Outdoor Living Design - How to Extend Your Living Space
Outdoor Living Design - How to Extend Your Living Space
The trend of open-plan design has been rising and evolving for the last ten years. Expansive living spaces and sweepingly tall ceilings are the height of residential architecture. We want to see spaces that feel even bigger than they really are. The more open the shared family spaces are, the better. With so many people spending more time at home, we fully understand the desire to expand our open living rooms out onto the warm summer deck.
Outdoor living is growing trend for indoor-outdoor lifestyles. Marked by large sweeping windows and sliding double-doors, the idea is to throw open your indoor space so that it flows naturally out onto the patio or deck. In matching style, the outdoor spaces are designed as weather-durable mirrors of indoor living spaces complete with kitchens, dining tables, and sprawling lounge furniture.
So what makes an ideal outdoor living design?
Lighting for Outdoor Living
Outdoor living always starts with great lights. After all, one of the joys of being at home is partying after the sun goes down. Good lighting provides necessary lumens to your outdoor kitchen and a welcoming glow to your outdoor living spaces and lounge areas.
Lighting can be placed along pathways to show the way through your arboreal landscape and highlight the safe steps down off your deck. You can even nestle outdoor lighting in the trees to make your backyard glow with that ethereal feeling of home in your own back garden.
Start with lighting mounted against the house. If you build pavilions and indoor-outdoor rooms, you can install overhead lighting for your outdoor spaces. If you have a deck, you can light the posts of your railing for a modern yet stylishly old-fashioned look with great party illumination. Lamp posts, lanterns, and illuminating orbs can be used to light your backyard pathways and landscaped exterior living spaces.
Landscaping Arboreal Escapes
Your landscaping can influence outdoor living as much as your deck or patio. Create for yourself a peaceful getaway spot in a circle of shrubs and under the canopy of your backyard trees. Surprise guests with the perfect reading light and a cozy outdoor lounge for arboreal napping. Landscaping can be used to make pathways and leaf-sheltered outdoor rooms that are fully separate from your porch and patio experience. You can make quiet getaways for naps, book reading, and quiet contemplation.
With landscaping, you can shelter the children's play area or create a hidden yoga studio for one or two people to greet the sun together. You can create a circular walk that is perfect for meditative strolling or children running laps around the yard. These pathways can branch off into beautiful hidden nooks and even surprisingly expansive spaces of garden within garden.
Outdoor Kitchens and Dining Furniture
Eating outdoors is uniquely luxurious and easy to do with a back deck. Devise a beautiful outdoor dining table and chairs for the family to enjoy meals under the open sky. This might be the dining extension of your living room or the natural addition to a luxury outdoor kitchen. Often, outdoor dining is accompanied by an outdoor kitchenette or a full-blown patio kitchen with wrap-around counters.
This year, you can have more than a lightweight grill on the deck or patio. You can build yourself a brick monument to grilling with an outdoor fireplace, a cozy hearth, and even a built-in brick pizza oven. Or you can design a sleek, modern entertainer's kitchen on the sheltered deck for the delight of outdoor party guests. Expand your outdoor kitchen to a dining area, whether that's for casual lounging and eating or a formal outdoor dining table.
Lounging and Napping in Outdoor Living
One of the best reasons to extend your living room onto the porch is for naps. Who doesn't love a shady hammock nap or a breezy snooze on patio lounge furniture? We could all benefit from catching a book or a podcast while relaxing in the warm sunshine of an autumn afternoon, or relaxing quietly with our loved ones listening to the sounds of nature in the backyard.
Consider the many ways to bring lounging and napping into your outdoor living space. Hang a hammock or three. Make an inviting circle of chairs and couches around a firepit. Line up your lounge chairs so you and friends can catch some afternoon sun.
Turning a Hottub Into an Outdoor Living Space
If you already have a hottub as part of our back patio, it can become the perfect centerpiece for your outdoor living design. A hottub can make your outdoor spaces more welcoming in cold weather and more exciting when it's time to party. Build more tables and seating around your hottub to make it a luxury living space for cold drinks and good conversation.
Build a ring of deck steps around your deck to make it easier to climb into. Add seating or built-in seats coming off your deck to make it more into an inviting social space. Install a sidebar and minifridge near your hottub to provide those perfect cool drinks to stay balanced when enjoying a hot soak. with the right floor mats and nearby warmed towels, you can enjoy your hottub and outdoor living space all year round. Turn your hottub into a luxury focus for cold drinks and good conversation.
Firepits and Outdoor Fireplaces
Everyone loves a beautiful fire outdoors. This is why luxury firepits are so popular and even a simple reinforced circule of rocks can relax a group of friends for hours. Firepits are the perfect addition to outdoor living because they are one joy that we cannot safely enjoy indoors. A firepit provides access to the fire all the way around and lets us sit in a circle, enjoying our loved one's conversation by firelight.
Fire pits come in all shapes and sizes. You can build a pit or use a luxury fire table. You can choose a firepit that burns natural wood and charcoal or one supplied by a gas line. You can also build yourself an outdoor fireplace with a tall chimney and a warm hearth to sit on during cold months enjoying your outdoor space.
Unique Shelter Designs for Outdoor Living Spaces
Lastly, don't forget shelter designs for outdoor living. Pergolas and pavilion frames are very popular right now. You will want to consider roof coverage and optional shelter panels that protect your outdoor living when the weather isn't perfect. With the right panels and selective window walls, you can enjoy your outdoor spaces even when it's raining or cold outside. Consider automatic panels and doors that lower themselves on command compared to tie-down pavilion sides
Outdoor living is a hot trend in real estate remodel projects. If you dream of your living space expanding into a beautiful indoor-outdoor lifestyle, we can help. Contact us to start your journey with the right lighting and power extension plans to create your outdoor living vision.