Moving Your Outdoors to Your Indoors

With the idea of more 'outdoor living' coming into vogue, many of us are planning to change our interiors so that they can include the outside more easily. Often fads in home design are ignored by many because they are just that: fads. However, the outdoor living idea is being adopted by the majority, perhaps because it is something many of us were already doing.

Now that we can actually buy the furnishings, appliances and fitments to make it an easy realistic choice - it is being chosen by many of us!

One of the first things that is needed for outdoor living is easy access to the outdoors. French windows flung open onto a large outdoor living area or deck area is much more desirable than walking out the kitchen door and making your way around to the patio.

Therefore, if you do not have French windows or a sliding screen door, this would be your first consideration. It is usually not too difficult to make an existing window into full length doors. You will need to consult a contractor to determine whether you need a reinforced steel joist (RSJ) to be built into the wall above your soon-to-be-removed window; this will support the gap that will be left by your new doors.

There also other options just coming onto the market and that is the option of 'exterior folding doors'. Many new companies offer these doors which literally fold onto each other and bring the outdoors into your home. Using this system, your window space could be four doors wide instead of two doors wide.

There are several companies showing photo examples on the Internet, including companies in B.C., Canada and California, U.S.A. Typing in the words 'exterior folding doors' on the Internet will show you some choices.

If your home is not big enough for this style of door, a happy compromise is the french door arrangement; they open outwards and give a more spacious feel than the sliding door, which only offers fresh air access through one door.

Once you have decided on how to access the deck or patio area where you will be doing your outdoor living, you will need to think about flooring. If you have a ceramic tile floor which can extend out into the patio area, it will add even further to your feeling of having a room extension. This means that you will have to use exterior quality flooring inside, which is more expensive, but may be worth the look.

Clever DIY folk may be able to reproduce an outdoor wooden finish to match indoor wooden flooring. However, due to the nature of the elements, it will need to be finished every year and with a top quality sealer.

Another way to be able to enjoy the outdoors more often is to consider ways to be able to be outdoors without having to rely on the weather. For instance - ever planned a barbecue and woken on the appointed day to rain and clouds?

There are options to enable the outdoors to be enjoyed in less than perfect weather; some people use a sun room addition. This could block light that would otherwise come into your home, so may not be everyone's choice.

A good alternative is to install an awning, such as the type that we are familiar with on the side of campers, trailers etc. They just pull out from the wall of the house when you need them (and will be grateful for them!) and will not interfere with your natural daylight at other times when they are rolled back into their case.

Deck awnings can also save you money in energy bills from running your air conditioner; they be rolled down if you find that your home warms up too much in the summer and they will deflect the sun's rays. A retractable awning does not require any adjustments to your roof .

Whilst awnings would seem to be an expensive luxury, you can buy a manually operated retractable awning for as little as $400.00 (seven foot wide and nine foot depth from the wall by Sunsetter) and this may be a comparable price; you can find out by typing in 'retractable awnings' on the Internet.

Once you have the window access, flooring and shade in place, you can start the fun part - shopping for your accessories!