- Posted Wednesday, 10 May 2017
-
- In Articles,Renovations & Extensions
Living outside is an essential part of
living in North Queensland. Townsville
hosts an average of 300 sunny days per year, so it makes sense to live the good
life outdoors. I would like to share a
few ideas with you about the planning of an outdoor living space. It needs to be designed firstly with
functionality in mind and with a connection to your inside living space in such
a way that it forms a seamless extension to what is traditionally your lounge,
kitchen and dining areas. Most of us
would utilise outdoor patios, verandas and decks as dining space so it is
important to try to design in a way where the outside interface is in close
proximity to the kitchen area.
I will provide a few tips as to how outdoor
living is not too dissimilar to that inside your house. This can be achieved by extending the roof
line in a way that the ceiling flows from inside to out and if possible by
installing large openings like bi-folds and stacker doors to minimise
partitioning. You can also arrange the
kitchen servery interface and finishing wall space around the deck so it is not
too dissimilar to the finish inside your house. If your home is a slab on the ground quite
often the floors will continue in the same way with a finish that often
reflects inside. Timber is a
popular floor finish and also looks good in contrast with internal finishes or
if the inside has a timber floor it naturally works very well.
Naturally furniture, furnishings, lighting
and fans need to be carefully selected because they are often exposed to the
elements. In fact my own home has an
outside deck area of approximately 25m2 finished in a similar way to what I
have described and if you could imagine walls around a deck area it doesn’t
really look any different to the inside of my home.
If a swimming pool is in the brief it is
worth thinking about options which can make the most of this space. Particularly if it is a low set home, think
about elevating the pool slightly so that the pool becomes an extension of your
deck or outside living space. Often
swimming pools are well separated from the areas we use most but a well thought
out swimming pool, when not in use, can act as an impressive water
feature. There are definitely issues to
consider with pool safety, fencing and access but clever design can accommodate
all of this in a way where your house can be integrated, functional and easy on
the eye.
Some sites can be particularly difficult,
especially those that are sloping. I often
see great properties under-utilised because of what is seemingly redundant
area. Sloping sites often mean you are
on a hillside with the possibility of a view.
So getting the best out of these areas can add significant value to your
property, but more important, can offer a great lifestyle opportunity. Sloping blocks can add an interesting
dimension to design. For example,
elevated timber walkways and platforms can be outstanding features. Although the landscape itself will often
dictate the lay-out, good planning at the outset is essential. Elevated platforms are relatively easy to
construct and provide a great conduit for services.
Most people shy away from those apparently
difficult parts of their property because of cost. Getting machinery, heavy products such as
blocks, pavers, steel, concrete etc. on site and excavating can difficult. This style of construction would make it out
of reach for many whereas using light weight structures such as treated pine and
galvanised stirrups offers a very charming finish at a fraction of the cost.
The beauty of this type of structure is
that, if you are a bit handy and like an outdoor project, it is one you could
manage yourself and end up with not only a great outdoor living space, but a
sense of achievement and no doubt some fun stories to share at the inaugural
BBQ.