Cozy Up in These 10 Romantic Garden Seating Nooks
Secluded settings, twinkling lights and lush plantings set these inviting seating areas apart from the rest
Lauren Dunec Hoang
10 February 2019
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and in-house designer for Sunset's Editorial Test Garden. Her garden designs have been featured in the Sunset Western Garden Book of Landscaping, Sunset Western Garden Book of Easy-Care Plantings (cover), Inhabitat, and POPSUGAR.
Houzz Editor; landscape designer and former garden editor for Sunset Magazine and... More
A garden calls for at least one intimate seating area, a place to retreat to for a private tête-à-tête or a quiet spot to enjoy all on one’s own. While seating nooks vary in their style and location within a garden, the most alluring ones all seem to have a few factors in common: an intimate scale, a secluded setting and romantic elements like soft evening lighting, plants for fragrance and leafy arbors.
Take a look at these 10 intimate outdoor seating nooks in places ranging from a New York rooftop to the French countryside. Tell us, which one would you most want to retreat to?
Take a look at these 10 intimate outdoor seating nooks in places ranging from a New York rooftop to the French countryside. Tell us, which one would you most want to retreat to?
1. Leafy Rooftop in New York City
Nestled in the heart of New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, this lush rooftop garden by Brook Landscape feels like an escape from the city below. Layers of potted plants — including lush evergreens, soft ornamental grasses and nodding hydrangea blooms — surround an intimate seating area. The vintage metal lantern sitting on the cafe table could be filled with candles in the evening to create an even more romantic setting.
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Nestled in the heart of New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, this lush rooftop garden by Brook Landscape feels like an escape from the city below. Layers of potted plants — including lush evergreens, soft ornamental grasses and nodding hydrangea blooms — surround an intimate seating area. The vintage metal lantern sitting on the cafe table could be filled with candles in the evening to create an even more romantic setting.
Browse outdoor bistro sets in the Houzz Shop
2. Private Retreat in London
The scale of this seating area feels just right for this compact London backyard by Really Nice Gardens: large enough to host a few friends for a drink but perfectly cozy for just one or two.
Tall fencing and a strategically placed screen of pleached trees (their branches are tied together) along the back of the garden help make the space feel private, even with neighbors close by. Cottage-garden-style plantings bring a touch of countryside romance to city living.
The scale of this seating area feels just right for this compact London backyard by Really Nice Gardens: large enough to host a few friends for a drink but perfectly cozy for just one or two.
Tall fencing and a strategically placed screen of pleached trees (their branches are tied together) along the back of the garden help make the space feel private, even with neighbors close by. Cottage-garden-style plantings bring a touch of countryside romance to city living.
3. Cottage Courtyard in Northern California
Small patios outside bedrooms or guesthouses can be perfect spots to create private seating areas within larger gardens. In this San Francisco Bay Area garden designed by Garden Nest Residential Landscape, a pair of Adirondack chairs topped with soft cushions invites a couple or two friends to sit back, relax and enjoy views of the garden and the scent of lavender wafting from the nearby beds.
Work with a landscape designer on your outdoor project
Small patios outside bedrooms or guesthouses can be perfect spots to create private seating areas within larger gardens. In this San Francisco Bay Area garden designed by Garden Nest Residential Landscape, a pair of Adirondack chairs topped with soft cushions invites a couple or two friends to sit back, relax and enjoy views of the garden and the scent of lavender wafting from the nearby beds.
Work with a landscape designer on your outdoor project
4. Sunroom in Southwest Sweden
In northern climates, sunrooms allow winter-weary residents to jump-start their indoor-outdoor living even it it’s still chilly outside. In this glass sunroom in Svedala, southwest Sweden, high-back chairs and a bench seat piled with pillows invite one to cozy up and enjoy the views of potted geraniums and a tangle of grapevines.
In northern climates, sunrooms allow winter-weary residents to jump-start their indoor-outdoor living even it it’s still chilly outside. In this glass sunroom in Svedala, southwest Sweden, high-back chairs and a bench seat piled with pillows invite one to cozy up and enjoy the views of potted geraniums and a tangle of grapevines.
5. Fire Pit for 2 in San Diego
If cozying up by a fire and watching the sun go down is your idea of a perfect romantic evening, this fire pit setup in a coastal Southern California garden designed by Sage Outdoor Designs is for you. The curved wall backing the fire pit area makes the seating nook feel pleasantly nestled within the beach-style landscape.
