Sorry about the typo in the title! Didn't catch that in time.

What you do will depend a lot upon climate. Where are you located?

We built our house in the middle of a Live Oak mott, so we get lots of shade, kitchen/breakfast/dining on the east side for morning sun, along with a 1000 sf Trex deck out there, overlooking the trees and pasture. We love it. The architect was very cooperative.

This is a very popular concept in Arizona, where the transition between inside and outside is so seamless that in pictures you can't tell at first glance if a space is inside or out.

Usually the photos I see in magazine spreads have disappearing doors, probably nana doors or the equivalent. One thing I see often in these homes is that the outdoors room is decorated just like a regular indoor room, with comfortable sofa, chairs, tables, etc.

Sorry I don't have any photos to share but I've always like the concept, although I don't think I would do anything like that myself for practical reasons.

Just as an fyi, because I'd hate to see you banned from GW, but some have been banned in Decorating for starting threads that link their blogs to their posts. It's okay if you post a link in someone else's thread if it pertains to the subject.

I am the Shopping Editor on AtticMag and have gotten Friendly Reminders from GW on linking. If GW thinks you make money from a/your blog, they won't allow. I do not own or make a penny, and AM has no advertising so....hard to read their minds!

Thank you! I had no idea. I make no money and accept no advertising on my blog, but this is good to know. I have 'met' so many great people from this forum - building - who have added wonderful perspective to my blog posts (many of which, these days, are related to the beginning of my process in designing and building a home. There is a mindset when building and designing a home unlike any other - I am so grateful to the GW posts for expanding my knowledge!

Hi - the only link to the outdoors that we had in our plans is the the dining room in the front faces the nature reserve across the street. We also designed so that our master suite faces the woods next door for more privacy, we put the kids bedrooms on the side of our 1 neighbor. I love how we placed the home because I can be in our kitchen or bedroom and see nothing but nature - no neighbors next door or behind us.

I've always loved the idea of pulling the outdoors in.
An HGTV 'Homes Across America' segment featured an amazing home built by David Gibson, a Sacramento landscape architect. He says his 1000 sq ft home fulfills his dream of living in a green house. The home is beautiful, a traditional style that blends seamlessly with his lush CA landscape.
I've watched the recorded program many times studying the details. One thing that seems to help blur the indoor-outdoor separation is light coming into a room from as many directions as possible.
I really miss Homes Across America. It was probably replaced with another sledge hammer series.
thingsthatinspire, LOVE your blog!

Thank you for the kind words!

I agree - light coming in from multiple directions is an essential component of a successful room, to me. Have any of you ever read 'A Pattern Language'? It is an architectural book that discusses the things that make a building successful - they have a section related more to commercial building design, as well as a section devoted more to residential building. One of the principles is 'light on two sides' - if at all possible, design rooms so there is light from at least two sides of the room. Rooms where there is only light on one side (or no natural light at all) are not welcoming, and people don't want to spend time there.

My architect came up with an initial sketch of a potential home, when we were doing due diligence on the land. I told him that I wanted light on two sides and axial views if at all possible, in as many rooms as possible. Oh, you should see the sketch he came up with! A one room deep French pavilion style home. So beautiful - not sure how practical, though. It will evolve, I am sure, but it is fun to dream!

Here is a link that might be useful: Light on Two Sides

Living in the country, I find that bringing the indoors inside is more than just having a lot of windows. Keeping those windows open allows the sound to travel in. When I open our windows and hear the birds chirpping or the cranes calling, it adds another connection to nature. Our city guests really enjoy it. Along these lines, I wish our house had more transom windows. We have many casements but just two transoms. I feel comfortable leaving the transoms open in the rain and at night. My husband even leaves them open when we are away. However, the casements let the rain in and I worry that it's not secure to leave them open at night. We also have small children and having transoms up high that we could open with no fear of safety issues would be a plus.

I didn't have a chance to look carefully at your blog but what I saw was really nice. Thanks for sharing.

I totally agree janbanks. My neighbors of ten years have never opened their windows! Ours are open as soon as the heat and humidity are low enough to permit, giving us ample cross ventilation with breezes from the lake.
In addition we installed Velux opening skylights operated by a remote control and with sensors that close the skylight immediately if raindrops fall. The skylights are in a 2 story ceiling so give great passive ventilation, allow us to hear the birdsong, and create no security issues.