Outdoor Living

Outdoor Living Rooms will revitalize your home and increase your homes' value

Alfresco Areas

Outdoor living room have come a long way from the wrought iron Gazebo stuck in the middle of the lawn.

Most of us would love to create a relaxing area outside of the home where we can enjoy some peace, regardless of the rain or clear blue skies, just to read or entertain in the alfresco style. From entertaining on warm balmy nights to quietly reading on a weekend an escape to the outdoors brings instant relaxation.

At Impressions we are never short of creative ideas.  The outdoor living room can be attached or seperate from the house and is normally built with either  a weatherproof roof cover or using movable louvers.  Unlike a deck with a pergola, the outdoor living room is weatherproof but not necessarily fully enclosed.  It should also appear to seamlessly link with the home.

First you need to decide where it should be built and how big it needs to be, consider the number of people you may entertain and if the cooking will be done undercover.

Landscaping leading up to the entrance of the room and surrounding the room should be taken into account so that the room appears to have grown, and belong, in the garden.  You should link the room with the house so if it is initially seperate the surrounding garden can be used to embrace the room to maintain the outdoor feel.

Stacked rock featured columns with water features and perhaps some ceiling fans all add to the atmosphere.

Built in seating with storage hidden underneath is great for entertaining on a larger scale and the storage is perfect for the BBQ utensils.

Visit your local garden centre to see a large variety of outdoor feature pots and furniture now available, even empty, some of these pots look great sitting in the garden.

You will need professionally drawn plans for the new outdoor room, but first you may need some assistance with the design and advice on the correct materials, and of course, a cost to build.

Just contact us we are able to offer the complete service from the design and council process to the fully completed dynamic additional living space that only an outdoor room can bring.

Pergolas & Decks

Pergolas do not necessarily have to perform any function....

Outdoor areas are an extension to your home and pergolas can create an instant courtyard in any space or can be used to partially protect your BBQ or outdoor spa.  Pergolas are an inexpensive modern addition to any renovation or garden.

Pergolas are overhead structures and generally built over a deck or paved area and are either left open or have a shade or weatherproof roof cover.

Generally built of timber they can benefit the life of a timber deck by offering some weather protection, but they also change an area into one that is a lot more interesting and intimate.

A pergola covered with translucent polycarbonate type roofing is an inexpensive way to provide a rainproof walkway from the garage to the house. Be wary of the effect on the light in the home if you attach a covered pergola, you may need to add skylights to the home.

Sizes of the timbers used can vary depending upon the style you prefer. Too small a size of the support posts will make the pergola appear weak, you should have nice solid looking supports by using larger sized uprights.

An open paved courtyard can become a lot more inviting with a pergola added.  Not only are they great for hot sunny days, and provide shade to your plants, they add to the focal point of the courtyard.  Add some wind chimes, rolled blinds or hanging baskets to the pergola for additional effect.  Deciduous vines like Grape and Wistaria provide leafy shade in summer and let the warmth in during winter.

Pergolas can be built in the middle of a garden bed or to the side of the yard to embrace the garden and bring some of the garden into the under cover area.  It is also easy to add a privacy screen for close neighbours or even hide the clothes line.

For those with a larger garden a small pergola built in the garden covered with vines can become quite the garden retreat, a small pergola of 2 or 4 posts as an entrance to the front yard is a stunning feature, particulary in heritage style homes.

Impressions can help you with the design and construction for all types of pergolas.

Patios & Porches

A patio does not have to be a piece of concrete outside the back door.....

Thankfully we are now more inclined to want to use the outdoors to entertain, relax and dine, so renovating the Patio is a very popular project.

Any existing concrete patio area you have can be covered or ripped up, you may even have an area of lawn that never grows and by building a path to this you could create a patio amongst the garden.

The patio does not have to be square or rectangle, it can be any shape you like, careful planning and good design, and drainage ,will display your patio to maximum effect.

The "theme" of the new patio should blend in with your home and reflect a similar style decor. Try not to recreate a Japanese Zen feel if your home does not already have this influence, you need to achieve a natural extension of your home to the outdoors.

Decide what you hope to use the area for - cooking BBQs or just sitting and reading, the intimacy of the area needs to be created by adding the ambience and style, or the spaciousness of the area to cater for entertaining a larger number of people, without obstacles and feeling overcrowded.

Check with you local Council regaring approval requirements, some may require plans and specifications for pergolas and covered pergolas.

You may want to build an entire new patio, and again, it does need to be done professionally and carefully.  Whether the base is to be concrete or a hard surface for paving, Impressions will be able to help you decide what would suit your site best.