Tag Archive for: outdoor living rooms

Connecting screen porch, deck and patio spaces draw you outdoors.

Connecting screen porch, deck and patio spaces draw you outdoors.

Homeowners are increasingly drawn to including outdoor rooms for entertaining and recreation when improving or building a new home. Landscape architects who specialize in residential design rated the popularity of outside design elements. Outdoor kitchens and entertainment spaces received a 94.5% as very popular. 97% of respondents rated fire pits and fireplaces as very in-demand.

We believe you should plan your home and the surrounding landscape as an integrated whole, rather than two separate environments. This will create constant interplay between the inside and the outside.

What are the most important things to consider when designing your outdoor space?

  • Views to be enjoyed or obscured
  • Entertaining: Seating areas, grilling space and outdoor kitchen
  • Play space for children
  • Outdoor games space
  • Garden space: Vegetables and flowers
  • Sheltered and screened-in space from wind, rain, cold and insects
  • Orientation of the sun at different times of the day
  • Lighting requirements for night time
  • Place for spa, swimming pool, fireplace and/or fire pit
  • Low maintenance outdoor products: stone, composite decks, pavers and concrete
  • Low maintenance native plants and/or irrigation system
  • Designed water features: Pond, waterfall, and/or stream

In Wisconsin, we want to extend the months of outdoor enjoyment. We’re creating screen porches that really can be used for three seasons! Going way beyond just space for wicker furniture, the screen porch gets larger to accommodate an outdoor kitchen, dining, and entertaining spaces – maximizing function and enjoyment. During the early spring and autumn months, a fireplace in the screen porch makes it a cozy gathering place. 92% radiant efficient ceiling mounted quartz heaters direct the warmth to you, not the surroundings, and they are less expensive to operate. Roll-down clear-view shades block wind, rain and cold during unpredictable spring and autumns.

The fireplace in the screen porch is a focal point and adds cozy warmth.

The fireplace in the screen porch is a focal point and adds cozy warmth.

Only your imagination and budget limit the extent of your outdoors retreat. When you extend your family’s living space outdoors, you are allowing a greater opportunity to connect with nature. What could be better?