Outdoor Living! Already? Come on Tom, it’s still a bit too cold isn’t it?
Well, sure it is right now, but the weather will change, and you might want to think about sprucing your outdoor living space up with some of these ideas
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Since it is still a bit nippy outside, the notion of ‘transition’ spaces is gaining in popularity. This is a space that begins as a covered patio. Usually these have access through a sliding door from a living area of the main part of the house. The covered patio really can’t be used year-round so the trend now is to enclose them with glass. This maintains the connection to the outdoors and preserves any views you might have. The glass becomes the weather barrier keeping the rain and snow at bay. There are all manner of retro-fit heaters that are quite safe to help temper these spaces during the colder months. We are finding that folks like to furnish these newly claimed year-round spaces with outdoor seats, couches, and end tables, along with individual lighting. This makes the space a real extension of your home. Some of our clients have incorporated a fireplace, gas fueled, to raise the ambiance of the space.
The glass enclosures can be done in a lot of different ways. The most popular is to utilize stacking doors or even telescoping doors that can be moved out of the way when the weather is nice, and you want all the fresh air you can get. Here is a link for you check it out.
https://www.milgard.com/doors/style/stacking-glass-walls
There are other manufacturers out there also.
Pretty cool stuff, though.
This kind of space that turns a covered patio into a year-round room not only increases the living area of your home, it adds another opportunity for you with this next trend. The garden room. Right, not just a few plants mind you, a real garden room. The walls have small planters attached vertically.
Here is a link to an authentic application
Since I know kitchens better than I know plants I have asked my good friend and fellow Rotarian Ken Lain for his advice. Ken is the consummate professional when it comes to all things green in the garden, both inside and out. The Mountain Gardner himself has agreed to help us grow the best plants for a successful kitchen garden.
Here’s what we learned about kitchen gardening when we sat down with Ken:
This is definitely not your Grandma’s greenhouse. So many different ways this space can augment your herbs and vegetable supply with all manner of planters.
Here is an example.
Not only will these plants add color and ambiance to your outdoor living space, they provide a functional means to keeping a garden going all year long. For people who love to garden, this new trend is proving to be quite the passion.
If you have a covered patio, and are motivated to explore the options, please call us for a free design discussion and budget conversation.
