Patios · 7 ideas
Desert & Southwest Patio Ideas
Desert and Southwest patios take their cues from Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas: earthy stucco and rammed earth, flat roofs and deep overhangs, gravel gardens planted with agave, yucca, cactus and desert trees, and shade structures that make the outdoors usable at noon.
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Desert & Southwest Patio Ideas, explained.
Desert and Southwest patios take their cues from Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas: earthy stucco and rammed earth, flat roofs and deep overhangs, gravel gardens planted with agave, yucca, cactus and desert trees, and shade structures that make the outdoors usable at noon.
Notice how the best patio designs use colour sparingly — a corten wall, a turquoise door, the blue of a pool — against the neutral ground. Save the schemes that match your sun and your soil.
Desert and Southwest design is shade, earth and sky. Look for stucco or adobe in earthy tones, flat roofs with deep overhangs, decomposed granite and gravel instead of lawn, and planting of agave, yucca, saguaro, ocotillo, palo verde and desert wildflowers. Corten steel, concrete and rammed earth handle the sun; ramadas, shade sails and pergolas make midday usable; and lighting stays low so the stars can compete.
What to look for as you browse
- The paving material and how its joints are handled
- Whether the furniture footprint fits with room to move
- Shade at 4 pm, not just at noon
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