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By Kristi Kellogg , Lindsey DeSimone , Jennifer Fernandez , and Rachel Davies
With warmer weather comes the urge to soak up the sun, dine alfresco, and lounge poolside. If you’re eager to create your own backyard oasis, these stunning outdoor seating ideas will provide plenty of inspiration. Discover 63 gorgeous backyard designs from the AD archive, including inventive patios that are as practical as they are arresting, a daybed repurposed as a chaise, a banquette strewn with colorful pillows and cushions, and a lounge suspended from the ceiling. These inviting displays are more than just seating options—they create intimacy, make clever use of space, and are conversation starters in their own right. Get inspired and manifest your own savvy interpretation to fit your space (even if it’s just a fire escape or balcony).
For a small outdoor space, like this Soheil Nakhshab–designed San Diego home’s deck, employ slim furniture, rather than bulky cushiony furniture, to best utilize your square footage.
At her Hamptons home, interior designer Muriel Brandolini fashioned a colorful sitting area using a long custom-made teak sofa topped with vibrant accent pillows.
For a proper outdoor dining experience, a serving station stands at one side of this oceanside France home’s table for platters of food and refreshments.
Painter Olivier Mourao devised a dreamy seating area at his Ibiza oasis using a white sofa and adding flowing curtains for a touch of privacy.
Emma Chamberlain’s Los Angeles home, which she designed with Proem Studio, features multiple separate outdoor lounge spaces, but this one definitely takes the cake. Sandwiched between the hill and the home, the scale feels almost wonderland-esque, and those concrete mushrooms that dot the area certainly amp that feeling up.
Bright white cushions line the built-in benches of a Morocco home’s sun-splashed terrace.
Architect and designer Niels Schoenfelder went for simplicity and comfort at this upstate New York modern farmhouse that opens directly to the breakfast nook inside.
Jonathan Adler and Simon Doonan achieve contemporary cool at their Shelter Island pool pavilion with a mod sectional sofa and array of colorful pillows.
The Manhattan triplex of entrepreneur Michael Hirtenstein boasts an ultra-sleek outdoor living room of solid mahogany. The rounded seating area wraps around the custom-made firepit.
Despite the city views and prime Hollywood Hills location, author Elaine Welteroth’s Night Palm–designed outdoor space feels earthy thanks to the minimalist wooden furniture and plantings.
Actor Jane Fonda created majestic outdoor seating for the terrace of her New Mexico ranch with a brass bed and mesmerizing Pakistani fabrics.
Another great patio idea is turning the space into a lush courtyard, like the one shown here in Sig Bergamin’s São Paulo home.
Even a narrow space can be completely transformed into a dreamy patio. Vine-covered columns, a lush lawn, and Ralph Lauren Home chairs turn this outdoor patio in San José del Cabo, Mexico into the perfect spot for outdoor relaxation.
For her Madrid home, decorator Isabel López-Quesada fashioned a romantic courtyard with an antique-inspired daybed and matching chairs.
At an Aspen, Colorado, home by architects Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Shelton, Mindel & Associates, a sunken outdoor seating area is furnished with an armchair, an ottoman, a modular sofa, and a side table, all by Kettal.
The fourth-floor terrace of a Kengo Kuma–designed residence in Japan is shaded by a fabric canopy. The geometric lines of the outdoor furniture echo the vertical louvers on the exterior wall, which allow light into the home while ensuring privacy.
At Richard Mishaan’s Cartagena, Colombia, retreat, bougainvillea and an ocean vista enliven the rooftop terrace; the seating is by RH, and Mishaan designed the red pillow fabrics for Stark.
Edward Siegel created the trellis and fireplace for the rooftop terrace of a Manhattan apartment. The slate paving is from Stone Source, the daybeds and glass-top tables are by Dedon, and the pillows are made of Sunbrella and Janus et Cie fabrics. The plantings are by Miguel Pons Landscaping and Matthias Kirwald Landscaping.
Adding a dining table is one of the best patio ideas. Your table will be the seat of magical midsummer dinners, warm-weather brunches, and sunrise coffee sips. The stunning zinc-top dining table on this Manhattan terrace is by Lucca Antiques.
The outdoor dining area of a Los Angeles bachelor pad by design firm Commune features a picnic table and benches by Piet Hein Eek from Frozen Fountain and a Franz West chain light from Kimcherova.
Garden Furniture Lounge Set The terrace of Ellen Pompeo's home in Sag Harbor is a relaxed spot for family dinners.