Does your home keep the outdoors out? While your home is designed to keep you safe and warm and away from the elements, you can also add a new dimension to a living space by embracing the outdoors in your home design. Whether you enjoy cooking in an outdoor kitchen or you love the view from your sunroom, bridging the outdoors and the indoors is becoming a trend in today’s home design. 

Connect the Indoors and the Outdoors 

The key to connecting indoors and outdoors is the transitional space.  It also creates the opportunity for you to enjoy the outdoors but take advantage of the shelter of an awning, trellis, or roof. 

How can you effectively connect indoors and out? 

• Add a naturally-lit undercover area that has a roof that extends out from your home but provides a transitional space where you can add patio furniture or a sheltered garden. 
• Develop your front or back porch, one of the traditional indoor-outdoor spaces. Expand the porch to allow further seating and entertaining opportunities. 
• Create an indoor space with sliding glass doors that allow you to see outside and open the doors when the weather is good.

Add a Variety of Indoor and Outdoor Spaces

You don’t need to think about the indoor-outdoor transition in terms of a single space. Your home and garden can have many transitional spaces all at once. For example, you could have a porch in front of the house, a sunroom in the back, and a covered area that transitions into a garden or patio that features awnings and trellises.

The Importance of the Mudroom 

If you have an active outdoor family, developing a transitional indoor-outdoor space inside the home helps keep your home clean. A mudroom allows you to remove outdoor gear and helps prevent gear from cluttering the rest of the home. This Old House suggests that in addition to storage space, you “squeeze in seating for pulling off rain boots” as well. It’s also more energy-efficient, especially if you have children who like to stand in the doorway while taking off their boots. Closing off the mudroom from the rest of the house keeps your home warm even as the family transitions inside. 

Design Elements of an Outdoor Living Space 

What key design elements should you incorporate into your outdoor living space?

An outdoor kitchen. According to the DIY Network, “the number one request for a backyard is an outdoor kitchen.” This could be as simple as a grill or as complicated as a full kitchen. 

• An outdoor dining area with tables and chairs.
• A way to warm up. An outdoor fire pit sets the mood. 
• A roof such as a freestanding structure, awning, trellis, or canopy. This allows you to enjoy the space even if it is raining or snowing.
• Comfortable seating.
• Garden elements to bridge indoor and out. 

Keep all of these elements in good repair: clean up the deck and make it non-slip, clear out the gutters, and strengthen the railings. This allows you to use your outdoor space safely for many years to come. 

Whether you’re struggling to fix a leaking foundation or clean out your gutters, Harry Helmet can help. We specialize in the indoor-outdoor connections that make your home run well. From awnings to seamless gutters to gutter covers, our home improvements will help you enjoy your home stress-free. Schedule a free estimate today.

Written by Del Thebaud