Pools, pergolas, patios – oh my!
Annual Outdoor Living Tour returns for 2024 in Austin's 8 best backyards
Although Austinites love to enjoy nature year-round, spring is the best season to get outside before the mosquitos descend in full force and patio furniture is liable to scald the thighs. For locals looking to spruce up their own slice of nature at home, the annual Outdoor Living Tour on May 4 provides the perfect inspiration from Austin’s best landscape architects and designers.
The event is presented by the Modern Architecture + Design Society, which also hosts the annual Modern Homes Tour. Whereas the latter takes place over a full weekend, the Outdoor Living tour is designed as a “lighter, more summer-fun day,” according to the website.
This pebble-covered area maintains visual interest with geometric sectioning.Photo courtesy of ecotopes, via MA+DS
As such, the truncated catalog of participants features just eight backyards, gardens, and outdoor living spaces. The shorter list allows visitors to enjoy the self-guided tour at a more leisurely pace, taking in the amazing work of Austin’s talented design professionals and maybe even connecting with someone for a future project.
As always, the 2024 tour spans a wide geography across Austin: the eight locations are spread over six neighborhoods, including Travis Heights, Rollingwood, Milwood, Allandale, Highland Park West, and Rosedale. Guests can visit the homes in any order of preference, viewing projects that run the gamut from outdoor rooms and expansive backyards to pools, pergolas, and perfectly manicured gardens.
Any pool is nice, but the pool deck is where the real design is.Photo by Itzel Ponce, via MA+DS
Participating landscape architecture firms include: Open Envelope Studio, Ecotopes, Maas Verde Landscape Restoration, Colectivo Creative, Seedlings Landscape Design Build, Dick Clark + Associates, ADLA Studio, and Austin Outdoor Design. As with the Modern Home Tour, architects and designers are on hand during the tour to guide visitors through their projects, answer questions, and provide inspiration for guests’ own outdoor areas.
Tickets for the tour start at $35 and are available via the Modern Architecture + Design Society, which also includes previews of the 2024 homes. A map of participating locations will be mailed out to ticket holders before the event. (Note that since the tour features private homes with pools and other features that may not be child-friendly, children need to be 10 years of age or older to participate – though infants who will be carried are allowed to attend).