can build outdoor rooms for this purposes that are fully furnished just like interior rooms. Almost all contain sofas and a variety of chairs. These rooms can also be equipped with a full suite of entertainment media, including stereos, televisions, radios, and DVD players. It is not uncommon either for these rooms to feature lighting control switches so interior and exterior lighting levels can be adjusted to suit different occasions. Some clients who host large parties may even ask us to build an outdoor room with a wet bar and tables similar to those in a pub or sports bar. Such a room can function as the hub of the party in a luxury backyard either as a standalone building or an adjunct to a custom pool and patio.

Many Houstonians living on the larger estates in River Oaks and Tanglewood also like us to design putting greens in their luxury backyards. Many of these wealthy Houstonians enjoy golf as their favorite pastime, but often they do not want to leave the comforts of their own estates to go to the country club. Also, when they entertain guests on the weekend, it is necessary to have some type of fairway available onsite. Normally we have a lighting company come in and install special golf lights to mimic those of larger courses. That way, a guest can enjoy playing at any hour of the evening regardless of natural lighting conditions.

Houston is a very hot place most of the year. However, in the winter, massive fronts of cold air push down from Canada, bringing unexpectedly high winds, chills, and sometimes heavy rains. The air can become very cold and clammy at these times, making the outdoors a very dismal place to be. However, by adding an outdoor fireplace behind the home, a cold and dreary backyard can be turned into a luxury backyard filled with warmth and ambience. Special lighting can also be installed in an outdoor fireplace to mimic firelight during the warmer months of the year, so that even in August, late at night, people can still relax by the “fire” while the cool summer breeze blows across the patio.

Of course, in order for a landscape to suggest true luxury, the backyard must feature an aesthetic that speaks to symmetry, formality, and elegance. Rose gardens are often planted in luxury backyards to give the landscape an Old World sensibility. Classical sculptures and custom water fountains are also favorite mainstays. Sometimes special decorative walls and wall fountains can also be integrated into custom patio design to create semi-enclosed spaces for seating and conversation. Lighting is always adjunct to both form and function in these areas, providing general lighting in areas of concentrated activity and low-level decorative lighting around special decorations and points of interests.

Courtyard Landscaping Design

Courtyard design helps establish a relationship with Nature and the main structure of a home or building. They are essential elements of many forms of commercial landscaping, particularly restaurants. Commercial office parks use them as outdoor break areas, and residential properties tend to see the courtyard as a special place set apart for meaningful conversation. While virtually every courtyard is unique in terms of its size and the materials used to build it, most share certain common elements that contribute to the sense of being in what amounts to an outdoor room built for special purposes and special moments.

Scale is the most important thing to consider in courtyard design. We want the scale of the courtyard design to be proportional to that of surrounding trees. This allows us to build the courtyard itself in any number of ways. A courtyard may be constructed out with three or even four brick walls, nestled under the branches of the overhanging canopy. Or, we can build a patio area surrounded by two or three arbors where trellises and vines intermingle with the iron work with the leaves and wood of the trees. We often build a custom fountain to act as a focal point or a centerpiece for conversation. The intent in all of these forms is to create a feeling of warmth and invitation that draws people to the courtyard at all times day or night.

In both residential and commercial environments, planters are often used to line the perimeters of courtyards. The design, materials build, and positioning of these planters is determined by the nature of the structure itself. If it is an open-air structure constructed out of trellises or a grouping of arbors, then sufficient light will penetrate to the ground and allow us to build the planters are frames around the patio and fountain. This is also true if the courtyard has standing walls but is open on the top to allow sufficient sunlight to reach interior plantings. However, we may choose to use planters as exterior elements around smaller structures and garden patios. Particularly in restaurant design, a courtyard surrounding by lush vegetation appears lively and inviting to guests who have recently arrived.

One very popular method of courtyard design in private, exclusive neighborhoods such as River Oaks, Rice Village, and Tanglewood is to build a patio surrounded by hedges that act as walls. In these parts of Houston, this provides one of the most effective compliments to the Old World aspects of home architecture and the magnificent trees that line the streets. Hedges can be made from Japanese yew, larger species of boxwood, or even smaller poplar trees to form the perimeter of an outdoor courtyard seating area within a garden or near a private entrance to the home.

