Today’s homeowners and gardeners are looking for a connection between their outdoor and indoor spaces. Garden windows and doors allow that to happen and new technolgies make it energy efficient to do this.
Bringing the outside in By Cindy McKay S
unrooms, decks, balconies and porches have traditionally become an extension of indoor living areas that allow home- owners to enjoy the great outdoors. Over the last 20 years there has been an increas- ing demand among homeowners to replace traditional rooms with an open-space con- cept that can now comfortably invite the outdoors in.
“Open plans are about allowing the pas-
sage from one living space into another without blurring the lines,” comments Win- nipeg Interior Design professional Lynn Fenwick. “Because of the energy efficiency and green technology behind windows, we can now blur the line between the outdoors and in.” Owners of traditional style homes with
30 • Beautiful Gardens 2012
segregated rooms often explore the open concept in renovation projects. Fenwick suggests that in order to make the most out of small living spaces, blowing out the back wall and adding oversized windows imme- diately gives the area the feeling of more space.
“This way the outdoor landscape be- comes the backdrop and the outdoors be- comes artwork,” says Fenwick of the idea. Jacqueline Adler had a clear vision of what she was looking for when she designed her latest project. With so much time and effort put into their landscape, she was looking for a way to enjoy their Japanese courtyard all year.
“In lots of traditional houses, with less glazing and window space, it is easy to feel
cut off from the outdoors when the weather gets cold,” says Jacqueline, who recently completed overseeing the building of a new home in Winnipeg. “Our goal was to add floor to ceiling expanses of glass without compromising energy efficiency or beauty. I am very happy with the results as even dur- ing the coldest months we have comfort in- side but can really enjoy the beautiful winter scenes.
“It is wonderful to wake up and have cof- fee with no sense of barrier to the outside. I think is important to stretch out the sea- sons in a climate where our summers are so short,” she added. “The windows beauti- fully frame the landscape so it feels like one is viewing artwork. Rather than com- pete with that, we added original pieces of
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