Outdoor Living Contractor in Jacksonville, FL

Backyards for Jacksonville homes, designed in person with you in AutoCAD. We manage every step, from permit to final walkthrough.

Jacksonville is a big city with very different backyards: riverfront lots in Mandarin and San Marco, historic homes in Riverside and Avondale, wooded lots on the Southside and tight beach lots out east. AY Luxury Designs designs and builds pergolas, gazebos, covered patios, screen enclosures, outdoor kitchens and fire features for homeowners all across Jacksonville, from our design studio on the Southside. We handle the design, the HOA or historic paperwork, the City of Jacksonville permits and the build, so you get less chores and more chill.

AY Luxury Designs LLC · Certified Building Contractor CBC1268168 · Amany Youssef: Registered Building Contractor RB29003947 · Registered Electrical Contractor ER13016631 · Registered Underground Utility & Excavation Contractor RU11066663

Book a Consultation · Call (904) 629-8803

Outdoor Living Services in Jacksonville

Every project is custom designed for your lot, your home's architecture and your neighborhood's guidelines.

Pergolas and Louvered Pergolas: open or adjustable shade, attached or freestanding.
Gazebos and A-Frame Gazebos: solid-roof outdoor rooms, freestanding or attached to your house.
Covered Patio Extensions and Lanai Extensions: more covered living space that looks original to the house.
Screen Enclosures: patio and pool enclosures that keep bugs out without losing the view.
Outdoor Kitchens and Summer Kitchens: you choose the layout and finishes, with the electrical handled with our licensed electrical partner and the gas and plumbing connections made by our licensed trade partners.
Outdoor Fireplaces, Fire Pits and Linear Fire Features
Pavers & Patios and Seat Walls
Outdoor Lighting, Fans & Heaters and Outdoor Electrical, handled with our licensed electrical partner.
3D Backyard Design: see the whole backyard before anything is built.

Why Building in Jacksonville Is Different

Architectural review. Planned communities across Jacksonville run their own architectural review, while the City's locally designated historic districts, Riverside-Avondale, Springfield and St. Johns Quarter, add a Certificate of Appropriateness. We prepare a neighborhood-specific package with a scaled site plan, elevations, materials and 3D renderings. Confirm current guidelines with your association.

Permits. Jacksonville is inside the consolidated City of Jacksonville, so permits are filed through JaxEPICS and reviewed by building, zoning and the fire marshal. A Notice of Commencement is required for most permitted projects. See our Duval County permit guide.

The setting. From the St. Johns River to the beaches, Jacksonville homes deal with heat, humidity, summer storms and, near the water, salt air.

Exterior lighting is one of the most-wanted home features, rated essential or desirable by 82% of buyers in NAHB's buyer study.

Local Notes for Jacksonville Backyards

One city, most of the county. Jacksonville and Duval County consolidated in 1968, so the City of Jacksonville permits most of Duval. Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Baldwin run their own offices.
Historic review in three districts. Riverside-Avondale, Springfield and St. Johns Quarter are the City's locally designated historic districts, where exterior work needs a Certificate of Appropriateness first.
From the Northside to Mandarin. Our Jacksonville work includes a new paver driveway, side walkways and a sunken fire pit in Amelia View on the Northside, and an attached covered pergola on a screened pool enclosure in Mandarin.

When planning an outdoor living space, UF/IFAS suggests a tree, umbrella or pergola for daytime shade.

Who Builds Your Project

AY stands for Amany Youssef, the founder who designs every project with you and stays personally involved through the final walkthrough. Amany came to the United States as a young child, grew up in Jacksonville, graduated from the University of Florida, and earned her Florida building contractor license. When she did, she became the youngest female licensed building contractor in Florida at the time. Today she leads an experienced team of designers, project managers and builders.

Amany is a member of Professional Women in Building, a council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA), and serves as co-chair of its STEM committee. In St. Johns County, she speaks regularly to students at Tocoi Creek High School about careers in construction, and AY Luxury Designs takes on Tocoi Creek students as interns.