In all of our courtyard designs, perhaps the most important thing to consider next to the importance of scale is lighting. No matter how large or open a structure is, it will only receive natural light for a number of hours during the day. In early morning, evening, and nighttime, even open-air structures will be shrouded in shadows unless special lighting is installed. These specialty fixtures can range from tree lights that are ingeniously concealed in the overhanging canopy, feature lights that highlight outdoor furniture, or underwater fountain lights that disperse illumination through the prism-like effect of water droplets.

Courtyard landscape design can play a pivotal role in establishing the theme of the landscape by creating a truly unique outdoor structure whose utility is equivalent to its aesthetic. For businesses and homeowners seeking to create a tangible link between the comforts of indoor living and the expansive sense of freedom that the outdoors brings, a professionally planned and constructed courtyard can be the defining point of the home living experience.

Hardscape Design

When we use the term hardscape, we are referring to landscape structures that are made from inorganic materials.. These structures include many things such as driveways, patios, walls, fencing, and drainage and intertwine with organic elements to contribute to overall landscape design. Hardscape must always be treated as a very critical and precise science. Because the human mind is naturally drawn to order and system, nay man made structures on the landscape has to be carefully engineered to compliment organic essence and resident architectural style. It must always work to develop the aesthetic of the home and the terrain; it must never clash with its surroundings.

Professional hardscape design requires careful choices in material selection. Different materials will create different states of mind when viewed by residents and guests. The sense we get from a brick walkway is not going to be the same as the impression we receive from a concrete sidewalk. Materials should be used in hardscape design that will ultimately unify the home with the landscape and work to establish a corresponding theme between the two. Wood is often used to contribute a simple, traditional sensibility in structures like outdoor rooms. Concrete patios are often used to establish the stark sense of contrast that characterizes contemporary design. Various types of stone work ranging from cut stone to limestone and tile are used to suggest any number of thematic connotations ranging from a formal Old World entryway to a sense of wilderness in the spaces that surround a natural swimming pool.

Drainage is another important element of every hardscape design project. Every structure built in a front yard or back yard will act like a dam for rainwater, so we must build a mechanism of some sort that will prevent water it from encroaching into the structure or collecting around its walls. Drainage design must accomplish this at a functional value while simultaneously upholding the aesthetic. Different techniques are used to balance these two demands, such as hiding drain inlets and building custom decorative drain grates that conceal their function behind ornamentation. In some cases we may need to pitch drains in order to lessen the number drain inlets. In instances where it simply will not work to have any visible drain built into the hardscape itself, (such as we see in certain patios, walkways, and motor courts), then we will have to build these structures a very subtle slope (albeit unnoticeable slope) that causes water to drain without impediment.

Hardscape design also includes the construction of other structures such seat walls, retaining wall, columns, and curbs. These elements are built either as components of irrigation systems, or barriers to water encroachment coming from areas outside of the landscape proper. Again, building these features must be done very carefully so as to maintain balance and harmony with their surroundings. This usually results in hardscape design becoming the most expensive line item on an invoice due to its complexity and high demand for only the best of materials. This being considered, this is definitely one element of landscape design you never want to contract yourself or leave in the hands of anything other than the very best and most experienced landscaping architect. Any attempt to take a shortcut will only result in poor results that cost more money down the line to go back and do over again.

Outdoor Rooms

We are new to Houston and have just realized that, in this climate, we can enjoy the out-of-doors year ‘round. What does Exterior Worlds suggest to make that happen?
An outdoor room is a wonderful way to make Houston’s climate work for you. You can use it to bask in our mild winters. And you can construct it so that you can still enjoy the outdoors even in the heat of summer—by covering it, installing overhead fans, screening it in to keep out the bugs. An array of creative solutions can be used.

