The Importance of Flow for Outdoor Living

Anyone who’s involved in home design, construction, or renovation talks a lot about flow – the interior flow of a house, how rooms and hallways connect, and the access between floors.

In the summertime, it’s the flow between the inside and the outside of a home that becomes of paramount importance.

Here’s where some thoughtful space planning can help homeowners take full advantage of the warm summer months for outdoor living and entertaining, even if their current design doesn’t exactly encourage an al fresco lifestyle.

A deck or patio connected to your kitchen and/or dining area is probably the most important feature for outdoor entertaining, and will maximize the use of your home throughout the summer. We have created many spaces that have taken indoor/outdoor flow into account as a major feature of the design, and in so doing, have increased the use of areas that before were not even considered a “space for living.”

One client had a lovely hilltop home with a beautiful view of the Hudson River, but the interior was not efficiently connected to the outdoor space. The kitchen was closed off from the largest window facing west to the river, and connected to a patio below via a long, narrow staircase.

“My client was missing out on wonderful opportunities for outdoor living and entertaining”

The client did not feel the patio was an asset because itwas below the tree tops, so the view was lost, and the space was shaded and often damp. Going up and down stairs with meat and vegetables made grilling outdoors both difficult and impractical, and therefore done infrequently. So my client was missing out on wonderful opportunities for outdoor living and entertaining and not taking full advantage of their picturesque river view setting.

We came up with an innovative design solution to solve both problems. We opened up the kitchen to flow into the dining room and replaced the large picture window with French doors that led to a generous wooden deck. In so doing, we created a flow that incorporated use of the outdoor space for half of the year, provided easy access to the grill that would now be used more often, and combined the kitchen-dining space to showcase those beautiful views of the Hudson River sunset year-round, no matter the weather.

Another client had a similar situation – a deck that was far from the kitchen, so food had to travel through half the house and a den before it reached the deck.

Our solution was to add a bay window to the kitchen, which opened up space for a set of stairs and a door directly to the patio below. Again, the key design strategies were to enlarge the window area for light and view, and to create a practical way to reach the outdoor living space.

In both cases, our clients began using their outdoor areas more often—in essence, moving their living rooms outside. In addition, we could offer them more refined outdoor furniture, an investment they initially considered impractical at a time when outdoor living was not really on their radar.

The best solution of all is a covered porch, which gives you added seasonal use and won’t let a rainy summer day spoil your use of the hammock. For these rooms, we can suggest materials and furniture that can handle dampness but are less conducive to outright precipitation.

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