Living with the seasons: Transitional Spaces

One of the key themes I come back to at The Whiskey Porch is "seasonal living".  It's an aspect of a Simple Lifestyle that adds texture, and color, and variety, and a natural flow to things.

When we talk about living with the seasons, what does that really mean?

To me, it's simply shifting your lifestyle with the seasons.  Doing different things in different spaces, as the seasons progress through the year.

Focusing on the connection to the landscape and the outdoors is just as important as the creature comforts and floorplan that you incorporate into your home design.  So, the interior isn't entirely separate from the outdoors and the landscape that your home sits on. 

By creating this connection intentionally, we craft a direct link between our daily activities and the cycle of the earth. 

And.  We can greatly expand the amount of living space available to us.

Let me explain.

~ post continues, click Read More ~​

​Your seasonal home

​An effective home design that allows you to live comfortably and embrace the seasons means that you don't necessarily need to use ALL your spaces the same way year-round. 

Why have a huge living room if you are only going to really spend the darker and colder months of winter hibernating in there?  Maybe a smaller living room that is more of an embrace and cozy for those months makes more sense. 

While you might shrink your footprint and retreat indoors for the cold season, you can live more expansively in the warm season if you have well planned spaces to accommodate your comforts.

When it's nice outside (which for us in Northern Arizona is most of the year) we want to be outdoors and do different things than we would do in the winter.  We hardly spend any time in our living room then, and much less time in the kitchen, but I still want to be comfortable outdoors and I want to have easy access. 

I absolutely want my interiors to be directly connected to the outdoors in a functional AND beautiful manner.  To do that, I use transitional spaces.

​Transitional Spaces

I like to design what I call "transitional spaces" to accommodate that spring/summer/fall expansion that are in fact part of my living space but not necessarily within four walls.

In the case of a typical craftsman bungalow, these spaces that are integrated with the house might include a covered front porch, a covered less formal back porch, maybe a covered patio beyond, some open paved patios, and then finally the garden. 

Each space is progressively less structured or formal as you move further from the enclosed home. 

If you are lucky to have a garage I would include that as a transitional space as well.
​

​Covered Front Porch

A front porch of course serves as a year-round refuge from weather and is a transitional space from the parking or walkway into the home.

It is typically only enclosed on one side (the exterior wall of the house that it connects to) but sometimes it might be enclosed on two or even three sides.

Because this porch functions as your main foyer essentially, it often tends to be styled in a more formal manner.  And can feel very much like a literal living room with lighting and furniture and tables.  

In our case, our 1924 craftsman bungalow had a small front porch that was covered and enclosed on the two ends with beautiful windows.  Over the years it became entirely enclosed with a second entrance door and the results was that the original windows and entrance were entirely hidden for 40 or 50 years.  Also, the enclosure eliminated this functional porch, and created a very awkward narrow and unheated room that was literally never used.

Almost one hundred years later, we renovated the old house and tore off the enclosures and exposed the original porch.  It is now literally our favorite spot to take a break on the entire property.

​Covered Back porch

A covered back porch will typically be a less formal space than the front porch.  A little more utilitarian in that it can functionally year-round as a "mud-room" for the comings and goings of your family.

In our case we have incorporated a small cabinet to tuck away various odds and ends, we have hooks for outdoor gear and hats, or wet umbrellas.  There's a sturdy bench for sipping tea in the morning in a private outdoor spot, or more often for taking off muddy shoes etc.  And we have a small gas grill tucked into the corner which allows us to  throw things on the grill

even in rainy or snowy weather... just steps from the kitchen.  (The big grill and outdoor cooking space is further away in the garden.)

So this is a functional space, but still a beautiful outdoor room that is both a part of the house and a part of the garden.  There are 4 wide steps that lead down to the back patio area and gardens.  

​Covered Patio or gazebo

A covered patio or gazebo can serve as both a spot to hangout and relax, as an outdoor dining room, and also as a protected passage way.  Generally this would not be connected to the house in any way.  It can be formal and include lighting, fans, and cushioned furniture.  Or it can be more rustic with a more relaxed structure.

Often I see gazebos that have roofs that are so high up or small that they almost don't provide much refuge at all from rain or snow - or worse, the south sun on a hot day.

In our case, we built a pretty large but casual cover over an existing (very old) concrete patio.  It anchors our garden, and sits almost in the middle of our property.  Because we are surrounded by many huge alligator juniper trees, this structure also gives us respite from the juniper berries that drop in late summer.  We crafted the roof with a slope that is lower on the south side so as to provide more shade, and also a sense of enclosure.  We've got some basic electrical and lighting, as well as lots of seating and an enormous custom table made from alligator juniper. 

We use the gazebo as a literal passage way between the main house and a carriage house on the back of our property, and have often spent hours out here even during our crazy monsoon storms.  It's a wonderful warm season living space as well as a year-round transitional space that makes the property more functional.  

​patios

Concrete or paver patios are a lovely addition to the covered spaces and sometimes they might be surrounded by a low wall which I would call a courtyard.  

In our case we have a paver patio that connects our covered gazebo space to the walkway for the carriage house in back.  Since we are back and forth constantly,  we have paving between the two buildings now and it really pulls everything together.  Plus, happily, this almost eliminates the mud and dirt being tracked inside.  

We have chairs out on this patio for those days when we crave some sun or need to accommodate more guests.  

On the other side of the house we created a patio area by adding decomposed granite and edging which connects the front entry and porch to the back garden and patios.  It's a more casual look which is a great compromise for a more rustic setting that doesn't get constant traffic.

​the garden

I write quite a bit about gardens, so I won't go into length here except to say that an elaborate garden is best enjoyed closer to your house and transitional spaces.  You should enjoy your gardens even from inside and design them with those sight lines in mind as well as to incorporate them into the traffic patterns around your property so that they aren't secluded.  

​If you have very utilitarian garden spaces, it's understandable to want to put that further away or out of sight, but be sure that access and functionality isn't hindered by that distance or separation.
​

​more simple living inspo

Are you looking for more Simple Living inspiration?  Check this out:

More Simple Living

did you know we offer design services?

If you are trying to figure out how to expand your living space with a smaller house or already have a porch or patio that needs attention, we can help you make it fabulous.  Learn more about our Design and Consulting Services or just reach out to let me know what's your working on.  I'm happy to chat.

Get Design Help

---

Thanks for following along.  I hope this post offered some useful ideas and concepts.  I'd love to know what you think in the comments below.  Really!

Peace and contentment,
~Miriam
​