Making the MOST

Does anyone appreciate the outdoors more than the person who lives in a northern climate?

We suffer through what seem like endless months of sleet, snow or pounding rain, so and when the sun finally shines and the land turns green, we want to fling our doors and windows open and sip cooling beverages out of frosty glasses while sprawled on our decks or patios.

Today, more than ever, we can make our outdoor living spaces so inviting and welcoming that they literally extend our living rooms and blur the line between indoors and out. A properly designed outdoor living room can also stretch the al - fresco season considerably.

I recently visited a small cottage in Tofino. The owners had replaced one wall of their living room with a dark stained garage door. A garage door? Yes. And how glorious it was to roll it up on a warm May morning. Instantly the living room extends out to include a multi - level deck surrounded by fragrant gardens busy with buzzing hummingbirds.

Stas

A friend in Yellow Point on the east side of Vancouver Island installed a double set of French doors that open wide to an enormous deck. He moves his living room furniture out and voila - an instant house extension! On Salt Spring Island, I visited a couple who had built a home overlooking the ocean. The deck was almost the same square footage as the interior of the home. They included an outdoor kitchen with a fireplace covered by a post - and - beam structure with clear Plexiglas inserts. Near the bedroom wing was a hot tub and between the two outdoor areas an enormous multi - level "living room" with various seating areas. And because they had installed a wall of folding glass doors, the entire outdoor living area instantly becomes an integral part of the home on warm days.

What is the appeal of outdoor living? As soon as we wander into the garden or onto the terrace, life slows down. We are more at peace outdoors. Living outdoors implies barbecues with friends, lazy summer days that seem to never end, relaxation and casual, barefoot living. So it makes sense to make the most of your outdoor spaces. Size doesnt matter. Ive seen a tiny square patio in a townhome transformed into a virtual garden of Eden with hanging baskets, climbing vines and comfortable furniture.