Room with a view: Turn your yard into an outdoor living space

Published 1:30 am Saturday, May 27, 2017

By Pam Roy, Special to the Herald

It is truly a room with a view.

More families are moving their living rooms outside.

Whether you have a patio, deck or an open green space, you too can take advantage of nature — and do it in style — with an outdoor room.

As an extension of your home, an outdoor room offers a connection with your garden, inviting family and friends to enjoy your back yard.

Outdoor rooms can have many different uses and take on many shapes and styles: It can be a secluded space for quiet reading or contemplation (for one or two) or it can be a place to lounge and dine outdoors (for up to 10).

An outdoor room close to the house with doors that open directly into the space visually extends the interior into the out-of-doors. A room found out in your garden can be a destination or “retreat” reached by an inviting path through the yard.

Here are some ideas to turn your back yard into an outdoor living space:

Entertaining area

As a secondary living room that also is outside, an outdoor room is the perfect place to entertain when the weather is nice. A place for gatherings of family and friends should be sized based on the number of people you plan to host — including enough room to comfortably walk around the space.

If you’d like to lounge in luxury outdoors, consider adding outdoors furniture like a couch, sofa and lounge chairs with removable cushions. Add decorative pillows and an area rug in complimentary fabrics to make it extra homey. If you’d like to dine outdoors, add a bistro table for two or a larger patio or picnic table to seat four or more. When dining outside, make sure your outdoor room is close to the kitchen to allow for easy (read: frequent) access.

Outdoor cooking

Speaking of kitchens, you also can turn your outdoor room into a place where you do the cooking. An outdoor grill or built-in cooktop opens up many possibilities for creating delicious meals. The grill, connected to natural gas or propane, could be built into a set of outdoor cabinets or could be free-standing.

A pizza oven can be the main attraction of an outdoor room and a focal point for many social gatherings. Imagine yourself on one of our seemingly rare sunny evenings with the scent of herbs infusing the air as the pizza is cooking to perfection. (I could go on, as an outdoor kitchen deserves its own column.)

Gather around a fire

A fire pit or outdoor fire circle is a popular feature of an outdoor garden room. There is something about gathering around a fire that encourages us to spend time together, offering a chance to connect, a time to share stories and to simply enjoy the company of friends and family.

Fire circles can be a built-in feature and or, if you don’t want it to be in a fixed location, a fire circle can be planned around a free-standing portable fire table. Surround your fire pit or circle with outdoor furniture, such as the aforementioned couch or a set of stylish patio chairs.

Frame your outdoor room

Framing an outdoor room gives an appealing sense of enclosure, of being contained in the space. Framing can be achieved simply with a border of attractive plants, or by structural framing such as strategically placed screen panels. The room also can simply be outlined overhead by posts and beams. Garden containers can also be used to frame the space.

Cover the outdoor room to encourage year-round use. Add a couple of outdoor patio heaters to enjoy outdoor living in defiance of our wet, gray winters. Shade over head can be added with open wood slats or outdoor fabrics for those sunny summer days.

Underfoot

If you don’t already have a patio in your back yard, many options are available to create the surface or flooring of your outdoor room. Some of my favorites to use for an outdoor room include flagstone, pavers, concrete and crushed gravel.

Flagstone creates a warm, organic look. The stone can be sand set on a gravel base, or for a more formal look, mortared onto a poured concrete base. Pavers offer a more uniform, even surface and come in many different colors and sizes. Poured concrete can be left alone or tinted or outlined with a different color border. Crushed gravel (5/8 inch minus) is a simple and cost-effective surface option.

Do this first

If you think you’d like to add an outdoor room to your yard, try out the space before you get to work to help you with your planning.

Outline where you’d like to put your outdoor room with a hose or string, then set out a couple of chairs and/or a table in this area and use it over a weekend. This gives you an opportunity to figure out what will be the right size and the best location for your room.

As you sit outside, you can also daydream about the fire pit or built-in grill you’d like to have in your outdoor room.

Pam Roy of Planscapes is an award-winning landscape designer with over 30 years of experience. Contact her at info@planscapesdesign.com or 425-252-9469. For more information, go to www.planscapesdesign.com.

Outdoor room ideas

For more ideas on outdoor rooms, visit the Planscapes display garden featuring an outdoor room at Sorticulture, Everett’s garden arts festival, held June 9-11 at Legion Memorial Park, 145 Alverson Blvd., Everett.