LOCATION In leafy Recoleta, on exclusive Avenida Quintana, Mio is close to high-end shopping at designer boutiques and near Patio Bullrich mall and just blocks from Eva Perón's tomb in Recoleta Cemetery.
Above, a Buddha peers from the fireplace at Koi, a Japanese-Asian restaurant in Los Angeles that has a Zen theme channeled by Thomas Schoos, a German designer, into a calming patio of concrete planters and a screen of bamboo.
First Place: Contractor, Greenscapes and Graphisc, Davis; designer, Michael Glassman, Davis; project, Weinstocks Patio Restaurant, Sacramento; sponsor, Target Chemical Co.
Alan Solomon, an owner of Sawkill Lumber of Brooklyn, supplied it to designers who used it for patio planters at Palazzo Chupi, Julian Schnabel's five-unit condominium in the West Village, and on tables at Think Coffee on 14th Street.
And because it wouldn't be alfresco dining in L.A. without a proper city backdrop, the designers added extra space to the patio so you can enjoy your sunset cocktail with a breeze and a view of the Hollywood Hills.
Some of the city's new designer B&Bs are just as eccentric, such as The Patio Houses.
Taste the local flavour by ordering a New England brew or a cocktail crafted from area spirits in the Simple Truth Lounge downstairs – retire to the patio and you'll sit on chairs made in Cambridge by designer Adam Simha.
Those who need a break from the summer sun, but dislike the ungainly look of many patio umbrellas, may prefer the minimalist Shade, created by the Paris-based designer Christophe Pillet for the Italian outdoor furniture company Emu.
Inside out Some designers would rather be buried under a bare concrete patio than be seen on one.
Brick floors and patios, besides providing a long-lasting, low-maintenance material, offer the designer a medium for developing architectural effects in both colours and patterns.
Every garden designer needs a plan for hardscape ( fixed elements like patios, paths and retaining walls), softscape (the plants) and furnishings — and some inspiration.
