9 Examples of Loggia Inspiration From AD PRO Directory Architects and Designers
Photo: Nicholas Sargent
Taking cues from sources of loggia is a surefire way to inject a project with Italian glamour. With their dreamy arches and protective roofs, these outdoor escapes make sipping Aperol Spritzes in the rain a glorious possibility. But even if your residential reality is a mere deck or terrace, eliciting loggia vibes is a breeze. Whether classic or contemporary, these outdoor perches from nine architects and designers from the AD PRO Directory will leave you hankering for sunny weather all year long.
Hoffman & Ospina Landscape Architecture
Despite the odd angles and orientations that pervaded a small, crowded Beverly Hills backyard, West Hollywood practice Hoffman & Ospina Landscape Architecture gave it new life by rejuvenating the loggia. “The covered structure was so ugly that the client wanted to get rid of it altogether, but we felt like it was a delightful element in the garden that could be salvaged and renovated,” says principal Anna Hoffman. In collaboration with local design firm Joan Behnke & Associates, Hoffman & Ospina replaced the loggia’s chunky stucco columns with slim cast-stone versions, softened its boundary with the pool by integrating potted plants, and camouflaged direct views of the tennis court—shielding guests from wayward balls as a bonus—on the other side. They did so by planting a four-foot-high hedge behind the center arch “to create a sense of backdrop and security. You can see over it, but it makes you feel some enclosure,” Hoffman says. Limestone paving is buoyed by a mélange of greenery, including star jasmine and crepe myrtle.
Fergus Garber Architects
A Palo Alto, California, family’s dream home was designed by the prominent late architect Birge Clark in the 20th century, but the Monterey Colonial still required a few contemporary upgrades before the family could settle in. Local firm Fergus Garber Architects happily came to the rescue. Most pressing was addressing the lack of indoor-outdoor fluidity, so the team forged a relationship between the patio and great room through towering steel-and-glass French doors and by “continuing the indoor natural stone floor directly onto the terrace,” explains founder and partner Catharine Fergus Garber. “During the renovation, the ground-floor interior height was lowered to match the exterior so there were no longer steps to the outside.” The historic overhang on the second floor was refinished, lending the terrace a cocooning feel, just as the “half-moon-shaped low wall with beautiful, planted gardens surrounding it make the patio feel cozy and a bit separate from the larger lawn and pool beyond,” adds architect Jillian Langley.
Massucco Warner Interior Design
Blue is the color of choice for one of Massucco Warner Interior Design’s long-standing clients, so when she snapped up her latest property on Washington’s San Juan Island, the Seattle- and Los Angeles–based firm knew the hue would play a starring role. It appears outside too, where cofounder and partner Julie Massucco Kleiner worked with fellow AD PRO Directory member Studio AM Architecture | Interiors to transform an old storage and equipment barn into a gathering space. Here, blue is paired with “some sunny yellow, and the contrast of the deep green Pacific Northwest landscape and gray stain on the barn is striking,” she says. “Our client wanted a more East Coast, beachy feel.” In good weather, lounging unfolds amid a mix of outdoor furnishings from Janus et Cie, Holly Hunt, and McKinnon and Harris, “most of which are metal or resin,” adds Massucco Kleiner, “as they hold up the best along the coast.”
Chupik Design
To evoke an aura of nostalgia in an Austin abode’s patio, local studio Chupik Design immediately knew a swinging daybed could become its focal point. “At the beginning of the project, the homeowner told me about her fond memory of a big tree swing when she was a kid; it brought a calming effect and made her feel safe,” recalls principal designer Viki Chupik. Freely flowing from the living room, dining area, and kitchen, the backyard space invites poolside chats on Amalfi Living furniture covered in hardy Kravet and Perennials fabrics, but it’s the daybed where the client loves curling up with her puppies most. “I always take the chance to include a personal touch,” Chupik says. “What may seem like a small design element to some creates a feeling of comfort and a conversation starter.”
Redmond Aldrich Design
Redmond Aldrich Design’s jubilant Peony Pavilion turned heads at this year’s Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach. Founder and principal Chloe Redmond Warner swathed the pool loggia’s tented ceiling and walls with the Oakland, California, studio’s new RAD Goods chintz fabric and paired the hand-painted blooms with tiles from Mirth Studio for an “extra dimension of pattern that felt so confident” she muses, along with furnishings and accessories sourced from West Palm Beach’s Casa Gusto and Circa Who. Eager for the pavilion to exude an “old-school Palm Beach but updated and young” spirit, as Redmond Warner puts it, she bet big on the power of textiles. “Spending time in a fully upholstered room is a game changer. The air is soft and quiet.”
Premier Outdoor Living
Palmyra, New Jersey–based Premier Outdoor Living was tasked with designing an expansive deck constructed from earthy-hued, heat-resistant Deckorators Voyage composite boards for a house in nearby Marlton, New Jersey. Sourcing loggia inspiration with a utilitarian flair, the studio incorporated a kitchen and a living area kitted out with a television, sound system, and in-ceiling heaters. “This leads seamlessly out to an open portion, highlighted with a custom pergola and hanging chairs. Finally, a double-sided staircase leads down onto a private paver patio with a firepit shielded from the neighbors’ views by decorative screens and a wall of arborvitae,” says owner Sean Collinsgru. From the outset, Collinsgru and his team envisioned the entire deck as “outdoor rooms or zones with corresponding functionality,” he adds. “Beams stretch out beyond the covered area to elongate the space and create a sense of flow from indoors to outdoors.”
AV Architects + Builders
Naturally, Francisca and Antonio Alonso, the husband-and-wife team behind AV Architects + Builders in Great Falls, Virginia, designed their own house from scratch. Five rooms on the main floor are mirrored in a sprawling outdoor vignette that includes a covered centerpiece dining table. It’s connected to the great room by way of “an atrium that has no outdoor roof structure to allow the sunlight to penetrate inside and reach the main entrance,” explains Francisca. Porcelain pavers, which are easier to maintain than natural stone, are married with fiber cement, Nichiha siding, exposed steel columns, and beams painted black. “For the ceiling, we used natural cedar to give the space a warm, modern feel,” Francisca says. “Since it’s not exposed to the elements, it will have a gentler aging process.”
Skornicka Designs and Construction
Susan Skornicka presided over a custom-build in Stinson Beach, California, which sits on the Pacific Ocean. For the project, the Ross, California–based designer opted for a complementary façade of light, glowing Alaskan yellow cedar. Central to Skornicka’s vision of amplifying the landscape is the deck, which combines a lounge dotted with Janus et Cie furniture and a simple dining area “without too much adornment other than beautiful natural lanterns,” she says. “All the senses come alive out there with the colors of the sand and flora, the sound of the waves, the smell of the ocean, and the feeling of the coastal air.” This outdoor living room, which can be used year-round thanks to subtly concealed overhead heaters, overlooks a Buddha statue reclining on the beach that simultaneously conjures “whimsy and peace,” Skornicka says.
The Up Studio
Alfresco entertaining was so important to the owners of an East Hampton residence that they tapped The Up Studio to craft a relaxing, multifunctional pool cabana, complete with firepit, lounge, and bar. A single roof plane unites the enclosed private spaces and the public ones, which are defined by an exposed steel structure clad in stained natural cedar. “This material is common in the Hamptons, and we wanted to maintain some of that local vernacular,” says Adam Wanaselja, architect and partner at The Up Studio. Enveloping the cabana and sculptural outdoor seating area is a custom board-formed concrete wall that Wanaselja and his team also embraced for its tie to the bucolic setting because “the inherent imperfections feel organic and blend well with the surrounding woodland.”
Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
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