4 ways to connect your home and garden
Whether it’s for a new-build or an extension, each building can have a more meaningful connection to the outdoors.
A sympathetic layout, innovative glazing and matched materials can bring nature indoors, turn your garden into a true living area and increase space inside and outside your home.
Whether it’s for a new-build or an extension, almost every architect’s brief now calls for a building to have a more meaningful connection to the outdoors.
A close relationship between house and garden benefits both: gardens that have some of the amenities of a living space get more use, while interiors feel bigger and more airy when they open on to an al fresco living area.
1. Make the most of window glazing
Improvements in glass technology have made an immeasurable impact on our ability to link inside and out. Coatings and gas-filled cavities have improved thermal performance – these days, rooms that rely on a lot of glazing don’t overheat in summer or lose heat in winter.
The use of light but strong aluminium for framing means windows can have slim outlines that reveal more of the view, while sliding doors can hold bigger panes of glass. For courtyard and rooftop areas, retractable glazing can turn an enclosed room into a breezy outdoor space in a few seconds.