Outdoor Living Rooms, a great idea for entertaining

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Ahh summer!  What a fun time of year.  For us in the Pacific Northwest we spend a lot of time waiting for summer to finally "happen".  While our climate is pretty mild in relation to the rest of the country, we do get a lot of days where the weather just doesn’t cooperate with our plans for getting outdoors.  For some, the solution is a gore-tex coat, for others, the Outdoor Living Room is a smarter option. 

What a wonderful place, just a few steps from the kitchen but it seems to be miles away.  A great respite from the pressures of work or a place to gather and entertain your friends and family. 

We design this type of space for more than 80 % of our custom homes.  But every one is different as there are many important design considerations for this type of space.  The space you see in this picture, doubles as a sound barrier to stop unwanted traffic noise from a nearby freeway.




If the space is going to be attached to a home, then it is important to understand how this space can affect light and view from inside the home.

If capturing an extra special view is really important, we sometimes situate the outdoor living area on the side of a home. 

This gives people who are inside the home as well as those in the outdoor living area an equal opportunity to enjoy the view.  This option does not block any sunlight from the home either.

For our Juneau Alaska home, sunshine and view are so important that we used a glass roof for the outdoor living room.  That way, rain or shine, wind or snow, there is still a sheltered spot outside to go whenever the owners want a bit of fresh air.  From their protected perch, they can enjoy watching the neighboring eagles feasting on their latest catch. 

For our project in Sedona Arizona, we have an outdoor space that opens directly up to the home.  But if the wind comes up, then a series of doors quickly slide closed to provide protection.  When the weather allows, there is no place on earth more beautiful than a moonless night as the stars dance across the sky. 

Sometimes, the view is not out and away to a distant mountain but from the house to the outdoors ... and from the outdoors back into the house.  Just a few quick steps away but Oh so different!  After a brisk swim in the endless pool, why not relax out on the covered deck and let the birds lull you into an afternoon nap. 

What a great addition to any home.

Porch roof that dosen't make the house dark

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OK, this is a really common question and the solution is really easy.  Lots of people want a covered outdoor area but they are worried that this great area will then make their adjoining room too dark.  While this is a real worry, we need to take into account the direction that the covered porch faces, the window location and how high the roof is on the new covered porch.  What we are doing here is determining the relative sun angle and how the new porch roof will block the light entering the windows.  Sometimes, the easiest way to achieve this is to locate the new covered outdoor space away from the primary building.




Another method for assuring that the sun will still shine into your home is to place the new covered area in a location that won't block the windows. This can be achieved by placing the roof beside a window or even pulling the covered area away from the home to allow light to flow into the adjoining room.

Often, the covered space can be used  as a means to create a courtyard or a sense of enclosure within an outdoor space that is open yet still intimate in scale. This provides an inviting area to look at from inside the home as well as designing gathering space outdoors.

Each and every project and building site can lend new opportunities for creating a special gathering space without impacting the quality of light or view from the main home.

It is critical to have your architect "walk the site" to be sure that opportunities are not missed.  The layperson often sees what is there now, while a trained architect can see how to best utilize what the site has to offer.  Do we have a view we are trying to capture, frame, block or enhance?  How can we enjoy this beautiful property each and every day? what is the optimum location on the site to best capture the hidden treasure that the property has to offer?  you and your architect should be having these conversations. 

"Real" stone vs Cultured" stone

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Cultured stone has come a long way since it's introduction.  It is molded from actual stones and the colors are pretty hard to distinguish from the real thing.  So why would you use one over the other?  While cultured stone is often less expensive since it is made of concrete instead of real rock, if the project has a lot of corners, the prices difference is minimal.  This is because the "corner" stones are quite a lot more $$ than the standard stones. 

If the project has a large field of stones with few corners, then cultured stone will often cost less.  It is also lighter and therefore can be applied to a wood substrate unlike full size real stone which often needs to be installed over a masonry core. 

Cultured stone can be applied by a tile setter or a mason while real stone requires an experienced mason for application. 

Just to muddy the waters a bit more we now have "Thin Stone" which is a real stone cut into 3" thick pieces.  this is often similar in price to cultured stone with the same issues about corners and installation as it is installed in the same fashion as the cultured product.

We often specify real stones for two reasons:
1. If we need large sizes
2. The application is a high wear location.  This is because if a cultured stone is cracked or damaged, well  
    it then looks like a broken piece of concrete and the illusion is lost.

This project looks great doesn't it?  so is it cultured stone or real stone?   Our best clue is the uniform sizes.  because this is a cultured stone product!

It is pretty easy to see from the size variation that these are real stones.  This provides a looser less formal look as the stone sizes and colors have more variety. 

Either way you go, installation by a craftsman is critical to achieve the look you are after.  The real key here is to hire an installer who takes their "art" seriously!