better homes and gardens gazebo plans

Gazebo

A gazebo creates a backyard destination where you can kick back and relax in style. Extend your enjoyment of the great outdoors with these gazebo design ideas that stylishly accommodate everyday meals, special-occasion entertaining, and quiet-time pursuits.

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Cultivating Period Style

Gazebo

Victorian vibes emanate from this charming octagonal gazebo, which features spandrel details, wide corbel supports, and a vented cupola. Doubling as a conservatory, this gazebo sports one walled section where a mirror hangs and a potting bench showcases an orchid collection. Built-in benches softened with cushions and pillows invite lingering.

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Poolside Shelter

Gazebo

A clay-tile roof and rough-brick walls ensure this gazebo takes center stage on a poolside patio. Cued by country French architecture, this spacious gazebo satisfies modern needs. It houses lift-up-bench storage for pool gear and a dining table and chairs that accommodate casual gatherings, cocktail parties, and family game nights no matter the weather.

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Connected Character

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Operating much like an open-air screen porch, this attached gazebo works in tandem with a covered patio to entice guests into the landscape and maximize indoor-outdoor gatherings. Shingle siding visually links the home and the gazebo. Arched openings and simple railings lend definition to the structure without blocking sea and sky vistas.

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Simple Lines

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A wood-shake roof and a framework built from reclaimed lumber and beams combine to shape a gazebo that brings rustic charm to a garden corner. Furnished with a table and chairs beneath a candle-equipped chandelier, the gazebo stands ready to host everything from morning coffee and afternoon teas to happy hours and formal dinner parties.

Create a Backyard Getaway

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Chic Statement

Gazebo

With an elegant silhouette and ample proportions, this multisided gazebo arrestingly anchors a formal garden. The gazebo smartly combines curved entries with a lattice roof and walls; a center roof gable, vertical posts, and finial details give the airy construction sophisticated style.

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Tips for Outdoor Living Spaces

Give an outdoor room interiorlike appeal with these tips to maximize dining, relaxing, and entertaining areas.

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Perfect Blend

Gazebo

Gazebo design ideas don't have to be from scratch. This built-from-a-kit gazebo nestles nicely into its setting, thanks to its stained wood exterior, lush window boxes, and surrounding perennial beds. A distinctive double cupola, fretwork details, and modified arched openings give the newly constructed gazebo vintage appeal and a pagodalike appearance. Wicker furnishings with deep cushions invite folks to kick back and relax.

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Stand-Out Gazebo Design

Gazebo

A bright spot in a shady grove, this gracefully proportioned gazebo advances into view thanks to its light gray roof, white-painted finish, and distinctive railing treatment. The hexagon gazebo plays off elements in the landscape. Its white exterior mirrors the color of hydrangea blooms and variegated plantings. The wood floor stays in tune with the darker tones of a brick walkway.

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Grand Plan

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Houselike in its architecture, this gazebo always draws a crowd. A central entry gable and a noteworthy light fixture draw attention to the gazebo, which connects to an adjacent patio. Cushy upholstered banquettes supply sofa-style seating along the perimeter; a commodious ottoman props up multiple feet.

17 Ideas for Better Outdoor Living Spaces

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Cool Creation

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Memorable designs result from attention to detail. This fairy-tale cottage gazebo illustrates how to dress for success. Twin gables, a metal roof, skylights, shapely cedar shingles, glass windows, and a glass-pane door combine for a striking, weatherproof structure that brings interest and shelter to a simply planted yard.

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Private Retreat

Gazebo

By extending an imposing brick wall to create a corner alcove, these homeowners made way for a gothic-inspired gazebo outfitted with a built-in bench positioned to take in garden views and a remarkable water feature. The water feature's curves repeat at the gazebo as a modified arch crafted from gray-painted beams; leaded-glass windows strengthen the structure's give-me-shelter qualities while underscoring the old-world leanings.

