• Modern water features often draw inspiration from traditional Asian designs.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Modern outdoor water features add an elegant and contemporary feel to any yard, garden, deck and landscape. Minimalist design elements contribute to water features that are easy on the eyes. Modern water features are stripped of all unnecessary flair and decoration to reveal the raw beauty of simplicity. These types of water features highlight the natural flow of water instead of the components used in building them.
  
  

Deck Waterfall and Pool

• The Trendir design website highlights a modern outdoor water feature by Mesa Garden Studio. The feature consists of a waterfall border around a square deck. Water pours down over the edge of the entire border into a pool at ground level about 3 feet below. The edge of the lower pool blends seamlessly into the rest of the yard. The design of the waterfall complements the deck in a subtle, minimal way. The water around the deck has a still surface that reflects the deck furniture, wooden fence and elegant wooden awning. The feature flows naturally from the design of the house and deck and does not call attention to itself except as a peaceful backdrop.
  
  

ReyRosa Ranch Raw Concrete Water Feature

• The Mesa Design Group created a modern water feature for the ReyRosa Ranch in Ellis County, Texas. The extremely minimal modern design mimics a traditional water trough with a twist. Raw concrete reaches across the seemingly endless Texas prairie land toward the horizon. A single pipe with a vintage pump handle pours water into the vast trough. The trough extends between two modern buildings to complement the linear structure of the ranch. The cement edges are about 2 inches wide on all sides of the long rectangular water feature. Its 3-foot width and about 30-foot length make the trough seem to shrink in the distance.
  
  

Eco Rainwater Feature

• H20 Designs built a custom ecologically sound series of waterfalls and pools that collect rainwater to minimize the amount of water necessary to keep the feature flowing. The design incorporates dark hardwood deck flooring and a wall fountain that begins the cascading journey to the lower pools of the water feature. Six purple square and rectangular pools draw the water down from the wall feature and under parts of the wooden flooring. Aquatic plants grow out of one of the six pools. The entire feature incorporates plants growing out of beds of tiny light-colored stones. An extra water storage tank is hidden underneath the deck to sustain the flow of the feature over extended periods without adding additional water.