For most of the year, metro Atlantans enjoy living outdoors with patios, porches and backyards. But when the thermostat soars into the unbearable, inside is the place to be. Though confined to the air-conditioned coolness, homeowners still can get in touch with the outdoors by incorporating various features into their floor plans.
One of the best ways to do that, said custom-home architect and interior designer Johnna Barrett of Barrett Design Inc., in Roswell, is to break out of the box.
"People don't want to feel like they live in little boxes, and they want to get back in touch with nature," she said. "They're beyond saying this is my indoor, and that is my outdoor. Everyone's put a lot of emphasis on creating cool outdoor spaces, but there are times when we want to entertain and have the whole space open up, so we're working now on designs that completely blur the line."
One of the best ways to connect to the outdoors from inside is to incorporate plenty of windows, from walls of glass and French doors to skylights and sliding glass panels. Curtis Peart, owner of FrontPorch Custom Homes in Atlanta, uses massive glass panels to create what he calls a "four seasons room" in his custom and remodeled projects.
"It's a different take on a sunroom," he said. "We're putting in folding door systems on one wall, so on a nice day when you feel like opening it up, you can slide the whole wall open to a porch, patio or deck. When the doors are closed, they look great, and when they're opened, it completely changes the look of the space. The idea isn't new, but it used to be cost-prohibitive. While they're not inexpensive, the price has come way down, almost to half. It's just one way so many of our projects are blurring the lines between inside and out."
For exterior walls, French doors are still enormously popular for accessing the outside. In many cases, owners are now opting to install them even when they don't connect to a patio or porch. Bruce Meller of Home Forge Remodeling in Decatur is adding more of these doors to master suites in particular.
"People are finally learning that they do not use balconies off the master suite," he said. "But I think there was always this fantasy that they'd go out there, just the two of them, and have coffee. Well, it never, ever happened, and those little cafe tables got covered with bugs and dust. So they're moving to a great solution: French or sliding doors with Juliet balconies. It's practical; people are more apt to lie down on the bed and read something with the doors open to let in light and air."
Screened porches and sunrooms make one of the most natural links from a home's main living areas to the outdoors.
"Casement windows are great for these spaces," Peart said. "Some of them open to 90 degrees, so the space feels wide open. Another good idea is to use what we call 'phantom screens' — hidden screens that open and close with the touch of a button. On a nice day, you can open up directly to the outside, but when it's buggy, you can close it off."
Though improperly installed skylights can be a homeowner's headache, ones done correctly can add valuable light in dark places, Peart said.
"We do a lot of them, especially on intown renovations like a sloped attic, where you don't have the availability to put windows on the outside walls," he said. "They're great for when you're building under the roof line and need to get light in the stairwells and interior bathrooms."
Open interior plans with rooms that spill into each other and to the outside are another way to make an outdoor connection. At John Wieland's Woodmont Golf and Country Club in Canton, several such floor plans are popular with owners who entertain.
Agent Caroline Sherouse talked about the benefits of the Mayer floor plan as an example of what can be done without giving up energy efficiency.
"First, the rear exterior wall in the family room is a wall of windows, gently curved for maximum effect," Sherouse said. "The adjacent kitchen, breakfast area and keeping room give a large, airy feel with lots of open space visible and free of obstructing walls.
"The keeping room has large windows and a glass door leading to the deck and lawn," she said. "This gives the effect of being a part of the outdoors wherever you stand or sit. During the summer months when you are entertaining, guests do not feel forced to choose outside or inside as they can comfortably flow between the two and still see everyone else."
A subtle way to blur the line between inside and out is to use the same materials in both places, Barrett said.
"If you've got an exterior stone wall and windows that run into it, let the stone carry through to the inside so the windows come right up to the stone," Barrett said. "It feels like the space inside is really large because you've got materials that are continuous.
"You can do the same thing with flooring; for instance, match the inside floor to the wood decking outside so it doesn't feel broken up," she said. "Another good idea is to have a see-through fireplace with glass on both sides, so you can see in or out, depending on where you are. It's just another way to make the living areas on both sides feel like one continuous space."
