Forging a strong link between indoors and outside can make your house feel much more expansive and light filled, and may promote circulation between indoor and outdoor rooms. You’d be hard pressed to find another design change that has a greater impact on how you experience everyday life at home. Whether you are at present planning a remodeling project or only want to get motivated, these 11 ideas for bridging indoors and outside are a fantastic place to start.
Charlie Barnett Associates
Produce smooth flow. An ample-size pivoting glass door creates an impressive entry on its own — but put it with a rear wall of glass doors, and the mild actually flows. The same flooring material indoors and outside creates an uninterrupted flow from front to the back of the home.
Sutton Suzuki Architects
Insert an around-the-corner window. Break away from the traditional four-walls-and-windows pattern by integrating a corner window. Getting rid of this corner causes you to feel as if you are a part of the view, and this place is likely to become the highlight of your house. In case you have a spectacular view from anywhere in your house, that’s where to set your corner window.
Ryan Group Architects
Corner windows are not simply for expansive vistas — they also do an amazing job of bringing the outside in even if the view is simply to your own backyard.
More ideas for corner windows
Rossington Architecture
Give a backyard a private entrance. A little garden off the master bedroom may be a lovely place to unwind in. Sliding glass doors permit you to enjoy the view while inside and let in extra light. Consider sectioning off a little part of your lawn with trees trees or even a fence for privacy. A water feature is a serene touch and also helps mask noises out of neighbors.
Butler-Johnson Corporation
Grow a garden off the tub. You do not have to have a huge lawn to make a unique garden feature. A narrow stretch of lawn across the side of a house could be implanted with bamboo for solitude, and opened to the tub with a wall of glass. For more elastic solitude, think about adding sliding shoji screens.
Sam Crawford Architects
Shelter an outside area. Outdoor rooms at the backyard are wonderful … if the weather cooperates. But using a covered area beside your house is also welcome. Add cozy chairs and possibly even a fireplace, and you may watch the rain from the comfort of the comfy perch.
FINNE Architects
Give a desk a opinion. Should you prefer to daydream at your desk, then open it to a fabulous view. Positioning your desk at an upstairs room will offer the best views, wherever you live — deliver the windows out of the desk level right up into the ceiling for maximum views and light.
Klopf Architecture
Design a living area with doors. A walk-out basement or ground-floor family room can be enhanced with accordion or pocket doors, or even a garage door, that can be fully pulled away to mix indoors and outside. The instant connection with the outside could help lure children away from digital screens to an impromptu game of hoops or hopscotch.
Paul Davis Architects
Lose the wall. Opening an entire side of your house with floor-to-ceiling glass doors is a high-impact shift that could revolutionize your everyday life. This feature is especially suited to modern houses and midcentury ranches from not-too-cold climates, but it could work well for other home designs — consult with a pro to discover a style that works with your property.
Locate the Ideal Glass Door For Your Teen
JLF & Associates, Inc..
Reimagine the breezeway. Treat your breezeway more like a greenhouse for a dose of sunlight and mild, even in midwinter. Lightening a linking space like this will flooding the adjacent spaces with natural light, too.
Ziger/Snead Architects
Echo your home’s shape in outside areas. A wraparound patio that mirrors the shape of the house, especially when paired with sliding glass doors and ample windows, creates the indoor and outdoor spaces feel much more interconnected.
Tell us How important is the indoor-outdoor connection for you? Can you try one of these ideas?