A Guide to Gazebo Design Ideas

gazebo ideas

McHale Landscape Design

Planning and Designing a Gazebo

gazebo ideas

Platinum Landscape

Do you have a romanticized vision of a gazebo in your garden? Before getting too carried away, consider some practicalities, like cost, the size of your garden, the size of the structure, availability of materials, and who is going to build it. Depending on the scope of the project, you may have to get plans approved by your city, which could take months. Also think about the foundation, water drainage, plumbing, electricity, where it will be located and what kind of activities you’d like to do in your gazebo.

Don’t get discouraged: any project requires time and planning. While you’re working on details like a budget and who will build it, get inspired by these beautiful and diverse gazebo designs.

Santa Barbara Mediterranean

gazebo with curtains

Charles McClure Landscape Architects

A Mediterranean garden in Santa Barbara, California features a gazebo built with redwood (for its durability and resistance to insects) and extra-large posts that provide structural and visual significance. Designed by Charles McClure Landscape Architects, the structure includes custom-made Sunbrella drapes hung on metal curtain rods. All hardware is hidden for a clean look.

Fully Furnished

gazebo with kitchen

Cynthia Montgomery

A gazebo that was built to repeat the architectural design and materials of this San Francisco Bay Area house designed by John Montgomery is equipped with all the comforts, including a dining table, fire pit, bar, kitchen, and lighting.

Lily Pond Gazebo

gazebo near pond

Garcia Rock and Water Design

A small hexagonal gazebo sits at the edge of a lily pond designed by Garcia Rock and Water Design for a private home in Santa Barbara.

Jenna Bayer

gazebo idea

Jenna Bayer Garden Design

Jenna Bayer Garden Design created a modern gazebo for a garden in Palo Alto, California using steel-engineered posts and ​shade sails with 70% filtration from an Australian company.

Massachusetts Teahouse

gazebo ideas

Minglewood, LLC

A timber-framed teahouse creates a perfect transition on a steep slope between the house and terraced patio with a built-in hot tub and lower lawn. Designed and built by Minglewood, LLC and partnering contractors, the gazebo is equipped with removable screens. Lattice beneath the structure stores gardening equipment.

Poolside Gazebo

gazebos

Cynthia Montgomery

A simple slat-roof gazebo designed by John Montgomery Landscape Architects features stone pedestals that hold posts (columns) on all four sides. The open design makes it safe for a fire pit to burn even though there is a roof overhead.

Asian Serenity

gazebo ideas

McHale Landscape Design

Designed by Ryan Davis for McHale Landscape Design, an Asian-style 18 x 20-foot pavilion in Darnestown, Maryland, appears to float above a pond filled with koi, a waterfall, stones and water plants.

Picture Perfect

gazebos

Platinum Landscape & Pools

A​ hexagonal gazebo designed by Platinum Landscape & Pools for an estate in Provo, Utah, features ironwork that supports climbing vines. It’s a favourite destination for neighbours.

Reflections

gazebo near pool

Cynthia Montgomery

A pool house gazebo with fluted columns reflects in the water at certain times of the day at a home in California’s Bay Area. Designed by John Montgomery Landscape Architects, the gazebo includes an adjoining bathroom/changing area.

Darren James

gazebo ideas

Darren James Interiors

Sorry, but this elaborate gazebo with coloured lights and an integrated waterfall curtain is definitely not a DIY project. Created by Darren James Interiors for a client in Brisbane, Australia, the gazebo is equipped with wine refrigerators, a kitchen, television and other amenities.

Pool House

gazebos

LiquidScapes

Surrounded by red rose bushes, a gazebo overlooks a swimming pool at a peaceful three-acre home. The design was created by LiquidScapes of New Jersey.

Table with a View

gazebo

Cynthia Montgomery

Sometimes gazebos are built to take in a view, as was the case for this raised outdoor structured designed by John Montgomery Landscape Architects in California. Flagstone steps lead up to the structure, where a dining table allows breathtaking vistas.

Arthur Rutenberg

gazebo with fireplace

Arthur Rutenberg Homes

A fireplace with a tall chimney is attached to a gazebo designed for Arthur Rutenberg Homes in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

Shabby Chic

gazebo wit vine

Donna Lynn Landscape Design

Yellow ‘Mermaid’ rose vines climb over an iron gazebo, serving as a focal point for a large front- back garden in Santa Barbara, California. Landscape designer Donna Lynn uses many California native plants in her designs for clients in California and Arizona.

Cedar Springs Tropical

gazebos

Cedar Springs

A pavilion (what outdoor gazebo-like structures are called in Canada) gets a tropical look with a thatch roof. Designed by Cedar Springs Landscape Group of Ontario, the pavilion has amenities like a TV, fire pit, and deep seating.

Sorry, No Peeking!

gazebo curtains

Alicia created the look of a gazebo without paying the price of a gazebo.  Thrifty and Chic

Alicia of Thrifty and Chic wanted a gazebo with privacy from her neighbours with the two-story houses, so she added simple off-white drapes around her outdoor living room.

A Creek Runs Through It

gazebo ideas

Eric Roth and Susan Teare

A LEED-Silver residence in Cambridge, Massachusetts was a collaboration of Wolf Architects and Julie Moir Messervy Design Studio. A back garden meditation hut is situated near a manmade creek.

Romantic

iron gazebo

Reidel

Ready for a wedding, romantic proposal or just a picturesque place to relax, this iron gazebo is placed on a low flagstone platform to keep everyone’s feet clean. The landscaping was designed by Riedel Precision in Northern California.

Family Fun

gazebo

Fluid Design

A back garden in Sydney, Australia was created for a family to enjoy and entertain. Designed by Fluid Landscape Design, the gazebo features a fully equipped kitchen, seating, and overhead lighting. Nearby, the family can swim or bounce on the trampoline, preferably before they eat.

Pavilion With Fire Feature

wood gazebo picture

Cedar Springs

A wood pavilion includes a fire feature that doesn’t impede views of the surrounding landscape.

Texas Livin’

gazebos

Crimson Remodeling and Interiors

Designed by Houston’s Crimson Remodeling and Interiors, this gazebo/pergola, is made of a bronze poly-carbonate, which allows light to come through while blocking UV rays and keeping out rain.

Vegas Villa

gazebo with curtains

Troy Silva Design Group

A custom-made gazebo from Universal Awning is an attractive and simple solution for a back garden gazebo. Troy Silva Design Group provided clever touches like painting the planters with white waterproof paint.

Hidden Teahouse

gazebo picture

Angela Kearney

A teahouse gazebo-like structure designed by Minglewood for a Boston area home is covered in vines and surrounded by rose bushes and hydrangeas.

Deck and Gazebo

gazebo with deck

New England Outdoor Sheds and Gazebos

New England Outdoor Sheds and Gazebos designed a gazebo with an attached deck. The gazebo is accessible via a gate for extra privacy.

Gazebo with Vines

gazebo with vines

Lisa Hallett Taylor

A large property in the historic town of San Juan Capistrano, California, features a beautiful gazebo for dining surrounded by nature, including the vines overhead.

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Hexagonal Gazebo

gazebo ideas

Alex Schultz / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

A wood hexagonal gazebo serves as a focal point and a private escape for this well-landscaped garden.

By Lisa Hallett Taylor