Entertainers Kitchen with pass through window to backyard paradise and beautiful ocean views. Double islands with waterfall edge. White ceramic picket backsplash tile and sleek wood hood with open shelves honor this transitional kitchen design. The traditional sink, prep sink and pot filler make cooking prep in this kitchen highly efficient

Entertainers Kitchen with pass through window to backyard paradise and beautiful ocean views. Double islands with waterfall edge. White ceramic picket backsplash tile and sleek wood hood with open shelves honor this transitional kitchen design. The traditional sink, prep sink and pot filler make cooking prep in this kitchen highly efficient

A folding glass pass-through window turns the kitchen counter into an alfresco serving bar.
Example of a beach style patio design in Portland Maine

This kitchen is beautiful and functional! Some much storage between the doble islands, hutch style cabinets with glass fronts and open shelves. There is an additional prep sink in the island closest to the range and a pot filler as well!

The Harmonious Blending of Inside to Out with Wood Framed Patio Doors By NanaWall Systems, September 3, 2025 Wood framed patio doors Some homes are designed to impress from the outside. This one was reimagined to breathe from the inside out with wood framed patio doors. For a family of music lovers and outdoor enthusiasts, the goal was about connection. Connection to each other, to the seasons, to nature, to sound, and to their lush backyard space for daily life and family gatherings. Designed by Jason Hanrahan of Mode Architects, the home features a thoughtfully placed NanaWall kitchen pass-through window and, later, wide bifold doors in the family sunroom. The design evolved in two phases to fit the family’s indoor-outdoor lifestyle perfectly. The result is a renovation defined by openness, light, and laid-back living. A Home Shaped by Light, Music, Wood Framed Patio Doors, and a Pass-Through Window Kitchen Renovation Opens Space to Light and Entertaining with a Pass-Through Window During phase one of the renovation, the existing kitchen was reimagined to replace a restrictive floor plan and outdated appliances. Central to its new design is a three-panel NanaWall SL60 folding window system—sized at counter height to serve as a flexible pass-through window for alfresco dining and entertaining. Custom divided lites were added to complement the home’s existing window styles. The window frames were finished in a warm, off-white on both interior and exterior, tying the kitchen seamlessly to the rest of the home and its façade. The result is a transitional space that connects the kitchen directly to the outdoor dining area, a seamless connection across spaces. “The countertop-height NanaWall system made the kitchen fit better into the family’s lifestyle,” says Hanrahan. “It supports hosting and day-to-day use without turning the kitchen into a full opening.” Designed for Living: Home Reimagined Around How the Family Connects After phase one introduced a NanaWall pass-through window in the kitchen, making serving, conversation, and time outside effortless, the homeowners returned to MODE to reimagine their older sunroom. The goal: a living room and music lounge that could open completely to the backyard. The solution was incorporating a full-height, five-panel NW Clad 740 wood framed patio doors. The Generation 4 folding glass wall offered the slimmest aluminum clad frames available, and therefore, was the ideal solution to achieve seamless connectivity. Outside, the frames were finished in a warm off-white to match the façade. Inside, solid wood frames seamlessly integrate with the mushroom wood paneling and millwork. The nearly 15-foot-wide system was customized with divided lites placed high up to add rhythm while preserving unobstructed views and keeping transitions seamless. “We wanted to maximize the opening size,” says Jason. “Not just to maximize light, but literally the opening as well. The family sunroom space became more useful.” A Living Sunroom That Folds Open to the Garden MODE centered the second half of the home renovation on the family sunroom, featuring wood framed patio doors to create a seamless transition from the interior to the garden. It’s the difference between “a room with a view” and a room that becomes the view. With the nearly 8-foot-tall system open, music spills outside; with it closed, daylight, acoustics, and comfort remain finely tuned. “You are sitting in the house with the family. The opening frames the view of the pond and the trees,” describes Architect Jason Hanrahan. “They liked how it connected them with their family when they were outside… it made it more cohesive.” Choosing Materials that Reflect Nature and Serenity According to the architect, the design aims to bring the outdoors in with an organic material approach. Inside, the room is wrapped in mushroom wood reclaimed boards, whose textured grain warms the acoustics and steadies the eye. Large-format tiles keep lines calm and maintenance easy. Outside, a long concrete tread and natural stone hold the grade without hard edges. Nothing shouts; everything contributes to a single idea: bring the outdoors in and the indoors out. Energy Efficiency Meets Everyday Living The systems’ energy-efficient and performance engineering make the sunroom a four-season retreat. The architect chose NanaWall wood framed patio doors to maximize the existing exterior opening, provide intuitive and easy daily operation, and create a threshold that feels like part of the floor rather than a barrier. T hese are hallmarks of NanaWall wood framed patio doors: engineered for durability and frequent use, precision-gliding panels, and performance-tested. To ensure year-round comfort, the NanaWall wood framed patio doors and pass-through window were specified with double glazed panels for optimal performance regardless of weather. Paired with the thermally broken Low Profile Saddle Sill, the bifold door not only offers energy efficiency but also a seamless, barefoot-friendly threshold to the outdoors. Final Thoughts From weeknight dinners to weekend music sessions, this is now a home that meets the family at the place they actually live, gather, and connect in. The kitchen pass-through window keeps everyday hosting effortless. The music room turns into a garden room in seconds, inviting breezes and conversation across one continuous plane. Here, NanaWall wood framed patio doors added versatile usable square footage and extended the soul of the home outdoors. By focusing on how the family truly lives, this home now opens in all the right ways: to light, to laughter, to nature, and to each other. Visit the NanaWall inspiration gallery to explore more homes like this, designed for connection, built for modern living!

