5 Clever Ways to Bridge Your Indoor and Outdoor Living Space

Your backyard can be a place you seldom go to and a great space to erect a shed to keep the things you don’t need – but it can be so much more. The outdoor living trend is very big right now across the globe, and for a number of wonderful reasons. Creating that beautiful outdoor oasis where you can relax with your family and friends is one of the best ways to complement the design of your home and add a livable space to your property. But you have to do it right. A couple of lawn chairs and a simple garden table won’t do it, oh no. You need to think like an interior decorator and know the home décor trends that will transform your outdoor space into an oasis. Most importantly, you should bridge your indoor and outdoor living space to add a beautiful extension to your home. Let’s take a look at how you can achieve all of this affordably and without any trouble.

Create a big opening to the outdoors

First things first, to connect your indoor and outdoor space, you need to open up the design, and the best way to do that is to expand the door frame, opt for glazed-glass doors and big windows, or tear down the adjacent wall. The last one requires some serious renovation work, but if you have the time and the willpower, you can tear down the wall leading onto the patio and put a glass wall in its place. If you’re not up for such a remodeling project, then go ahead and choose glass sliding doors if the interior boasts a modern design, or retro glass doors with hinges to complement a more vintage interior. Another great way to make the outdoors complement the interior is to create a skyline or a glass roof that extends several feet into the adjacent room. This will let the natural light in and give you a beautiful view of the sky, like you’re not even inside the house.

Stick with the same design scheme

Venturing outside should not make you feel like you’ve suddenly changed settings, instead, this should be a seamless transition. To achieve this effect, it’s important that the outdoor and interior designs complement each other, so make sure to decorate the exterior living space with the same design guidelines in mind. If you have a kitchen leading into the outdoor space and its modern and sleek, then refrain from creating a retro, cabin-in-the-woods patio. Only do that if you’re sure you want the outdoor setting to juxtapose the interior by combining traditional and modern elements. The same goes for a rustic interior – the exterior should not boast a futuristic or minimalist design.

Use rugs to create a walkway

Paying special attention to the design of the floors and how you position your rugs around your home is a great way to influence the perception of the space. By using rugs strategically and with a distinct purpose, you can easily create zones in your home, frame every room, set the ambiance, and of course, guide people seamlessly to the outdoor living space. The key is to use the indoor and outdoor rugs of the same style and design, or the styles that complement each other to simply extend the interior out onto the patio. This creates a simple transition and makes the person feel like the outdoor space is just an extension of the kitchen, the living room, or any other room adjacent to the exterior.

Extend the room’s elements to the outside

Of course, it’s not just about the rugs or using the same color scheme for interior and exterior design, it’s about using complementing décor elements across the two. If you want your interior to feel like a part of the exterior and vice versa, then you can’t have interior furniture and appliances on the inside and typical patio furniture on the outside. Instead, you need to mix and match the décor elements. For example, if the kitchen is leading onto the patio, then extend the workspace there, add a fridge or a bar to the exterior, put the dining room table outside, and create an al-fresco dining area or make a small dining room more capacious. Use the same mindset for an indoor-outdoor living room, bedroom, or even a bathroom.

Scale the lighting just right

Last but not least, many people make the mistake of choosing the wrong artificial lighting for the outdoor area, and most of the time they choose the wrong hues. Artificial lighting should be consistent throughout your home, and that includes the outdoor space if you are to bridge the gap between the inside and the outside. Use the same types of lights, the same luminosity and hues, and position the lighting fixtures the same way as you did in the room leading into the exterior space.

Wrapping up

Designing your outdoor living space to complement your interior design is a great way to revitalize your home. Use some of these tips to bridge the two worlds and create a perfect oasis for you and your loved ones.