5 Breezy Living Rooms That Open to the Outdoors
Want a better indoor-outdoor connection? Consider incorporating ideas from these inspirational homes
Homes with living spaces that open up to the outdoors can offer a lot, including better views of the garden, more natural light year-round and an indoor-outdoor connection. We’ve rounded up five of our favorite breezy living areas that embrace this connection through their use of sliding glass walls, oversize doors and flooring that runs straight from the living room to the patio.
Design tip: To open a living room to the yard without going through a major remodel, consider replacing a wood door with one made of glass or — with a little more effort and expense — widening the openings of existing windows.
See more of this San Francisco home
See more of this San Francisco home
2. New Living Space in a Remodeled Victorian
In this home in the Hackney area of London, French doors open to the garden and fill a new downstairs living room with light and fresh air. A cross-lattice ceiling creates the feeling of exposed beams, making the room even more open and airy.
Door and wall paint: Hardwick White, Farrow & Ball
In this home in the Hackney area of London, French doors open to the garden and fill a new downstairs living room with light and fresh air. A cross-lattice ceiling creates the feeling of exposed beams, making the room even more open and airy.
Door and wall paint: Hardwick White, Farrow & Ball
Design tip: Keep living room windows squeaky clean and forgo window treatments (or choose lightweight, gauzy curtains) to bring a lot more light into the room. A collection of potted plants by a window can also help bring a feeling of the garden inside — whether or not you have a backyard.
Sofa: Loaf; browse sectional sofas
See more of this home
Sofa: Loaf; browse sectional sofas
See more of this home
3. Flowing Indoor-Outdoor Living Spaces
In this London home, a large glass door opens from the living-dining room to a same-level patio. The design brings views of the garden front and center, making a bottom-floor room light and bright.
In this London home, a large glass door opens from the living-dining room to a same-level patio. The design brings views of the garden front and center, making a bottom-floor room light and bright.
Here is the same house as seen from the garden. Outdoor lighting makes the patio inviting into the evening.
Design tip: Make the transition of flooring from indoors to outside as seamless as possible. The designer of this house used the same interior floor tile outside on the patio and cleverly sunk the track for the sliding glass doors into the floor for a smooth transition (and reduced tripping hazard).
Find an architect near you
Find an architect near you
4. Covered Veranda With the Comforts of the Indoors
In a mild climate, a covered veranda makes a lot of sense and enables you to bring the living room outdoors for much of the year.
In this Sydney house, an expansive veranda is stocked with all the trappings you’d find in an indoor living room: lighting, ceiling fans, mirrors and plush outdoor furniture.
In a mild climate, a covered veranda makes a lot of sense and enables you to bring the living room outdoors for much of the year.
In this Sydney house, an expansive veranda is stocked with all the trappings you’d find in an indoor living room: lighting, ceiling fans, mirrors and plush outdoor furniture.
Design tip: If space and budget allow, take full advantage of a porch by extending the overhang to accommodate a full outdoor living area. Bring elements from indoors outside, starting with good-quality seating, outdoor rugs and an outdoor ceiling fan (or heater).
Find out what to consider when choosing a ceiling fan
Find out what to consider when choosing a ceiling fan
5. Open, Connected Living Spaces
In this Southern California home, the large glass accordion-style doors can open completely to bring the outside in. The result is an easy flow from indoors to outside and the feeling of the living room expanding beyond the walls of the home.
In this Southern California home, the large glass accordion-style doors can open completely to bring the outside in. The result is an easy flow from indoors to outside and the feeling of the living room expanding beyond the walls of the home.
Design tip: For better indoor-outdoor flow, arrange outdoor furniture to relate to seating areas indoors. Notice how the chairs out on the patio are oriented to face inward, toward the fire feature and the house. This placement, combined with the ability to fold up the glass wall, makes the outdoor living room feel like an extension of the one indoors.
Browse patio furniture
Browse patio furniture
Your turn: How do you like to bring the outdoors in? Tell us in the Comments.
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Maneesh Jain and Nadya Ramsaroop came to a realization partway through their home remodel: They could expand their living space by opening the back wall of the house to the backyard. While the original home had a good-size deck outside the kitchen door, it didn’t feel related to the inside living space, and it wasn’t all that inviting.
Now two large glass doors connect the kitchen and living room to a revamped backyard, making the spaces flow together easily.