A FoldFlat pass-through window connects the kitchen directly to the pool deck for easy serving.
Elegant porch photo in Bridgeport

photo: Paul Grdina
Open concept kitchen - large transitional u-shaped light wood floor and beige floor open concept kitchen idea in Vancouver with an undermount sink, beaded inset cabinets, white cabinets, quartz countertops, gray backsplash, stone tile backsplash, stainless steel appliances, an island and white countertops

A family cottage in the Gatineau hills infused with Canadiana shifts its way over the edge of a cliff to command views of the adjacent lake. The retreat is gently embedded in the Canadian Shield; the sleeping quarters firmly set in the rock while the cantilevered family room dramatically emerges from this stone base. The modest entry visible from the road leads to an orchestrated, tranquil path entering from the forest-side of the house and moving through the space as it opens up onto the lakeside. The house illustrates a warm approach to modernism; white oak boards wrap from wall to floor enhancing the elongated shape of the house and slabs of silver maple create the bathroom vanity. On the exterior, the main volume is wrapped with open-joint eastern white cedar while the stairwell is encased in steel; both are left unfinished to age with the elements. On the lower level, the dormitory style sleeping quarters are again embedded into the rock. Access to the exterior is provided by a walkout from the lower level recreation room, allowing the family to easily explore nature. Natural cooling is provided by cool air rising from the lake, passing in through the lakeside openings and out through the clerestory windows on the forest elevation. The expanse of windows engages the ephemeral foliage from the treetops to the forest floor. The softness and shadows of the filtered forest light fosters an intimate relationship between the exterior and the interior.

The kitchen is flooded with light from a south-facing skylight that angles to pull in maximum light. A sliding window above the sink opens to an outdoor bar - useful for entertaining guests and passing food to and from the barbeque.

Taragano Design & Build completed this midcentury kitchen remodel in Danville, California. The window behind the sink is the point of the room. It opens fully to the patio, which turns the counter into a serving ledge and puts the person washing dishes in the middle of whatever is happening outside. In a climate where the back yard is usable eight or nine months a year, a fixed window there would have been the more conventional choice and the worse one. That opening also determined the cooking wall. With the sink committed to the window run, the range went to the perpendicular wall under a canopy hood, which pulls heat away from the open window rather than pushing it toward the seating. The two zones sit at right angles with the island between them, so the cook turns rather than walks. The island is kept short on purpose. A longer one would have reached toward the family room and closed the sight line to the fireplace and dining area. Holding it back keeps the kitchen and living space reading as one room. Overhead, a skylight was set into the vault on the family room side, where the ceiling pitches away from the exterior glazing and daylight would otherwise fall off. Rift white oak slab cabinetry with a painted island in teal, quartz counters and waterfall edge, vertical stacked tile backsplash, over existing red oak flooring. Licensed general contractor, CSLB #1143420. Diamond Certified.

Taragano Design & Build completed this midcentury kitchen remodel in Danville, California. The window behind the sink is the point of the room. It opens fully to the patio, which turns the counter into a serving ledge and puts the person washing dishes in the middle of whatever is happening outside. In a climate where the back yard is usable eight or nine months a year, a fixed window there would have been the more conventional choice and the worse one. That opening also determined the cooking wall. With the sink committed to the window run, the range went to the perpendicular wall under a canopy hood, which pulls heat away from the open window rather than pushing it toward the seating. The two zones sit at right angles with the island between them, so the cook turns rather than walks. The island is kept short on purpose. A longer one would have reached toward the family room and closed the sight line to the fireplace and dining area. Holding it back keeps the kitchen and living space reading as one room, which is the reason the wall came out in the first place. Overhead, a skylight was set into the vault on the family room side, where the ceiling pitches away from the exterior glazing and daylight would otherwise fall off. Rift white oak slab cabinetry with a painted island in teal, quartz counters and waterfall edge, vertical stacked tile backsplash, over existing red oak flooring. Licensed general contractor, CSLB #1143420. Diamond Certified.