Outdoor Rooms

We are new to Houston and have just realized that, in this climate, we can enjoy the out-of-doors year ‘round. What does Exterior Worlds suggest to make that happen?
An outdoor room is a wonderful way to make Houston’s climate work for you. You can use it to bask in our mild winters. And you can construct it so that you can still enjoy the outdoors even in the heat of summer—by covering it, installing overhead fans, screening it in to keep out the bugs. An array of creative solutions can be used.

The most enjoyable and functional outdoor rooms use the basic design principles so that your interior space and exterior space harmonize beautifully. To achieve this affect, most people benefit from the services of landscape professional and landscape architects with a project like an outdoor room. We remind our clients to keep in mind that the more complex the project—the more sophisticated the design—the more important your designer and contractor become. Design professionals will put the principles of good design to work and help you integrate the room with your home’s architecture, address permitting issues, and make the best use of available space.
What are some of the elements we should consider for this outdoors room?
Here are some ideas for you to use:
• Outdoor kitchens are also hugely popular, whether you entertain extravagantly or host family gatherings. They create a natural gathering spot. Plus they let you slow down and enjoy family and friends by putting all the ingredients for outdoor cooking and dining close by.
• An uncovered patio can be transformed into a year-round sun room by adding an outdoor fireplace, a roof, and sliding walls that can enclose the room during inclement weather.
• Or you can define a space simply by covering it. Pergolas and garden arbors help create lovely settings and are especially attractive when covered with vines.
• An outdoors room doesn’t have to be attached only to the house. You can use other structures, too, such as a pool cabana or detached garage.
• If you have a small backyard, you can use a small garden design and turn the whole space into an outdoor living room.
• Outdoor water fountains add visual and auditory pleasure.
• Don’t overlook your front entryway. The front of your house can make a lovely out-of-doors room—using such landscaping features as a tall fence or dense hedge for privacy and a water element to camouflage street noise.

Give us some ideas about ways to coordinate our new outdoors room with the other elements of our landscape design.
Luxury swimming pools, which have become an expected feature of high-end homes, are often the next logical step beyond an outdoor room. You can tie your outdoor living space into your drainage system with attractive French drains, which aid, in a subtle way, in defining the space.

You can integrate pathways leading to and from the outdoors room with your material choices. Retaining walls can double as built-in seating.