The recent trend in outdoor living design, such as porches, features movement toward bringing the comfort of the indoors outside.

This may seem like a new concept as you flip through the pages of the hottest outdoor living magazine or surf through the home improvement channels, but the concept has been around quite sometime. The goal has traditionally been to “bring the outdoors in,” but in recent years homeowners have begun focusing on reversing this and “bringing the indoors out” by carrying the indoor comforts into the natural beauty of our backyards. A custom backyard retreat serves to extend the outdoor season, adds living space to the home and creates a versatile yet casual space for entertaining. This is what Archadeck is known for, and has been since 1991 throughout Greensboro, Winston Salem, High Point, and the surrounding areas.

Cozy seating vignette on open porch in High Point, NC built by Archadeck of the Piedmont Triad.

Here at Archadeck, we are seeing clients request these type of outdoor living spaces like never before. It’s no wonder you’re itching to transform your old-school patio or cookie-cutter deck into an impressive and functional space. However the space alone will not result in the creature comforts for creating the ideal “bring the indoors outside type of space.” Start by looking at trends that fit your lifestyle and have the potential of making the space irresistible; an area that becomes a destination rather than just a space.

Optimal outdoor room placement

Good planning and placement of the structure will help turn your addition into a successful project. Where should your structure be placed? A good design is one where the structure complements your backyard.

3-season room Winston Salem — Winston Salem 3-season room provides a great multi-season outdoor room

If you’re lucky and have a fantastic view, you could take advantage of it! Perhaps you want your space to make the most of a shady spot or a sunny southern exposure. Is privacy from neighbors a concern? Are you close to a busy street where noise a problem? If so and if your area is limited, think about the use of landscape materials, partitions or fences to address the problem.

Making the outdoor living connection

Will your addition be connected to your home? If so, are you taking into consideration its proximity to the family room? A path through a family room could be an issue if foot traffic will soil your carpets and disrupt anyone watching TV or conversing. As an alternative, placing the structure adjacent to, or with easy access to, your kitchen will make it easy to move food and dishes back and forth when dining in your new outdoor living space.

Understanding scale between your home and outdoor living space

How will your new outdoor living space be used? If your home is small and you don’t anticipate entertaining a large number of guests at any one time, you probably won’t need a huge addition. Your plan for an outdoor living addition, such as a porch, needs to strike a balance between your home’s size, size of your household and functional requirements of the space you’re trying to satisfy.

Have a seat!

Tops in the comfort category are seating clusters. Thick, comfy cushions and strategically placed outdoor furniture arrangements can spark conversation and help build relationships with family and friends. Designers are big on outdoor furniture that brings people together, stands up to the elements and showcases personal style.

porch-113 — Built-in floating bench seating on grey AZEK deck in Stokesdale NC

Go with the flow

It is important to have a good notion of how visitors will flow onto, within, and back out of your addition in relation to your home and backyard. Think about how family members, guests, and pets will be walking from the entrance of the residence to the backyard, from

Southern screened porch by Archadeck of the Piedmont Triad — Fabulous entry to a screen porch In Greensboro NC

the garage to the kitchen area, from the greenhouse or tool shed to the garden and so on.If you are likely to want a space solely for relaxation, you really don’t want all the visitors coming out of the property to merge into this area. Again, getting this right is a hallmark of good design.

If you are planning an outdoor living space and aren’t 100% sure what you want, it’s important to start asking yourself some questions, like how are you going to use the space? What views are important to you? Archadeck of the Piedmont Triad can help guide your thinking and prepare you for your dream outdoor project. And, as always, feel free to contact us.

Call: (336) 664 – 1332
Email: piedmonttriad@archadeck.net

Also read: Can I add a screen porch to my existing deck?

archadeck-greensboro-shade-pergola — The Greensboro, NC pergola provides beauty and ample shade to this sunny patio while still allowing light flow into the interior space through the windows.

No one can deny the charm that adding a pergola to your property will provide. Pergolas can serve a plethora of uses and have recently become even more popular because of their versatility. Pergolas come in all shapes and sizes and can play a number of roles within the landscape or as an outdoor living shade structure. In a recent article by Better Homes and Gardens the pergola is featured in over half of the top10 ways listed to create a backyard getaway. From ensuring privacy within your outdoor space to dressing up your deck, pergolas score high on the outdoor living report card. Among the highest on the list is the way pergolas can serve as a beneficial shade structure.

A pergola used as a patio cover, or cover for a porch has in itself much potential to offer shade depending on the distance between the cross beams that cover the upper portion of the pergola. The construction of the pergola can be made more conducive to providing shade through the spacing between the cross beams located atop the pergola and by using wider rafters in the pergola design. The closer the beams are set, or the wider the rafters, the more sun protection your pergola will offer. All of these factors are influenced by the intended placement of your pergola in correlation to the direction and amount of sunlight your location receives. Archadeck of The Piedmont Triad offers many ways a pergola owner can increase the sun protection while keeping the original design of your pergola intact. These include using curtains made from weather resistant plastic, awnings, shade fabric built into the roof of the pergola, and even drop down weighted blinds. Blinds are a viable option when your pergola receives little morning sun but heats up quickly during the heat of the afternoon. We have many options available which can be customized to deliver the most shade and comfort to your pergola addition

archadeck of greensboro winston salem wooden rafter pergola with white decorative columns.jpeg — This Piedmont Triad shade pergola design includes decorative columns and a color coordinated palette to match the existing home.

Pergolas also provide a huge benefit for homeowners in search of a shade structure that will still allow sunlight to penetrate their interior living spaces. Loss of light is a concern for homeowners when considering adding a covered porch or outdoor room addition. Roofed structures don’t allow as much sunshine into your interior living spaces as does a pergola which can enhance the mood and flow within your home. The pergola’s ability to allow sun to flow freely into your home will also influence your heating and cooling costs throughout the season and especially in the winter.

Archadeck of The Piedmont Triad shade pergolas — This pergola serves as a patio cover and features brick columns for a light and airy design.

Never forget the aesthetic impact a pergola addition can add to your home. A pergola simply looks good added to a house, and the design choices are endless. You can use columns in your pergola design to match existing columns on your existing home, and even incorporate your brick into the columns for your pergola. Pergolas also allow design freedom because you can mix mediums in your design and create an eclectic space when creating your unique addition. This added beauty will become an asset to your home. In some cases an attached pergola will add square footage to your home’s municipal tax base adding monetary value to your home.

Today’s Piedmont Triad pergola can also be designed to include all the creature comforts you crave in your outdoor space. Your pergola can be built to include ceiling fans, outdoor lighting and even sound systems among the many outdoor comfort features we can include in your design. The possibilities of modern pergola design are only as endless as your imagination.

To learn more about our unique and beneficial pergola designs, contact Archadeck of The Piedmont Triad today. Call us today for a free consultation (336) 664 – 1332
piedmonttriad@archadeck.net

Category: shade pergola

Bringing the Indoors Out – Outdoor Living by Archadeck

The recent trend in outdoor living design, such as porches, features movement toward bringing the comfort of the indoors outside.

Also read: Can I add a screen porch to my existing deck?

Archadeck of the Piedmont Triad proves that a pergola is more than just another pretty face