The most enjoyable and functional outdoor rooms use the basic design principles so that your interior space and exterior space harmonize beautifully. To achieve this affect, most people benefit from the services of landscape professional and landscape architects with a project like an outdoor room. We remind our clients to keep in mind that the more complex the project—the more sophisticated the design—the more important your designer and contractor become. Design professionals will put the principles of good design to work and help you integrate the room with your home’s architecture, address permitting issues, and make the best use of available space.
What are some of the elements we should consider for this outdoors room?
Here are some ideas for you to use:
• Outdoor kitchens are also hugely popular, whether you entertain extravagantly or host family gatherings. They create a natural gathering spot. Plus they let you slow down and enjoy family and friends by putting all the ingredients for outdoor cooking and dining close by.
• An uncovered patio can be transformed into a year-round sun room by adding an outdoor fireplace, a roof, and sliding walls that can enclose the room during inclement weather.
• Or you can define a space simply by covering it. Pergolas and garden arbors help create lovely settings and are especially attractive when covered with vines.
• An outdoors room doesn’t have to be attached only to the house. You can use other structures, too, such as a pool cabana or detached garage.
• If you have a small backyard, you can use a small garden design and turn the whole space into an outdoor living room.
• Outdoor water fountains add visual and auditory pleasure.
• Don’t overlook your front entryway. The front of your house can make a lovely out-of-doors room—using such landscaping features as a tall fence or dense hedge for privacy and a water element to camouflage street noise.

Give us some ideas about ways to coordinate our new outdoors room with the other elements of our landscape design.
Luxury swimming pools, which have become an expected feature of high-end homes, are often the next logical step beyond an outdoor room. You can tie your outdoor living space into your drainage system with attractive French drains, which aid, in a subtle way, in defining the space.

You can integrate pathways leading to and from the outdoors room with your material choices. Retaining walls can double as built-in seating.

Outdoor Design

Is outdoor design the same thing as landscaping?

It is a complimentary, but also a very separate discipline. While outdoor design does pay close attention to the standard landscaping elements of fountains, gardens, and ornamentation, it also adds a much more robust aesthetic that extends residential living space from the interior of the house into the surrounding greenery. This is much more complex than creating landscapes that compliment architecture. It is actually a synthesis of landscape and architecture, earth and brick, light and water.

Only a few companies exist in the world of landscaping offer this type of service to the homeowner, and Exterior Worlds is premier among them.

What are the primary elements of outdoor design?

Outdoor designs consist of manmade and natural elements. It requires the systematic creation of separate elements that flow together one single, harmonious aesthetic. Most of these elements can only be created by artisan contractors specializing in that particular science. A few examples include the following features commonly installed in and around custom home landscapes:

• Swimming Pools

• Water Fountains

• Outdoor Lights

• Patios

• Outdoor Kitchens

• Masonry and decorative stone work

• Ornamental iron fencing

Can I create my own outdoor design?

We do not recommend this. It will be very difficult for you to find all the various experts in the above specialties and forge a cohesive team that functions as a unit. Contractors in any discipline work in very specific ways and are very schematic-oriented. Without a landscape plan managed by an overseeing, landscape general contractor such as Exterior Worlds, it is difficult to communicate the ultimate intent of the outdoor design to one or subcontracted entities.

The various components of any outdoor design must by laid down correctly in layer in order to create a sense of blend and harmony with the architecture of the house and Nature itself. Attempting to coordinate this without experience in architecture, remodeling, landscaping, and specialty disciplines, is like making lasagna with all the proper ingredients, but not knowing how to create the correct size and arrangement of the many layers that constitute its form.

Instead, we recommend that homeowners contract Exterior Worlds to act as general contractors and project coordinators.

What advantages do you offer as a overseeing, general contractor?

We will first develop a landscape plan which you participate in creating and ultimately approve. We the handle the basic elements of outdoor designs that are specific to landscaping with our in-house crews, and next bring in whatever appropriate subcontractors are required to complete the specifics of the project.

This is exactly how large, general contractors work in construction and other commercial markets, only we do it on an individual level for private homeowners in a special niche market. We know who in our business network are the best home builders, architects, pool specialists, lighting designers, pond and fountain companies, and masons to call on for a particular project. By then systematizing the entire outdoor design process from start to finish much like an assembly line functions, we can ensure both the fine details and the overall outcome exceed homeowner expectations without delay or unforeseen and costly mistakes.

Call us now for a free estimate.

Home Exterior Design

How do you determine what elements to incorporate into a home exterior design?
In many ways, you, the resident, determine the essence of your home exterior design. Your personal lifestyle and intentions for using your outdoor living space provide us with the basic, general guidelines necessary to get started. We also pay very close attention to the external appearance of your house and the property that surrounds it. Landscaping frames the function and form of the experience, and helps us determine where to create structures and special space for you in proportional relationship to gardens, manicured lawns, indigenous vegetation, and trees.

