9 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Outdoor Living Space

Blurring the lines between your indoor and outdoor living space enables you to extend your entertaining areas.  Estate agents are seeing a significant increase in demand for more outdoor living spaces and express preferences for fire pits, privacy zoning such as attractive wall cladding and full outdoor kitchens.  In recent years, the lockdown accelerated this desire and trend toward outdoor living spaces and it is likely that this momentum means that those who invest in creating attractive outdoor space will see a good return on their property investment.

You should aim for the transition between your in and outdoor living space to be unified, which creates a feeling of a continuous space. Having the same indoor and outdoor tiles such as our Twyford and Motcombe range helps you achieve this. 

Home improvement experts advise that when defining your space, the key is putting consistent flooring between the indoor and outdoor space as it will look like they are flowing into one another and they recommend using tiles because they hold up well in both settings.

You can unify the areas with your colour palette by bringing your indoor colour scheme to the outdoors to blend the spaces. With our Bloomsbury Coloured tile range, which is uniquely suitable for both indoor and outdoors, you can achieve this very effectively and think about your complementary paint colours.

This enables you to enjoy your outdoor living space, whatever the weather, and protects your furniture and soft furnishing. Awnings, shades, or pergolas are all popular options to have in your outdoor space.  

You could consider installing surround sound or a smart screen. If you are near neighbours, then it is useful to have Bluetooth headsets. You need to make your equipment feel as integrated as possible. For example, install your televisions in the casework or over a fireplace to avoid them dominating the space. If a TV is not for you, do consider your ability to play music easily for any parties or dining you might be planning.

You may need heating and cooling to feel comfortable in your outdoor living space all the year round.  For warmth, consider adding heaters that hang from a patio cover or attach to your exterior walls. Floor-standing heaters and lamps are also now an attractive option which use propane or natural gas. For cooling in the summer, colonial ceiling fans can be installed.  Herschel Infrared stock incredible heaters which can fit in all outdoor settings.

The best indoor-outdoor living spaces feature an all-glass retractable wall that removes the barrier between the interior and exterior. If you don’t have the budget for this custom feature, visually open the space between these zones with French doors, sliding glass doors or even bifold windows. The open-concept design creates a seamless transition throughout different areas of the home. By incorporating water features, ponds or rills close to your outdoor living space when your doors are retracted it can create the illusion that the water elements are inside the home.

(image from Sissinghurst Location House)

The ultimate in garden entertaining is having an outdoor kitchen that allows you to socialise and cook amongst your guests.  You might consider adding specialty features that don’t fit in your indoor kitchen, like a bbq, pizza oven, wine cooler, fridges or covered plate warmer. 

Lighting up your outdoor living space will effectively blur the lines between your interior and guests can mingle between areas from sunset and throughout the night. You can completely change the mood of your outdoor space by night. Lighting can be warm, inviting and highlight architectural forms and patterns in your tile layout. For a continuous feel, you should choose similar fixtures both indoors and out.  Consider what areas you want to accentuate, such as trees, water features, bar-patterned floor tiles like our Shawford range. Chandeliers and pendants can look stunning above your dining area or hidden warm strip lighting that highlights cladding. The key is less is more and to avoid the temptation to light up too much. Italians are past mastering outdoor lighting - less is more.

Whether it's a water feature, bird feeder, crackling fire, you can create a dreamy soundscape.

(Cavendish Cotto - Terracotta Effect Porcelain Tiles)

Please also remember that gardens evolve overtime and additions can be made as and when budget allows.  We hope you enjoy your outdoor living space x