OUTDOOR ROOMS

A beautifully defined outdoor room. The low wall provides
a sense of enclosure (as well as extra seating)
without obstructing the garden view.

What’s an “outdoor room”?  No, it’s not one of those aluminum p aluminum patio covers people had in the Sixties.  In architecture, an outdoor room is a living area that relies on landscape elements instead of walls to provide a sense of enclosure.

Considering the expense of real estate today, it’s surprising how few people fully utilize their land for outdoor living space.  Properly-planned outdoor rooms can make a small home seem much larger, and at very reasonable cost.

An outdoor room requires all the same niceties as an indoor one: Sunlight, comfortable furnishings, privacy, and convenient access. Just think of it as an integral part of your home’s floor plan.  
Here are a few design tips:

A pair of doors leading out in the bare minimum—
and the bigger the better.

• Locate outdoor rooms in the areas that receive sunlight throughout most of the day—yes, even if you live in a hot climate.  You can always create shade if you need to, but a shadowed area will be unalterably drafty and uninviting during most of the year.

• If you’re planning several areas with different times of usage—for example, a small deck for breakfasting, and a patio area for afternoon barbecues—orient them where they’ll receive sun during the time of use.

•  Minimize negative space. An area with a strong sense of enclosure—one based on a circle, for example—is termed a positive space.  Negative space is what’s left over from it, like the pointy scraps of dough left over from cutting out cookies.  These harsh, spiky areas are uncomfortable to be in, and they’re also hard to utilize.

Therefore, banish angles with less than 90 degrees when laying out planting beds and paved areas. Narrow dead-end alleys, sharply converging slivers of ground, and other leftovers should be avoided. Any such areas that remain can be filled with planting.

Paving patterns are one way to define outdoor areas,
but don't rely on them too much. .Where possible, try to add
changes of level to introduce a third dimension.

•  Use different paving materials to define areas.  So-called hard materials such as concrete, brick, and redwood decking can be contrasted with soft materials such as lawn or ground cover to avoid a barren, hard-edged feel.

Adding changes of level is an even more effective way to delineate different outdoor rooms. A few steps in a logical place will also add interest and help avoid the two-dimensional effect of using borders alone.

•  Use generous openings to access the outdoor room directly from an interior living area, perhaps using a sliding door or a pair of French doors. Direct and generous access is critical, since an area that’s difficult to reach will seldom be used. Adding doors to the garden has an another benefit as well:  By visually incorporating the outdoors, interior areas will appear more spacious.

If there are neighboring houses that look out
onto your outdoor room, make sure you provide
some privacy screening. It won't be comfortable
to spend time there if you feel you're on display.

•   Lastly, provide for privacy. To be comfortable, at least part of your outdoor room should be screened from the view of your local gawkers.  Tall planting, a lattice screen, or just a good old-fashioned fence will fill the bill.  Or, build a trellis or gazebo to provide a private retreat from the main outdoor area.