Name: Elsie Lau
Location: Los Angeles, California

We love our backyard! Having these room-like spaces allow us to entertain and live outside during good weather — which is a lot of the time.

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Name: Bruce Hanamura
Location: Seattle, Washington

We made this "living table" out of pallet wood. There was a piece of lumber on the pallet that happened to have a live edge, so we took advantage of it and used the gap to create a space for plants to grow. What you can't see in the picture is that there is a small box that sits under the table top and holds the potting soil. The longer the table sits outside in the elements, the better it seems to look. More

Name: Janelle
Location: Burbank — Los Angeles, CA

Clearly Los Angeles has some lovely homes, or why would the rich n' famous flock here and set up shop? For the not so rich n' famous like me, however, finding a delightful place to live in Los Angeles can be a challenge. I was lucky enough to not only find a charming place to live, but one within a 2 block walk to work. More

Name:Ly
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Type of space: Balcony
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: Our balcony is quite small (6x11 feet) but I was determined to create a personal garden space while living in the city. The view is a wonderful panoramic of Philly's financial district high-rises, and I wanted a balance between that metal and glass beauty with a natural, green peacefulness. It is a relaxing escape from the city and work, and a quiet place to sit outside. As you can see, my cat would much rather be out here than in our apartment... More

Name: Heather
Location: Portland, Oregon

When I moved into my house the large backyard was nothing but weeds, Himalayan blackberry, and a cracked cement slab. I wanted to use the space for entertaining, so I focused on breaking up the yard into different "rooms" in the garden where people can spend time. More

Name: Megan
Location: Ukranian Village/Wicker Park, Chicago

There is nothing better than a Chicago back porch! I love hanging outside in the warmer months, watering my plants and constantly rearranging and adding new items. I think the most unique part about our back porch is that not one item (minus plants) came new. More

Name: Christina Han
Location: Fishers, Indiana (Just outside of Indianapolis)

We live in a 2 bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor of our building. I love being outside and I love sitting in the sun. Our space is pretty small, so there wasn't much room to do anything crazy, but I definitely wanted our deck to be a place I wanted to sit. Because we live in Indiana, we typically can only use the space a couple of months of the year, but when the weather allows we use it as often as possible.
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Family: Joe, Julee, Jenna (3) & Jason (4)
Location: Fort Worth, TX

My daughter loves to help me cook in the kitchen, and now that we have an outdoor grill, she's eager to help her daddy by carrying sauces, seasonings and other items from the kitchen to the patio. More

Family: Grana, Granpa, Brenna (Mama) & Kellen (28 months)
Location: Annandale, VA

My son and I recently had to move back home to live with my parents. Since we'll only be here for about 6 months and there's only one (very active) toddler and three adults using the space, we didn't want to do anything overwhelming or permanent. On the other hand, we're outside all the time and the space needed to be toddler-friendly.
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Reader: Michelle (owner of preschool for ages 2-5)
Location: Portland, OR

I am a family child care provider. Over 5 years, I have turned my front yard into an outdoor play space for the ten preschoolers who spend their days with me. More