Key Takeaways:
When you’re drawn to more than one design style, the goal isn’t to choose between them. It’s to understand how they can coexist with intention. Here’s how we think about it:
– Get Clear on What You Love: Half the challenge is language. Most people know what they’re drawn to but don’t always have the words for it. Start by naming the feeling, the materials, or even the mood you want your space to have — that clarity shapes everything that follows.
– Let Inspiration Be Interpreted, Not Imitated: You don’t need to copy a design style directly. The best spaces are inspired by a feeling, not a replica. Like when we translated the idea of a cenote, not by recreating one, but by designing a structure that feels like being there.
– Give Each Style Its Own Moment: When two styles are completely different, they don’t need to compete. Separate them visually so each has its own space to breathe — that’s how contrast feels intentional, not chaotic.
What if you love two completely different styles and aesthetics for your yard? Maybe you want something modern and minimal, but you’re also drawn to old-world, traditional elegance and you want a little of both.
You might be wondering:
– Can I combine these styles?
– Can I find a happy medium?
– Can I take elements from both and use them in my yard, or will they end up clashing and looking at odds with each other?
This is a challenge many of our clients come to us with. It’s also something we see often with couples – when one person prefers a clean, contemporary style while the other leans toward something more classic.
So how can we combine these two in a way that feels harmonious and luxurious?
Let’s look at how we approach mixing different design styles in outdoor spaces for our clients.
Understanding How to Describe Your Design Style
One of the biggest challenges our clients face is understanding how to describe the style or aesthetic they’re drawn to.
When it comes to interiors and architecture, there are many established styles that people recognize. Certain terminology is widely known. But with outdoor design, it often feels more vague.
Your yard connects to your home’s architecture and interiors, but it’s also its own space. That gives you more freedom to express yourself. You can reference what exists inside your home, or create something completely new that still feels cohesive and harmonious.
When clients describe what they want, they often reference locations rather than defined design styles.
For example, we often hear:
“I want a Santorini style.”
“I want a Bali-inspired yard.”
“I want Tulum style.”
“I want a French garden.”
These “place-based” design references are often inspired by travel — resorts or destinations that made a strong impression.
And while they are all places, not technically design categories, they communicate emotion, color, and texture.
– Santorini style: crisp whites, pale blues, bright light.
– Tulum style: tawny beige tones, plaster textures, organic forms.
If you find it difficult to articulate your aesthetic, know that’s completely normal when it comes to exterior design. What matters most is that your designer understands the look and feeling you want to achieve, and has the vision to bring it to life.
How to Blend Two Design Styles Without Clashing
When you’re combining two different design styles, what’s important to remember is that there’s usually some overlap or shared elements that can help unify the look.
For example, this yard features both Organic Modern and Tulum-inspired design elements. You might think it looks purely modern, but we incorporated the Tulum influence in a subtle, conceptual way.
When our clients came to us, they told us how much they love visiting Tulum, especially the cenotes.
For anyone unfamiliar, a cenote is a naturally formed sinkhole filled with water, often surrounded by limestone and vegetation. It’s tranquil, raw, and immersive, but not something you can literally replicate in a backyard.
So we took the concept of a cenote and interpreted it in a more abstract way. We designed a monolithic cantilevered structure that creates a cozy, cave-like feeling. The space between the water and the roofline feels compressed and intimate. The design draws your eye to that lower ceiling area over both the dry zone and the water, and the rain curtain enhances the ambiance, evoking the ambiance of a cenote.
At first glance, you don’t immediately think “Tulum,” but the feeling is there — that sense of retreat, stillness, and natural rhythm — seamlessly woven into an Organic Modern foundation of plaster walls and soft, neutral tones.
When Opposite Yard Styles Need Their Own Space
Sometimes, two styles are so different that the best way to combine them is to keep them visually separate.
Let’s say you’re drawn to the light, airy vibe of Santorini, but you also love the serenity of Japanese Zen design. On the surface, they seem completely opposite. One bright and coastal, the other dark, minimal, and meditative.
Blending them in one continuous space would feel disjointed and overly busy. But if you create distinct zones, like a main outdoor living area inspired by Santorini and a private Zen courtyard, both can coexist in your outdoor space.
We’ve actually done this for clients before. We created a courtyard space that’s totally cut off from the rest of the yard, a vignette that has no connection to the other spaces around it.
This is the perfect way to create a Zen area.
And, it might include just a courtyard that’s beautiful to look at. But often, we get clients requesting a wellness area in their yard and they want that area to have Zen style so it’s relaxing.
What we like to do in these instances, is to ensure that there is no visual overlap with the rest of the yard. So you’re never seeing both spaces at the same time and you aren’t experiencing a clash of these two styles.
That’s the secret: when two styles are drastically different, ensure they don’t share the same visual space. That’s what keeps your overall design feeling calm, intentional, and cohesive.
Transforming Your Yard
No matter what style you prefer for your yard, our designers are here to create a custom outdoor space designed specifically for you. Click the button below to book a free design consultation call with our team today.
If you are not ready to reach out, we created an Exterior Design Style Guide you can download for free. It will help you discover your ideal outdoor design style, understand how to describe it, and find inspiration for your own space.
👉 Start Your Design Today
📩 Subscribe for Weekly Design Ideas
📌 Explore The Exterior Design Style Guide
How to Combine Two Design Styles Into One Luxury Yard (That Still Feels Cohesive)
How do you blend two completely different design styles into one cohesive outdoor space? In this video, the Foxterra Design team shows how to blend design styles, like Modern Organic and Tulum-inspired, without clashing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I combine two design styles in one yard without it looking busy?
A: Yes — when you find common elements such as tone, texture, or form, the mix feels intentional instead of chaotic.
Q: What are common design styles people reference for outdoor spaces?
A: Many people reference destinations — Santorini, Tulum, or Bali — as a shorthand for palettes and textures rather than using design style terminology that’s more typically associated with architecture or interior design.
Q: How do I take inspiration from a destination without copying it?
A: Focus on interpreting the feeling or experience instead of the literal details. Translate it through materiality, proportion, or atmosphere.
Q: What should I do if I love two styles that completely clash?
A: Separate them visually. Distinct areas or courtyards allow both styles to exist independently while keeping the overall yard cohesive.
Behind The Blog
Justin Fox
Founder & Creative Director
Founder Justin Fox grew up with a passion for landscaping. After 15+ years building luxury yards and pools as a licensed contractor, he saw the limits of the design/build model. Homes get detailed, architect-led plans, so why shouldn’t yards? In 2019 he convinced brother Nate Fox to join him and launched Foxterra Design to focus on immersive, luxury outdoor spaces.
Today, Foxterra creates resort-style residential environments for clients worldwide, pairing rigorous planning with bold imagination. Their work has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, in Architectural Digest, and other leading design outlets.
Nate Fox
Designer
Nate Fox helps shape Foxterra’s creative vision, blending architectural detail with a designer’s eye for proportion and flow. His work redefines the backyard as an extension of modern luxury living.
For this story, Nate explores how combining contrasting outdoor design styles, like Organic Modern and Tulum-inspired, can create balance and depth in a single cohesive space. His approach emphasizes clarity, interpretation, and intentional separation to achieve harmony in multi-style landscapes.
