Design Spotlight: Outdoor Living

Sean Sullivan, Accredited Master Builder, & Laura Kirkpatrick Sullivan, Allied ASID

Living Stone Construction, Black Mountain, N.C.

The clients, who chose this tract of land to maximize their privacy and views, wanted a home designed with outdoor spaces in which they could easily live. 

 (Photos: Tim Burleson)

With 16-foot folding glass doors off the living room,

they can walk directly onto the concrete patio and enjoy a dip in the infinity-edge pool, relax in the integrated hot tub, 

warm themselves by the fire pit,

or entertain guests in the covered area. The real beauty of it all is that the home is designed and built so that the views are maximized. 

The house won a 2016 Best in American Living Award and accolades for best outdoor living space from the North Carolina HBA.

Doug Hoerr, FASLA 

Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects, Chicago 

Architecture and landscape artfully fuse in this contemporary lakefront residence, which descends a high bluff to Lake Michigan with a landscape design that juxtaposes two different environments. 

(Photos: Scott Shigley Photography)

At the front of the home a woodland meadow made up of coniferous and deciduous trees, shrubs, grasses, and thousands of flowers contrasts with the sleek, modern architecture and shelters the house from its neighbors and the street. At the back of the home,

the landscape opens up,

using ground cover, undercover, and strategically placed trees to prioritize views to the water.

The dual landscape creates year-round vibrancy and helps better integrate the home’s architecture into its lake-bluff site, creating a unique experience that’s strikingly unlike the lawns and hedges of Chicago’s residential North Shore.

Mary Estes, PlA , Sites AP, Leed AP

Norris Design, Denver and Phoenix

For a private single-family residence in Phoenix, thoughtful outdoor spaces expand the living options into both front and back yards. Low-water-use plantings surround covered and open patio areas, and these outdoor rooms add usable square footage to a modest-size home.
(Photos: John Birkey)

Permeable as well as open-joint pavers allow natural stormwater percolation and drainage,

and a sunken turf area creates stormwater storage capacity.

Thoughtful design makes the outdoors easily accessible, sustainably efficient, and thoroughly enjoyable.