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Warm Up With Ideas for Your Dream Outdoor Room
Plan a Memorable Summer Outside While You're Waiting Out Winter Inside
Though the Northern Hemisphere is locked in winter's chilly embrace, it's never to early to start thinking about the warmer weather ahead. Now's the perfect time to plan how you'll make the most of your outdoor spaces once the warmth comes back.
Whether your outdoor space consists of a couple of lawn chairs pulled into the grass or it's a full-on upholstered living room outside, there are few things more enjoyable than a lingering conversation during a midsummer sunset. It's those lingerings that make lifetime memories. The real job of outdoor design is to set a stage where meaningful interactions can happen.
They'll happen more often if you give some thought to setting aside a space for them. Appealing spaces are a magnet for lingering guests and that's true regardless of tight budgets or close quarters.
Whether your outdoor space consists of a couple of lawn chairs pulled into the grass or it's a full-on upholstered living room outside, there are few things more enjoyable than a lingering conversation during a midsummer sunset. It's those lingerings that make lifetime memories. The real job of outdoor design is to set a stage where meaningful interactions can happen.
They'll happen more often if you give some thought to setting aside a space for them. Appealing spaces are a magnet for lingering guests and that's true regardless of tight budgets or close quarters.
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People lucky enough to have a real porch would do well to take full advantage of it with a seating arrangement like this. Wooden rocking chairs are an enduring classic for a very good reason. This set up looks like an ideal spot to swap stories over an after-dinner cocktail.
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This modern courtyard has been optimized for entertaining. Constructing permanent benches and planters and then softening them in the summertime with all-weather upholstery makes every day a garden party.
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| All-weather upholstery needn't be neutral and boring, the fabrics available today can let you go wild with color outside too. |
| Rattan looks terrific outside but real rattan and conditions outdoors are a bad mix. Contemporary, synthetic rattan maintains all the casual elegance without any of the rot and mildew of the original. |
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| This island escape looks like an idyllic spot for a dinner under the stars. You can capture some of that tropical style wherever you are by adding a bamboo screen, a potted palm and planters full of flowers. |
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Here's an outdoor dining room straight out of Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun. This designer captured the formal informality of an Italian piazza by using wrought iron light fixtures, a travertine table, dark-upholstered metal chairs and potted areca palms. These Tuscan pointers can be adapted to just about any space but keep in mind that the real magic of Tuscany comes from its lack of fuss. Keep it simple and you'll enjoy La Dolce Vita with little effort.
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by Aquascape Inc.
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| This once-unused back yard has been turned into a woodland escape. Don't let the naturalized appearance fool you, this yard took a great deal of planning to pull together. Water features can be small scale and bird feeders will draw in birds you'll be amazed by. The harmonious appearance of this backyard is filled with elements that can be adapted nearly anywhere. |
by pulltab design
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Every urban dweller the world over dreams about a roof deck and this one doesn't disappoint. The pergola frames the space but doesn't obscure the view. The water feature replaces the sounds of traffic with the sound of gently falling water. Adding just two pillows to a wooden bench softens everything up everything in this outdoor room.
This outdoor seating area in the Pacific Northwest gets a shot of the tropics with potted bananas. Bananas, and any broad-leaf large plant, make everything feel instantly tropical.
| Sometimes, something as simple as two lime green Adirondack chairs and a small table are all you need to give you and your partner a place to reconnect at the end of the day.
Whether simple or complicated, the time spent planning outdoor spaces pays off in countless ways. So who in the Houzz community has some pointers or ideas for maximizing outdoor spaces? Does anybody have a winning solution, a great idea or even a dilemma or two? |
Comments
Ella Johnson Thank you for this posting; it gives me great inspiration for an upcoming outdoor project. I do have a dilemma that I will face and I hope you might have suggestions. While we want to turn our backyard space into an entertaining oasis, we do have 2 large dogs that will want to enjoy the space, too. How can we incorporate an outdoor patio with seating but still have an area for the dogs to play run?
2 years ago · Like
Paul Anater It's hard to give you an answer without any dimensions or photographs. Clearly, you want to separate the areas and give the dogs the most amount of continuous space as you can. How big an area is this? What's there now?
2 years ago · Like
midmodfan There's something I would like to add or point to which you can also see in most of these photos: an outdoor space has to be defined, just like an indoor space. People normally don't feel comfortable sitting in the middle of a large open area. We instinctively want our backs "protected", be it by a wall, a hedge or a line of large potted plants that give the impression of an outdoor room.
2 years ago · Like
Paul Anater Good point. The roof garden by Pulltab Design shows that concept at work particularly well. I love how that shallow pergola implies a ceiling directs the eye in the same way the deck boards do.
2 years ago · Like
Rebekah Zaveloff Great post Paul, thanks for this! We're rebuilding after a fire and looking forward to planning the outdoor space.
2 years ago · Like
Paul Anater That's terrible Rebekah, one of my brothers and his family went through the same thing around ten years ago. What a trauma to come back from, god-speed in your rebuild.
2 years ago · Like
Amy Southard My backyard was very narrow - so I just made a outside room with a fountain and dining area with a small grassey area to play games. 
2 years ago · Like
sahmed82 Beautiful
2 years ago · Like
catrine36 Ahh I can taste the warm sun on the top of my nose already...thanks for the post!
17 months ago · Like
Ideabook updated on Jan. 6, 2011.
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