What are some of your more popular exterior home design elements?
Again, this is highly subjective and based on your personal lifestyle and preference. You might want to consider adding a screened-in room if you plan on hosting family gatherings outside. These rooms combine the freedom of the outdoors with the comforts of the interior. Anything from an outdoor bar to a full entertainment system can be installed in such a room, and even when the mosquitoes are thick, no one will suffer outside.

Outdoor kitchens are also very popular aspects of home exterior design. They can be created out of garden elements or hedges, or they can consist of simple, graveled areas for larger pits and smokers. One of the best things about outdoor kitchens is that they can be built virtually anywhere in the yard and blended with almost any natural feature. Arbors and gardens can surround the cooking area, and special structures can be constructed between trees to extend the shaded areas for guests. Something as simple as a bench can transform a fountain or a pond into a special gathering place. Outdoor tables can also be placed in these areas that act like outdoor dining rooms. In the evening, landscape path lights can make the entire property look larger by creating walking trails that wind through the garden and under the trees.

Also, if you have been thinking about calling a pool company or hiring a contractor to build you a patio, let us do this for you as a component of your home exterior design. Our professionals are well-versed in the lingo of subcontractors that prefer to work with a set of well-developed schematics. This offers you the additional advantage of making sure that any structures or swimming areas we contract experts to build for you blend harmoniously with the architectural and natural elements of your exterior design.

What features can you add to a yard of average size?
Any of the above elements can be proportionally added to reasonably sized yards. In fact, when installed proportionally and correctly, home exterior design professionals can install structures and create forms can create the optical illusion that a property is as large as 1 ½ to 2 times its normal size. This is very similar to the way that furniture fills a room and makes it look larger than it really is.

Garden Structures

What are garden structures?
Garden structures create visual interest and a point around which your landscape can develop. They can be practical, pleasurable or whimsical. They range from the elaborate, such as a wooden garden gazebo complete with an outdoor fireplace and built-in seating, to a simple rose trellis. If you have a garden structure in mind, Exterior Worlds wants to work with you to make your landscape come alive with your personal aesthetic.

Give me examples of garden structures.
A list of garden structures would include:
• Pergolas. A shade structure often built over a deck or patio, pergolas can be used as a trellis to support vines. Within a patio design, pergolas are outstanding additions to a covered outdoor room because the pergola’s open fratwork creates a transition space between the full shade of the room and the full sun of the yard.

• Outdoor gazebos. While many gazebo designs resemble Victorian-style structures, they can be designed to suit any setting, even a modern landscape design. Screened-in gazebos are practical for areas like Houston that have a problem with mosquitoes.
• Garden and wall trellises. A garden trellis is an outdoor structure, usually in a latticework, that supports plants and vines. A wall trellis works well in a Mediterranean landscape design, especially if near an outdoor kitchen. Your fresh vegetables are right at your fingertips.
• Garden arbors, also called garden arches. Whether singly or arranged in a series, arbors and arches are classical elements of landscape architecture. Either decorative or functional, they can be used to highlight an entrance or a pathway.
• Rose pillars. Think climbing roses, honeysuckle, wisteria and bougainvillea. Now put them on a single column and you have the garden pillar. Beautiful when placed by doors and gates, along paths, or beside a luxury swimming pool.
• Antique garden structures. Outdoor antiques, such as marble urns and columns, stone benches and gates, turn a nice landscape into something memorable.
• Pedestrian bridges. Bridges make eloquent statements and fit particularly well within a Japanese garden design.

What other elements of landscape design need to be considered when working with garden structures?
Landscape lighting, from the simple to the intricate, enhances outdoor structures. Landscape lighting heightens its beauty and the pleasure it provides while increasing the security of your property. By creating highlights, spotlights and shadows, your yard becomes something enchanting in the nightscape.

While these structures are appropriate for any home landscape design, they also serve a purpose within commercial landscaping. A pergola or gazebo in a commercial landscape design makes a good first impression. It also creates a respite for your tenants when they need a quiet lunch spot or a quick break.

Whatever your landscaping ideas are, you can always turn to the expert staff at Exterior Worlds. We are passionate about landscapes, form and function, and the world of design. We also have long-standing relationships with artisan craftsmen in the Houston area who can put your plans together with precision, integrity and dedication.