4 Outdoor Conversions You’ll Wish You’d Known About Sooner

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The changing ways we utilize our homes are inspiring a dramatic design shift. The increasing popularity of working and playing from home, multigenerational family living and the need for flexible guest or short-term rental space has sparked demand for creatively rethinking every inch of a property’s exterior. Whether you’re reworking a back room or adding an ADU to your yard, you can elevate your dwelling space into a modernist masterpiece with the right doors. These four projects utilized LaCantina’s array of floor-to-ceiling glass door wall systems to create innovative conversions that are a pleasure to work from or play in — and that sometimes even upstage the main house.

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This image and next: Design by Nathan Fell Architecture, photo by Justin Cordova Photography

Reconsider Limitations

When New Orleans-based architect Nathan Fell first conceived his Bienville House duplex, he took inspiration from the French Quarter’s surrounding traditional Creole townhouses. “The intention was to create a residential space with a mix of openness and connection to the outdoors on an urban lot where maximizing space is often a challenge,” Fell says.

To expand the use of the city lot’s limited space, Fell created two dwellings on the property, both with a natural flow between the interior and exterior spaces. Blending into the surrounding cityscape, the rear-facing home features ample privacy, with a front kitchen that’s connected to an exterior patio through sliding glass doors. “For this project, the more minimal and unnoticeable the glass walls were the better,” Fell explains. “I incorporated aluminum black trim, and the idea was for the use of the opaque wall materials to be more predominant than the openings.”

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Outside, an impressive rectangular pool runs along the side of the property through both covered and exterior areas. “The sliding wall system offers flexibility,” Fell says. “It’s enclosed and secure when the weather doesn’t permit the doors to be open, while allowing multiple sides to be accessible to openness.”

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This image and next two images: Design by SALTHOUSE collective, photo by Charlotte Lea Photography

Eclectic, Multitasking Outdoor Design

With entertaining a priority, creating an indoor-outdoor space for her Califonia home was key for Carlsbad-based interior designer Leigh Jendrusina of SALTHOUSE collective. “The entire house was gutted and remodeled over a two-year period, and I was inspired to have a black Scandinavian seaside cottage meets a modern California coastal-feeling home,” Jendrusina says.

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It was in the backyard, however, that the fun really began. An ADU was already located in a prime spot, but it had no access to the larger part of the yard. “We decided to connect it in order to make more of the structure as a lounging and entertaining space,” Jendrusina says. “It would act as an additional hang space — we call it the Playhouse!”

Side windows were taken out and replaced with a large sliding glass door from LaCantina, which is in contrast to the swinging glass doors at the rear of the main house and adds to the outdoor space’s eclectic feel. Plus, the sliding design saves on floor space for the ADU and adjacent patio. “I designed the rest of the yard to feel cohesive with the main house and ensured the ADU and outdoor entertaining spaces all worked together visually,” Jendrusina says.

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Adjacent to the Playhouse, a raised concrete pool is surrounded by tiered landscaping, while a dining and cooking pavilion provides the ideal spot from which to enjoy the stylish yard. “I used a lot of modern materials in the design, like concrete and slatted wood with waterfall counters,” Jendrusina says. “Then I loaded up the space with greenery and plants. Every part of the design is really connected, so people can enjoy any spot and still be a part of the conversation.”

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This image and next: Design by Messana O’Rorke, photo by Eric Laignel

Updated Arts and Crafts Design

When New York-based architecture firm Messana O’Rorke took on the Fletcher Avenue project in California, the brief was to create areas designed for California living, with a connection to the outdoors. Remaining true to the Arts and Crafts architecture of South Pasadena, Brian Messana (one-half of Messana O’Rorke) created a flow from the back of the home into the property’s grove of trees. “The original house was built in the early 1900s in the Craftsman style,” he says. “We gutted the ground floor and reworked the spaces to create two guest bedrooms and bathrooms, along with what was named the Great Room.”

The Great Room not only gives the homeowners a space with direct access to the outdoor patio and barbecue area, but includes an open-plan layout that’s warm and welcoming. “We included folding glass doors, which have two functions,” Messana says. “A singular passage door is used as primary access to the patio and garden, while foldaway doors open the house to the outdoors and help bring the outdoors into the house.”

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That wasn’t the only area to be transformed, however. Converting the unused garage into a usable room created a space for games and entertainment separate from the home. LaCantina folding doors allow easy access to the garden, where you can find an oversize fireplace central to an alfresco dining nook.

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Photo courtesy of Abodu

Flexible Space in a Flash

A dramatic shift in daily life over the past two years has created a real need for flexible extra living areas. Many homeowners are turning to ADUs to house backyard studios, offices and one- and two-bedroom spaces. With the addition of glass doors that open onto patios or landscaping, ADUs can become inviting indoor-outdoor spaces with functions beyond just a work-from-home hub or place to spend the night.

“We use our ADU as a quiet space to hang out, for entertaining, as a guesthouse, and occasionally we rent it out on Airbnb,” says homeowner Flora Moreno de Thompson, who purchased her backyard ADU from Abodu. “We initially wanted to build an ADU as an option for my mom after retirement, but in the meantime we have a flexible and functional space that we can use in a variety of ways.”

The light-filled ADU includes cathedral ceilings to create a more expansive-feeling design within a small footprint. A folding door opens up to a deck landing and an outdoor living room beyond. “When we were looking at design options, we jumped at the chance to install an accordion door,” Moreno de Thompson says. “We felt it would further elevate the appearance and function of our Abodu and it does. It gives it the wow factor and allows for indoor-outdoor functionality. When we are entertaining, we call our Abodu a ‘pool house without a pool,’ as it becomes an outdoor space that feels like another living space!”

Learn more: To find out more about the folding doors, sliding doors and swing doors offered by LaCantina, visit the company’s website.

This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content Team.