- Garden & Outdoor
- Patio
Patio with a Water Feature Ideas and Designs
Nicola Stocken
Love the brick wall. The lines of table & chair & unsolid feel of them. Wow!!!! - m_e_oregan
From the master bedroom and en-suite lies an inviting outdoor space framed by a spectacular water feature. Here the acoustics of running water and verdant foliage provide a soothing respite in the heart of one of London’s most prestigious enclaves.
Great for small garden - webuser_390567129
One-point perspective (dating back to Renaissance design) was used to create a strong visual effect. The overlapping of "semi-transparent-shapes" in the form of Birch, Oak and Honey Locust trees, draws the onlooker's gaze up the garden (like a stage set - low in the foreground and "climbing - level by level") into the distance.
The dynamic use of water adds impact and dramatic perspective : The reflective pond, an impressive central element - cuts it's way through the levels of the garden, providing continuity, tranquility and calming sound. Water bubbles-up from its source at the highest level (midway in the garden) running "downstream" towards the main living area - the heart of the house, creating an air of serenity.
A sense of flow is achieved through the use of a sequence of cascades, utilising and enhancing the changes in level within the garden.
Photography : Steven Wooster
Mix of grass and hard standing area with water feature. The presence of mature trees sense of privacy - ainedel87
A complete refurbishment of an elegant Victorian terraced house within a sensitive conservation area. The project included a two storey glass extension and balcony to the rear, a feature glass stair to the new kitchen/dining room and an en-suite dressing and bathroom. The project was constructed over three phases and we worked closely with the client to create their ideal solution.
Lighting and beds - webuser_814147696
Rugged stone effect porcelain paving tiles.
- Frost proof
- Stain resistant
- Anti-slip
- Fade proof
- Low maintenance
- Stone effect
style of bench and walls - patrick_shannon67
Side yard - love the tiles and stone combo with ivy on wall - charlotte_marillet
Eric was a partner with Landscape Design Specialists at the time of this project build. Landscape Design Specialists is no longer active in the industry, but Eric has moved on creating Element Construction. We design and build custom outdoor living spaces from small patios to grand and spacious properties like this. This large custom estate was designed by a Daydreams Architects and we built it.
This shade arbor, located in The Woodlands, TX north of Houston, spans the entire length of the back yard. It combines a number of elements with custom structures that were constructed to emulate specific aspects of a Zen garden. The homeowner wanted a low-maintenance garden whose beauty could withstand the tough seasonal weather that strikes the area at various times of the year. He also desired a mood-altering aesthetic that would relax the senses and calm the mind. Most importantly, he wanted this meditative environment completely shielded from the outside world so he could find serenity in total privacy.
The most unique design element in this entire project is the roof of the shade arbor itself. It features a “negative space” leaf pattern that was designed in a software suite and cut out of the metal with a water jet cutter. Each form in the pattern is loosely suggestive of either a leaf, or a cluster of leaves.
These small, negative spaces cut from the metal are the source of the structure’ powerful visual and emotional impact. During the day, sunlight shines down and highlights columns, furniture, plantings, and gravel with a blend of dappling and shade that make you feel like you are sitting under the branches of a tree.
At night, the effects are even more brilliant. Skillfully concealed lights mounted on the trusses reflect off the steel in places, while in other places they penetrate the negative spaces, cascading brilliant patterns of ambient light down on vegetation, hardscape, and water alike.
The shade arbor shelters two gravel patios that are almost identical in space. The patio closest to the living room features a mini outdoor dining room, replete with tables and chairs. The patio is ornamented with a blend of ornamental grass, a small human figurine sculpture, and mid-level impact ground cover.
Gravel was chosen as the preferred hardscape material because of its Zen-like connotations. It is also remarkably soft to walk on, helping to set the mood for a relaxed afternoon in the dappled shade of gently filtered sunlight.
The second patio, spaced 15 feet away from the first, resides adjacent to the home at the opposite end of the shade arbor. Like its twin, it is also ornamented with ground cover borders, ornamental grasses, and a large urn identical to the first. Seating here is even more private and contemplative. Instead of a table and chairs, there is a large decorative concrete bench cut in the shape of a giant four-leaf clover.
Spanning the distance between these two patios, a bluestone walkway connects the two spaces. Along the way, its borders are punctuated in places by low-level ornamental grasses, a large flowering bush, another sculpture in the form of human faces, and foxtail ferns that spring up from a spread of river rock that punctuates the ends of the walkway.
The meditative quality of the shade arbor is reinforced by two special features. The first of these is a disappearing fountain that flows from the top of a large vertical stone embedded like a monolith in the other edges of the river rock. The drains and pumps to this fountain are carefully concealed underneath the covering of smooth stones, and the sound of the water is only barely perceptible, as if it is trying to force you to let go of your thoughts to hear it.
A large piece of core-10 steel, which is deliberately intended to rust quickly, rises up like an arced wall from behind the fountain stone. The dark color of the metal helps the casual viewer catch just a glimpse of light reflecting off the slow trickle of water that runs down the side of the stone into the river rock bed.
To complete the quiet moment that the shade arbor is intended to invoke, a thick wall of cypress trees rises up on all sides of the yard, completely shutting out the disturbances of the world with a comforting wall of living greenery that comforts the thoughts and emotions.
Landscape by Gardens by Gabriel; Fire Bowl and Water Feature by Wells Concrete Works; Radial bench by TM Lewis Construction
grasses. water feature. - daniellemcardle
This beautiful courtyard was designed around a pergola and fountain. A collection of containers and flowering plants accentuate this tranquil entrance to this Napa Valley home.
Photography by Steve Lancefield
Decking and pond - stuartlcullen