Custom Home Building: Planning Your Outdoor Living Spaces
Modern Homeowners are looking to maximize the potential of their backyards. This means thoughtfully designing outdoor living spaces. Homeowners who spend lots of time in their backyard do so because the design lends itself to outdoor entertainment and relaxation.
So how can your home designer help you transform an otherwise blank slate into a garden oasis or zen spa-like backyard retreat? Read to the end to find out.
CONSIDER HOW YOU WILL USE YOUR BACKYARD
Before planning how large your covered patio needs to be, first think about how your backyard will be used. You may intend to spend hours by the pool sunbathing, or your family may want to do a lot of entertaining. Maybe you love grilling and plan to use this space to cook five-star meals. Alternatively, you may desire to use your space to garden or spend time alone meditating, reading, or bird watching.
When designing your outdoor living spaces, be sure to design with a purpose in mind.
CONSIDER WIND AND SUNLIGHT PATTERNS
Your home designer can create a 3D rendering of your home and property that will show you how the sunlight interacts with your structure throughout the day and seasons. You can use information about wind and sunlight patterns to intentionally design your home. Using this information thoughtfully can help you keep firepits and outdoor kitchens out of the windy portions of your backyard.
You can also plan the layout of patios and decks for sunbathing or the placement of your pool or hot tub using 3D rendering data.
READ OUR BLOG: Your Guide to Biophilic Design Principles and How To Incorporate Them Into Your Customized Home [2024]
CONSIDER VIEWS AND PRIVACY
To fully design your outdoor living space, consider what lies beyond the boundaries of your backyard. You may want to reconsider a tall privacy fence or a soaring tree that blocks your million-dollar view of a lake or babbling brook. If you are close to neighboring houses, this may be where you want to consider adding fences or foliage that lends a sense of privacy and severs the open view between property lines.
A SENSE OF COHESION FROM INDOOR TO OUTDOOR
Make a contact sheet that includes each material used to build your indoor spaces. Keep these materials in mind when you design your outdoor living spaces. Use similar materials when it makes sense to keep your home looking cohesive from start to finish. When choosing materials, assess them for durability, sustainability, and weather-hardiness.
Another way to give your backyard a sense of cohesion is to incorporate consistent architecture, paint, and color schemes. You can also select and place lighting features to highlight your gorgeous backyard when looking out at it from floor-to-ceiling windows indoors.
PLEASE READ OUR BLOG: Intentional Home Design: How to Analyze the Flow of a Floor Plan
SEASONAL CONSIDERATIONS
Consider adding fire pits or outdoor fireplaces to your outdoor living world to keep your patio functional throughout the winter. Ceiling fans and misters can help cool things down in the summer. You can also add shade sails for sun coverage or include a screened patio.
Keep tabs on what needs to be weatherized when the seasons change so you can anticipate the upkeep involved with your outdoor living design.
LOVE OUR CREATIVE HOME DESIGN IDEAS?
Love our unique vision for your customized home? We can work together to create something beautiful and one-of-a-kind!
Let us help you design the home of your dreams with the needs of your family, your budget, and your individual aesthetic in mind. Then, due to our extensive network, we can connect you with reputable builders who will exceed your expectations and breathe life into your new construction home.
See a plan you love in our collection? We can modify one of our exceptional home design plans to accommodate the square footage of your lot. We can adjust our plans to fit your design constraints and personal preferences or design something completely unique.
Call us today or stop by one of our 3 Oklahoma offices so we can get started designing your home and creating a 3D rendering so you can envision your future home and how you’ll spend your days there!