All-Access Indoor-Outdoor Rooms

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Indoor-outdoor rooms can provide year-round opportunities for homeowners to relax and entertain. Here are three examples of exceptionally well-done indoor-outdoor living areas.

The Contemporary Home

Designer Richard Landry had his hands full with the Contemporary Home in Southern California. Landry says the clients wanted an entryway that was transparent front-to-back.

“The site presented several challenges. Situated on a flat, treeless lot in a gated subdivision, the house is introduced by a reflecting pool strewn with natural stones, set at sharp angles,” which reflect the incisive lines and angles of his design, he says. The covered loggia, warmed by a fireplace of Pennsylvania blue stone, overlooks the vast lawn, pool, spa and pool house.

Location: Southern California

Architect: Richard Landry, Landry Design Group

Interior Designer: Michael J Skelton, MJS InteriorsSunset Canyon

Travertine tiles carry the floor plan from the kitchen all the way back through the outdoor living area in the Sunset Canyon house by Platinum Homes. Lisa Tate, the company president, says the most unique feature of the home is that visitors can walk up to the gate in the front of the house and peer through to the mountains in the background. The stone work is rustic dry stack, 5- to 6-inch thick stone with brown grout.

Location: Desert Mountain, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Architect/Builder: Platinum Homes

The Belvedere

The ultimate goal of the 4,000 square-foot project, says architect David Holscher and project designer Phoebe Holscher, was a classically inspired home that provides an all-access pass to the waterfront.

“The site is exactly on the water’s edge,” says David Holscher. “We had to deal with BCDC and all the issues that arise from storms and tidal change.”

Location: Belvedere, Calif.; Architect: David Holscher, Holscher Architecture; Associate: Nghi Le