Remodeling Guides
Architecture
The Outside Comes Inside Down Under
Pining for warmer days? Get a preview from Australia's summery New Year
The New Year may coincide with low temperatures and snow for much of the world, but in the Southern Hemisphere it's summer and warmth. Even though this winter is unseasonably mild for much of the United States, it's still easy to pine for warmer temps and longer days. So let's take a look at some houses in Australia, specifically ones where connections between outside and inside are flexible and open. The following examples show that homeowners in Australia — be it Sydney, Melbourne, or somewhere in between — really appreciate their outdoor spaces and the dry climate that enables them to be an extension of the indoors.
Architect Sam Crawford has a number of exceptional projects on Houzz, most of which exhibit a tendency of opening living spaces to the outdoors. The Caristo House's living/dining space extends to an outdoor dining pavilion through an operable glass wall. The house's generous roof overhang, matched by the wall extensions, strengthens the space's extension into the yard.
The Wake Murphie House by Crawford uses a similar sliding glass wall as the Caristo House, but on a smaller scale. With the slender canopy between the operable wall and clerestory, the dining space feels like outdoors.
The Sewell House shows Crawford's predilection for operable walls at the end of living spaces, as well as his use of sloped roofs. In this house the roof actually continues on one side to become wall, giving the house a unique profile that is expressed by the patio.
In Crawford's design for the Petersham House, covered in a Houzz tour, the architect inserted a small courtyard in an existing house. A few rooms overlook the space, some of them opening themselves to it more than others via operable windows. The courtyard effectively creates a new core — a void — for the house, with a little bit of nature, sky, light, and air.
Another project by Crawford mixes things up a little bit. The opening happens in a bedroom and at the room's corner; but the roof still slopes to one side. Note the louvered band between the sliding glass doors and clerestory, a zone that allows for ventilation.
Architect Ian Moore's designs are much more minimal than Sam Crawford's houses, but we still find a strong connection between inside and outside. The Cohen House is impressive for the unique natural circumstances: a large tree is almost dwarfed by a rock wall; the house occupies the zone in between.
The Price Oreilly House by Moore appears completely closed off from the street, a geometric exercise in squares and rectangles rendered in white and gray.
The Maroubra House by Rudolfsson Alliker Associates Architects blurs distinctions between inside and outside through the use of a steel frame on two sides of the pool.
Looking back towards the previous view, we can see how the living space opens to the patio and pool via a sliding glass wall. The overall effect is one where the outdoor space is defined by the steel frame, even as sun and the elements enter through it.
This house in Sydney situates a lap pool next to the house. Overlooking the water are an outdoor patio and second-floor balcony, each linked to the interior through sliding glass doors. The view to the living space from the pool, and vice versa, is especially nice.
The Baker House by Jaime Kleinert Architects looks like a traditional bungalow from the front, with its hip roof, punched windows, and symmetrical elevation.
At the rear of the Baker House this impression falls away. The roof slopes to one side, expansive glass walls open to the patio, and a flat roof caps the living space on the ground floor.
A closer look reveals the large operable opening that links inside and outside. Note the ever-present jalousies to the side that naturally ventilate the interior.
More: Sliding Walls Bring the Outside In
See More Photos of Australian Home and Garden Design
More: Sliding Walls Bring the Outside In
See More Photos of Australian Home and Garden Design