How To Blend Outdoors With Indoors (Image 1 of 21)
Want to create a room that blends seamlessly with the garden beyond? Doing so will make your interior space feel bigger, brighter and contemporary – and it will draw attention to your garden beyond, too. Here’s how.
Don’t Clutter Large Windows (Image 2 of 21)
You needn’t have a home like this one to have large windows – any French doors or large picture windows that overlook a garden should be kept clear of clutter to show off the space beyond to best effect. Keep curtains and blinds to a minimum too – ideally, chose something that can be pulled right up or right back, such as shutters or roller blinds. Zaniah floor tiles, Johnson Tiles
Fit Folding Doors (Image 3 of 21)
Folding glass doors that cantilever right back so as to be unobtrusive when open are the key to merging indoors with out. Folding glass doors, Cantifix
Use The Same Flooring Indoors & Out (Image 4 of 21)
Choosing a flooring that can run from the inside of your home right outdoors will also help merge spaces – combine this with doors that open right back and the transition is seamless. Desert Ochre Limestone Natural flooring, Classical Flagstones
Put A Dining Area By Your Doors (Image 5 of 21)
If you’re planning a kitchen, keep the work area of the room away from the garden, creating a space there instead that can be used for dining or lounging – that way, you can enjoy the garden from close up. White Shaker kitchen, Harvey Jones
Co-ordinate Your Furniture With Outdoors (Image 6 of 21)
Use mid-toned wood indoors to match plants on patio – it’s even worth painting your walls and fences in similar tones. Portia medium sofa and Nevada furniture, John Lewis
Use Green To Link The Spaces (Image 7 of 21)
Using green at your windows will help bring the garden and indoors together too. That could mean blinds or even painting the walls around the windows green. Metal Venetian blinds, Novatec
Buy Garden Furniture That’s Smart Enough For Indoors (Image 8 of 21)
Choosing garden furniture that would look just as good indoors is a trick that you can use to blur the indoor/outdoor divide. Look for furniture indoors that complements your garden furniture, too. Wood stains, Auro Natural Paints
Keep Levels The Same (Image 9 of 21)
As well as choosing flooring that’s the same material indoors and out, ensure your garden and living space are at exactly the same level – doing so will be not just more convenient, but will help lead the ye outdoors, making the indoor space feel bigger. Glazed extension, Cantifix
Use Lots Of Glass (Image 10 of 21)
Putting as much glass as possible into the room that leads to the garden inevitably brings the outdoors in. If you do this, ensure your view is a good one – even if that just means a small, but neat garden. Bi-fold doors, Ecomerchant
Buy Low Furniture (Image 11 of 21)
The layout of your room might mean that you have to have furniture across the windows. Make the most of the view by choosing low slung pieces, like these sofas, and keep the room as free of clutter as possible. Furniture, Littlewoods Direct
Add Lots Of Plants (Image 12 of 21)
Large, healthy pot plants indoors will ensure that your indoor living space feels more like a conservatory – and therefore linked to the garden. This is a cheap trick that anyone can copy, no matter what the architecture of their home is like. Furniture and accessories, Marks & Spencer
Give Your Garden A Colour Scheme (Image 13 of 21)
Painting your garden furniture to reflect the colour scheme in the room nearest the garden is a really easy way to link the two spaces visually. Use planting around the patio to echo the colours indoors, too. Garden Shades, Heritage Shades and Ultra Tough Decking Stain, Cuprinol
Make The View Stunning (Image 14 of 21)
You needn’t have a wonderful view or a large garden to make the space beyond your living area attractive to look at. Dramatic planting, smart garden furniture, lots of greenery and a strong colour scheme will all do the trick, too. Extension, Eagle S G & W
On A Budget? (Image 15 of 21)
You needn’t spend a fortune to match your flooring – if you’ve got traditional wooden floorboards indoors or even laminate, you can echo this outdoors with decking. Just ensure the boards all run in the same direction. Timber decking, Wickes
Light Your Garden At Night (Image 16 of 21)
Don’t forget that you use the inside of your home all day and all evening, but even if it’s too cold to go outdoors, there’s no reason (other than energy saving considerations) not to light the garden well, so that you can enjoy it from within. Go for low energy options where possible, and turn the lights off when the garden’s no longer in view… Outdoor fires, Ecosmart Fire
Decorate Inside Cleverly (Image 17 of 21)
Choosing a strong decorating scheme that really reflects the garden beyond is a clever way to merge the spaces. Choose florals, foliage or modern graphics like this one. Wallpower Next digital wall art, Nono
Bear Privacy In Mind (Image 18 of 21)
If you are overlooked, it’s likely you’ll want some privacy in your living space, so choose your window dressings carefully. Shutters that can be left open so that you can see the garden beyond are one choice; another is to buy semi-transparent roller blinds. New England Shutters, New England Shutter Company
Provide Shelter Outside (Image 19 of 21)
Putting an awning over the windows or doors that lead to your garden provides shelter outdoors, but also allows you to keep the doors or windows wide open when it’s warm but wet, for example. Awning, Hillarys
Take Light Wherever You Can Get It (Image 20 of 21)
If you can’t get a view to the garden, putting a roof light into your home will help bring, if not the outdoors in, then at least alot of sunlight. If this is the case, fill the room with specimen plants that thrive on warm sunshine. Marston & Langinger.
Be Ambitious (Image 21 of 21)
Even a small terraced home can achieve a perfect blend of indoors and out – so if you have the budget, it’s worth getting the advice of an architect to find out just what you could achieve in your home.
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