Modern Gazebo Styles

Asian-Inspired Gazebos

• In the clean lines of contemporary architecture, you can find gazebos with resonances of Japanese aesthetics. In Tokyo city park, modern gazebos take inspiration from traditional motifs. Consult images of traditional Japanese treasure houses or shrines. Use wooden grilles and screens to create a degree of enclosure that's also open to the outdoors. Exposed roof beams, while typically of traditional Western and Japanese gazebo structures, can still translate to your modern gazebo. Whenever possible, minimize decorative detailing and streamline the design for a more contemporary look. Asian-inspired gazebos also use natural wood to balance potentially austere lines with a softer material.

Contemporary and Futuristic Gazebos

• For a gazebo that's truly cutting edge, consider using nontraditional materials. Instead of wood, look to metal and unusual man-made materials. As with any design style, you'll want to balance textures for the most harmonious overall effect. You can counter the cool lines and textures of metal frames by hanging all-weather fabrics, evoking canopies or tents, and opening up a wide range of possible colors or even patterns. The design firm Jane Hamley Wells produces a modern gazebo called the "Capsule Turntable Room" that combines stainless steel with fabric and narrow slats of teak wood. Its design borrows the mellow curves of mid-century modern design and updates the look with its materials: shiny stainless steel and slim teak slats.

Recycled Gazebos

• For an ecologically responsible DIY project, consider building your own gazebo using a recycled satellite dish as the roof. Mother Earth News provides plans for a simple gazebo structure that combines the sleek, recycled dome of an old dish with decorative details along the walls and beams, creating a whimsical overall look. Stack salvaged concrete blocks 3 to 4 feet high to create a visual definition of the interior space, while leaving the walls otherwise open, up to the eaves. To support the roof, use plastic pipes, at least 6 inches in diameter. Set them into a concrete foundation deeply enough to balance their height.