Outdoor living spaces: maximize space and your lifestyle

Interestingly, the project photos that get the most comments, shares and engagement on our social media channels are from an outdoor living room we completed a few years ago. Something about the ability to be outside, but curled up on cosy furniture, in front of a fireplace, while watching TV on a huge covered porch seems to inspire our Kitchener-Waterloo friends to dream! 

Not surprising, when a well-designed, large covered living room or porch not only extends the outdoor season from early Spring to late fall but also makes our hot summers more enjoyable. And can add a huge amount of living space to your current home.

We recently completed another covered deck for a wonderful client in Waterloo which began with adding some square footage onto the kitchen in order to square off the space, as it was an octagonal bump out before. Happily, this also meant that we were able to make the opening between the living room and eating area larger, and who doesn’t love more space!

We had renovated their kitchen back in 2014 and crafted a beautiful coffered ceiling at the time. With the larger ceiling space now created by this 2022 addition, we were able to match the coffered ceiling in the new eating area, creating continuity between the spaces. 

In their indoor living room, the fireplace was all brick, which they wanted to change, so we stripped away the brick and squared off the windows, giving the space a more modern feel. All of the flooring in the rest of the house was upgraded as well.

Now to this stunning outdoor space! Everything was built new (see the before photos of the back of the home) and now is home to a large outdoor eating area, an enviable lounge area with a gas fireplace, and a large screen TV. These smart homeowners also opted to install retractable screens to keep the bugs out! Outdoor patio heaters mean that even in early spring and late autumn, the family can enjoy this amazing space.

This homeowner has a lot of outdoor cooking implements (yes, we are all jealous!), so a separate covered deck was also incorporated at one end of the deck to house his gas BBQ, a Traeger wood pellet grill, and his Green Egg grill & charcoal smoker. At the other end of the deck are stairs into the hot tub along with stairs down to the yard. Really, they’ve created a little oasis right in the city.

This was a big project and the clients loved the end result! This outdoor living room reno has us rethinking our own backyards, how about you? 

If you are wanting to add some livable space to your home, or just transform your current layout, we’d be happy to help! Check out our featured projects for inspiration or view our handy Renovation Guide to get started. To speak with one of our Project Managers, call 519-664-2245.

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