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Second-Story Aerie

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Built upon its own story-tall foundation, this statuesque gazebo seemingly extends into the treetops as if it were a naturally occurring outlook. The gazebo ties to adjoining patios, stairs, and railings via architectural elements, such as spindle details, a stone paver floor, and its postlike framework. The gazebo's lofty position gives those at the table panoramic views.

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Dreamy Digs

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Supplying at least three seasons worth of entertaining and relaxation space, this gazebo presents a period Victorian profile but performs like a modern screen porch. A finely fashioned breezewayprovides protected passage between house and gazebo also contributes extra floor space for setting up tables and chairs when a party is on tap.

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Farmhouse Flair

Gazebo

The most successful gazebo designs suit the settings and stay in tune with the architecture of the homes they serve. This screened gazebo takes on the form of a tiny farmhouse with its board-and-batten siding and tin roof that mirror elements on the main house. Thanks to the screened windows and door, this enclosed gazebo expands the usage of the patio.

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Alternative Placement

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This corner gazebo stretches into the side yard to magnify the front porch's utility and bring vintage flair to a newly constructed home. A ceiling fan (complete with a light fixture) keeps the mood chill and surfaces bright. Lush hanging baskets contribute pleasing colors and create a privacy screen of sorts.

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Natural Knockout

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This garden-folly-style gazebo boasts a generous supply of panache. The roof's fetching finial, shapely wood shingles, and broad steeple shape demand attention, as does the interplay of solid and lattice walls forming its base. Note how this gazebo has no man-made floor; the structure sits atop landscaping stone and a mulched foundation for at-one-with-the-environment appeal.

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Stopping Point

Gazebo

The placement of this rustic gazebo ensures every journey from house to far-off gardens is always pleasurable. A simple gabled roof and an arched entry work hand-in-hand with a ruddy exterior and eye-catching architectural details to make this gazebo a garden focal point. A circular concrete patio that creates a fine and notable foundation that acts as a geometric counterweight to the rectangular gazebo's shape and airy appearance.

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Plainly Perfect

Gazebo

The owners of this stick-built gazebo come outside to relax in a pair of easy chairs and revel in the sights and sounds of burbling water, chirping birds, and passing-through butterflies. Rising from a two-tiered platform seemingly cantilevered from the adjacent stepped-up patio, the structure sports an open-air design, which optimizes sunlight and breezes that are sometimes blocked by neighboring trees.

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Mighty Fine Finale

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This octagon gazebo, with its double cupola, spacious footprint, and screened openings, attractively and purposefully rounded out the design of a large backyard deck. Though the deck and gazebo share the same redwood-stain color, differing architectural details (note the gazebo's turned spindles versus the deck's straight -lined railings) distinguish the two structures.

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Salvaged-Parts Gazebo

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Talk about making something out of nothing. This rustic gazebo is an amazing amalgamation of odd parts. The thick, sturdy support pillars were gleaned from washed-up timber on the beach. The side supports are also rustic logs, cut to fit. The roof is a salvaged 10-foot satellite dish.

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Bell-Shape Gazebo Roof

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Custom roofing, such as this bell-shape roof with corbel trim, costs more but adds individual style to a backyard gazebo. Another cost factor for a gazebo is its location. A secluded setting, which provides privacy, may also restrict construction vehicle access and may require some materials to be carried to the building site by hand--which adds to the construction expense.

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Gazebo Entertaining Area

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This gazebo is the architectural anchor of a large backyard entertainment area where guests can enjoy the shade and seclusion provided by the large trees. An adjoining brick patio is a great space for entertaining large groups. Dining tables can be set up, or the patio can serve as a dance floor.

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Gazebo Built Around an Existing Tree

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If you can't bear to cut down a backyard tree, build around it. That's what this homeowner did when adding a backyard gazebo. The simple structure incorporates a tilting tree into its design. A brick-and-mortar base and shake shingles are common materials for traditional gazebos.

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