Our Design-Build Process

Design session with Amany. Your project starts at our Jacksonville design studio, where you sit down with founder Amany Youssef and watch your backyard take shape live on screen in AutoCAD.
Free AutoCAD design and a custom quote. You get to-scale 3D renderings and a fully itemized custom quote within 24 hours of your consultation, so you know exactly what you're getting.
In-home design visit. Amany comes to your home for an in-person walkthrough, so we look at the project together where you're most comfortable, finalize the details and choose your colors and finishes.
Engineering, HOA and permits handled. We get the necessary engineered documents for every permitted structure, prepare your HOA/ARB package and pull the City of Jacksonville permits.
Build. We can start most projects within two to four weeks. Our crews follow a build process we've refined over many projects, and you get daily updates.
The AY Advantage. You hold back the final 5% for seven days after completion, so we can take care of any touch-ups before you sign off.

Financing is available through Synchrony Bank, including 18 months of no-interest financing, and we have other financing options as well.

Recent Jacksonville Projects

A-frame cedar gazebo with linear gas fire feature and outdoor kitchen, Jacksonville Beach We turned this home's original gable-roof lanai into a full A-frame by over-framing a new A-frame that ties straight into it, finished in white outside to match the house, with new posts that match the existing ones. Inside, a stained tongue-and-groove ceiling with dimmable lights and a ridge fan tops the space. A linear gas fireplace with lights under the caps, a reclaimed-wood mantel and a TV above sits between two privacy walls, and a matching outdoor kitchen with a second TV sits under the original lanai. The whole space is screened top to bottom with our expanded-view upgrade.

Black cypress pergola and custom stone wood-burning fireplace, Eagle Landing (Orange Park) A custom cypress pergola finished in black over a paver lanai extension. The focal point is a custom stone wood-burning fireplace, flanked by seating walls, with lighting to finish.

Cedar gazebo with outdoor kitchen, bar and outdoor TV, Pace Island (Fleming Island) Planned as a cedar pergola, this project grew into a full cedar gazebo with custom column build-ups over an outdoor kitchen with a bar and granite counters, set on new pavers that wrap around the house. In a second phase the family added an outdoor TV and ceiling speakers.

Areas We Serve in Jacksonville

We proudly serve homeowners all across Jacksonville, including Mandarin, San Marco, Riverside, Avondale, Southside, Deerwood, Julington Creek and the Beaches, and everywhere in between. Nearby, see our pages for Jacksonville Beach, Mandarin, Ponte Vedra Beach and Orange Park.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does an outdoor living project in Jacksonville cost? Every project gets a custom quote with an in-person AutoCAD design, and every AY Luxury Designs project has a $10,000 minimum. What drives the cost of an outdoor living project in Jacksonville: the size of the space; materials; features like fireplaces, fire pits and screens; electrical; engineering and permits; HOA requirements; and site work. You get a fully itemized quote within 24 hours of your design consultation.

Do I need a permit for a gazebo, pergola or patio cover in Jacksonville? Most attached or roofed structures need a building permit in Duval County, and many freestanding ones do too, depending on size and design. We pull the permits for you, and every permitted structure gets its necessary engineered documents.

Is my home in the City of Jacksonville or one of the beach cities? Most of Duval County is the consolidated City of Jacksonville, and permits go through JaxEPICS. Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach are separate cities with their own building departments. We check your address and file with the right office.

Do I need HOA approval for a pergola, gazebo or patio cover in Jacksonville? Usually, yes. Roofed structures, screen enclosures and most hardscape changes in Jacksonville go through architectural review before any work begins. We put together the package your board asks for (site plan, scaled drawings, materials and colors, 3D renderings) and handle the submittal with you. Confirm current guidelines with your association.

Do you serve Jacksonville? Yes, we serve homeowners in Jacksonville and throughout Northeast Florida. Your project starts with a design session at our Jacksonville studio, and then Amany comes to your home for the in-home design visit.

Do you work on Jacksonville's Northside? Yes. In Amelia View on the Northside, we built a new paver driveway with matching side walkways and a sunken fire pit with twin benches out back.

How soon can my project start? It depends on the scope, but we can start most projects within two to four weeks.

Do you offer financing? Yes. Financing is available through Synchrony Bank, including 18 months of no-interest financing, and we have other financing options too.