Shop for outdoor fire pits
If cozying up by a fire and watching the sun go down is your idea of a perfect romantic evening, this fire pit setup in a coastal Southern California garden designed by Sage Outdoor Designs is for you. The curved wall backing the fire pit area makes the seating nook feel pleasantly nestled within the beach-style landscape.
Shop for outdoor fire pits
6. Dining Nook in the French Countryside
This sun-dappled terrace in Vernoux-en-Gâtine, western France, exudes carefree romance with a wisteria-covered pergola and views of stone walls, lounges and mounds of fragrant lavender.
While many of us dream of a far-off escape, it’s possible to create a similar look in your garden — and you can enjoy it far more frequently. To re-create this French countryside look, add an arbor, globe lights and a cafe table. (You get bonus points for setting the table with crisp linens, chocolate croissants and bowls of café au lait.)
This sun-dappled terrace in Vernoux-en-Gâtine, western France, exudes carefree romance with a wisteria-covered pergola and views of stone walls, lounges and mounds of fragrant lavender.
While many of us dream of a far-off escape, it’s possible to create a similar look in your garden — and you can enjoy it far more frequently. To re-create this French countryside look, add an arbor, globe lights and a cafe table. (You get bonus points for setting the table with crisp linens, chocolate croissants and bowls of café au lait.)
7. Bench With a View in Upstate New York
Borrow a design idea from formal gardens and place a bench or two chairs on the far side of a garden. The seating area acts as an attractive focal point when seen across the yard and provides an invitation for one to sit and admire the view of the beds. In this landscape, designed by Outdoor Lifestyles, a bench sits below an attractive wooden pergola backing the groomed beds of the formal parterre.
Borrow a design idea from formal gardens and place a bench or two chairs on the far side of a garden. The seating area acts as an attractive focal point when seen across the yard and provides an invitation for one to sit and admire the view of the beds. In this landscape, designed by Outdoor Lifestyles, a bench sits below an attractive wooden pergola backing the groomed beds of the formal parterre.
8. Cozy Balcony in Sweden
This inviting urban perch in the city of Gothenburg, on Sweden’s west coast, has soft cushions, fuzzy throws and a warm rug underfoot that make the balcony feel like a true extension of the living room. One could imagine that the setup would be perfect for enjoying a glass of wine in the evening and watching the stars come out over the city.
See more outdoor pillows and cushions
This inviting urban perch in the city of Gothenburg, on Sweden’s west coast, has soft cushions, fuzzy throws and a warm rug underfoot that make the balcony feel like a true extension of the living room. One could imagine that the setup would be perfect for enjoying a glass of wine in the evening and watching the stars come out over the city.
See more outdoor pillows and cushions
9. Jungle Vibe in Key West
Set at the end of a brick path that cuts through verdant tropical plantings, this seating area in a Key West, Florida, garden feels like a return to Eden. While the garden, designed by Craig Reynolds Landscape Architecture, has plenty of other areas for outdoor lounging and entertaining, this intimate and hidden seating area feels the most alluring and romantic.
Set at the end of a brick path that cuts through verdant tropical plantings, this seating area in a Key West, Florida, garden feels like a return to Eden. While the garden, designed by Craig Reynolds Landscape Architecture, has plenty of other areas for outdoor lounging and entertaining, this intimate and hidden seating area feels the most alluring and romantic.
10. Private Patio in Melbourne
This seating area designed by Peachy Green Garden Architects sits just off the living room and shows how a thoughtful setup in a small courtyard can feel as inviting as a larger space. The dark hues used for the back fence and patio furniture help these elements visually recede, creating the optical illusion that the space is bigger than it actually is. One’s eye is drawn instead to the vibrant foliage, the clear blue sky and the gauzy drapes of the living room that blow in the breeze — elements that invite one to step out for a quiet moment in the courtyard.
This seating area designed by Peachy Green Garden Architects sits just off the living room and shows how a thoughtful setup in a small courtyard can feel as inviting as a larger space. The dark hues used for the back fence and patio furniture help these elements visually recede, creating the optical illusion that the space is bigger than it actually is. One’s eye is drawn instead to the vibrant foliage, the clear blue sky and the gauzy drapes of the living room that blow in the breeze — elements that invite one to step out for a quiet moment in the courtyard.
Your turn: Which secluded seating nook caught your eye? Tell us in the Comments.
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Find a home professional
Browse outdoor lounge chairs
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I would have loved to see some lights but #6 was super cute!
Love the sunroom in #4 and love #9. They were all lovely, actually.
I find number 4 the most inspiring. We have a lovely deck, but it needs more decorative "stuff." The trouble is finding interesting elements that will weather well. I love the detail on the bench seat, and it's intense color.