Architect's Toolbox: Finding the Space Between
Create a middle-ground space between the cozy indoors and the possibilities outside
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am licensed to practice architecture in Illinois, Florida, New Jersey & Wisconsin and I am a certificate holder from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). Since 1996 I have worked from my home office and provide full architectural services exclusively to the single family residential market. My passion is to transform my clients' houses into their homes. I strive to have the "new" home accommodate my clients' lives without fighting them at every junction. I look to add curb appeal to encourage a beautiful streetscape. And I design any addition to look and feel like it has always been there.
Our projects have won numerous design awards as well as having...
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located... More »
There's a scene in the movie Titanic: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are at the brow of this great ship, high above the water with the ocean stretched out before them. DiCaprio and Winslet find themselves in a space that doesn't belong to the ship or to the sea, a space that isn't in the foreground or in the background. It's a place in the middle ground where they hold each other as they find themselves between the ship and the sea in that space that only belongs to them.
Architects and designers relish creating these in-between spaces. One such place is a small balcony perched above the landscape and gently, maybe even precariously, attached to the house. Like the brow of the Titanic, these balconies create middle-ground places that are solely our own.
Architects and designers relish creating these in-between spaces. One such place is a small balcony perched above the landscape and gently, maybe even precariously, attached to the house. Like the brow of the Titanic, these balconies create middle-ground places that are solely our own.
Like the brow of the Titanic cutting through the sea, this space finds the middle ground between what is behind and what lies ahead, between the safety and security of our home and the vastness of the landscape outside.
Two chairs and a small table: the perfect place to sit and read a book or have a nap as we drift along.
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| A full glass wall with large doors and a ceiling that points to the sky create an entire room that's an in-between space. |
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| Providing a roof over the balcony helps keep it dry while folding it back into the house to give us just a bit more security as we survey the untamed landscape from our perch. |
Use a railing that all but disappears so the view when lying in bed is unobstructed.
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by Su Casa Designs
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| Or use a railing that provides some definition and boundary to the space so the edges are clear. |
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| Use a railing that repeats the window design to the outside edge. |
by Birdseye Design
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Or use a pipe railing that just barely touches the house to maintain an open and nautical feel.
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by sherry hart
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| Is this balcony part of the bedroom or the treetops outside? |
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| The main, linear and vaulted space extends to the outdoors while the bed is tucked safely off to the side. |
by Asher Elbaz
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Interior balconies are okay, too. For those who want to only watch the party going on below.
More:
Happy Birthday, Fallingwater!
Architect's Toolbox: Beautifully Layered Spaces
Sliding Walls Bring the Outdoors In
Ceilings That Work: Designs for the Space Above
More:
Happy Birthday, Fallingwater!
Architect's Toolbox: Beautifully Layered Spaces
Sliding Walls Bring the Outdoors In
Ceilings That Work: Designs for the Space Above
Comments
Casart Coverings Terrific topic for an ideabook, Bud, with great illustrations. Here's my "space between" that my family enjoyed in our French Quarter "pied d' terre" for more than a dozen years. BTW, Angelina and Brad own the white house to the left in the first picture. Their balcony is adjacent to our gallery in the second picture and the side railings almost touch! 
21 months ago · Like
Pascale We're in the midst of planning our dream house (spending lots of hours on Houzz!) and I can't stop dreaming about how to frame our view. Oh, the first picture sent my heart racing - it's pretty much perfection! I can already picture myself planted in one of those adirondacks with a good book and an iced beverage. 
21 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on Sept. 20, 2011.
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