Your Living room just got a LOT bigger: Designing an Outdoor Living Space

Homeowners are increasingly drawn to adding outdoor rooms for entertaining and recreation. Landscape architects who specialize in residential design rated the popularity of outside design elements. The category of outdoor living spaces as defined as kitchens and entertainment spaces received a 94.5% as very popular. 97% of respondents rated fire pits and fireplaces as very in-demand.

We think you should plan your home and the surrounding landscape as an integrated whole, rather than two separate environments. This creates constant interplay between the inside and the outside.

What are the most important things to consider when designing an outdoor space?

• Views to be enjoyed or obscured

• Entertaining: Seating areas, grill space and outdoor kitchen

• Play spaces for children

• Garden: Vegetable and flower

• Sheltered and screened in spaces from wind, rain, cold and insects

• Orientation of the sun: Sun-seeking and sun sheltered

• Night time enjoyment: Lighting requirements, spa and fire pit and/or fireplace area

• Low maintenance: Composite decks, pavers and concrete

• Low maintenance: Landscape plants and/or irrigation system

• Designed water feature: Pond, waterfall and/or stream

In Wisconsin, we love to maximize and extend outdoor enjoyment. Only your imagination and budget limit the extent of your outdoors retreat. When you extend your family’s living space outdoors, you are allowing a greater opportunity to connect with nature. What could be better?