While the trend of having an outdoor entertainment area, often fondly referred to as an al fresco space, has been around for a substantial period of time, there’s no doubt it has accelerated thanks to the pandemic. There’s only so much time you can spend, staring at the same four walls. It’s also evolved from having an outdoor back deck into something more like an extra room on the house.
If you’re building a new home, particularly through one of the larger builders, chances are an al fresco area is already part of the design. But if you have an existing home, adding an al fresco can help to modernise your home as well as giving you more outdoor entertaining opportunities. And given the weather in Australia, why not take advantage of it?
Like most things, your first step is to stop and ask yourself some questions. What do you want to use the space for? How much space is needed to achieve that? What fittings and furniture? There’s quite a long list. We’ll take a look at the main items on the list over a couple of blogs.
Integrated Indoors and Outdoors
In order to get maximum value from your outdoor area, it’s optimal if you can link it seamlessly into your existing living spaces. There are a couple of ways to achieve this.
First, matching floor heights. The last thing you want to be worrying about when carrying a tray of drinks out to the al fresco area is dodging a tripping hazard. One of the best things you can do is make sure the new space is built so that its height matches the existing floor level inside.
This may involve building a deck slightly above ground, or having a thicker concrete slab if you’re planning to tile the space.
Second, bigger is better when it comes to doors or windows between the indoor and outdoor spaces. Use large concertina or sliding glass doors that can be opened as fully as possible. It’s even better if the tracks are inset into the floor so there’s no trip hazard going in and out.
Being able to completely open the connecting wall helps to make the two spaces flow seamlessly together, and maximises the available space.
More next time on how to have an awesome al fresco area!