9 Outdoor Spaces that Feel Like Indoor Rooms

The Great Outdoor Spaces.

An opportunity that should not be overlooked as an additional room or an extension of your living space.

Here are 9 outdoor spaces that extended the living area of some of the homes I have designed over the years.

I will raise my hand and readily admit to being an outdoor room fa-na-tic!   I love to sit outside and just do nothing, just taking in the beauty of nature.  The best way to enjoy it, in my humble design opinion is in a space that is outside but feels like it could be inside.  Outdoor rooms are an extension of your home and should be created with the same thought and consideration as the main rooms in your house.

1.  An Outdoor Living Room

The photo above is from a new construction project I worked on with some fabulous clients that were open to just about every idea I threw out.  In this outdoor room, we basically had enough room to create a second family room with two full-sized sofas and two oversized lounge chairs.  An outdoor rug on the floor grounds the furniture grouping and gives a comfortable indoor feeling to an outdoor space.  This is a great loggia that has built-in motorized drop-down screens.  If the bugs (yup, it’s Florida) are out the shades come down with the press of a button.  It is really nice to have the doors to the Indoor Living Spaces open and safe from flying pests with the screens down.  A great place to take in a sunset or coffee first thing in the morning.   If you want to see the entirety of this home check it out in a post from earlier here.  In another post I wrote called Outdoor Matters you can see photos of the front of some of these homes.

Easy enough to recreate for your own home.  Here are some outdoor furniture pieces that look as though they belong indoors.

 Scroll through the images below and click for more info and pricing.

2.  Pool Side Dining

Eating out under the stars at home.  It’s like camping or Glamping without all the hassle of all the packing.  A teak dining table poolside is another great spot for coffee, lunch, or cocktails in the evening.  Make it cozier by adding a big floral arrangement in the center of the table.  I love to put a big potted palm tree or olive tree in the center of my outdoor table.  Here we did an almost black gem coat in the pool to blend with the lagoon beyond.  Lanterns surround the spa and give just the right amount of light at night.

3.  Courtyard Splendor

When I started working on this project it was supposed to have a paver courtyard.  I had just completed another home very similar in layout and it felt too hard with all the pavers throughout the courtyard.  I suggested we switch to grass and my clients we 100% on board.  It left us with a little bit of a search and work to find the perfect pool coping.  The idea was to make the pool look like an oversized fountain.  It is So much softer and inviting with the grass than hard pavers.  There is a bit of maintenance, and drainage had to be considered as well but a Stunning outcome, if I do say so.

4.  Courtyard Entrance

I just love a wood door in a courtyard as the main entry door.  In this home, there is a little vestibule entrance that opens to a pool courtyard.  It’s a great space that is comfortable almost all of the time, private and welcoming.   The entire home tour can be seen in a post on my Home, Life & Design blog here.

5.  Lounge Under a Trellis

A trellis or pergola off a home creates just the right amount of space to define a seating area.  I am a huge fan of plants…if you don’t know I am A Plant Whisperer and love an overgrown natural look.  Any vine is a friend of mine!  The bougainvillea is just getting started growing up the pergola posts and when it grows it adds to the weight of the columns and helps define and create the outdoor seating area.

6.  Outdoor Fireplace

 

 

7.  Lounge Line-Up

Symmetry, symmetry, symmetry.  Love the look of all the chaise lounges lined up in a row like soldiers. These lounges are in front of a guest house and are the perfect spot to soak up the sun and watch all the activities in the pool.

8.  Mediterranean Chaise

Oceanfront and user-friendly this extra large chaise lounge come with an adjustable overhead cover.

9.  Courtyard Comforts

The pool in this courtyard home is central to everything looking toward the guest house with palms on each corner.   You can see some more pools that will make you want to jump in here in a blog post from Home, Life & Design, and a complete tour of this home here.

Hope this inspires you to create an outdoor living room of your own.

Till next time….