Outdoor Living｜Custom-built homes by architecture firms8Picks｜An Additional Living Room Where Interior and Exterior Merge

Outdoor living is an approach that treats exterior spaces—terraces, decks, courtyards and the like—as extensions of the living room, blurring the boundary between interior and exterior to enrich daily life. A timber deck that connects seamlessly at floor level through large openings, deep eaves or covered terraces that allow occupants to feel the outdoors even on rainy days, and fences and planting schemes that protect privacy while maintaining a sense of openness—by integrating these elements with the architecture, a lifestyle that dissolves into the natural context is achieved. The design practice, through interviews about site orientation, the surrounding environment, and family routines, proposes outdoor spaces that are as comfortable as interior rooms. Explore these residential examples that treat the exterior as living space.

The first floor is designated for commercial tenancy and the second floor for residential use. A spacious living room with an adjoining, expansive terrace is conceived as an outdoor living area. At the client’s suggestion, the large open volume is realized through the use of distinctive materials.

Approximately one hour from Tokyo, this residence is situated on a generous, verdant suburban site. Designed by a German–Japanese couple as their new home for the post‑retirement phase, the project integrates the garden and house while preserving existing mature trees so that each window frames a distinct view. The main house is a simple single‑story pavilion that opens broadly to the garden; deep eaves and a terrace create a gentle transition between interior and exterior. The program also includes a dedicated garage for restoring classic BMWs, providing a base for hobbies and social exchange.

The site is a single-story lot elongated east–west. Because an apartment building sits to the south, the house is sited as far north as possible and organized on a rectangular plan. All habitable rooms face south, while openings and a rear courtyard are provided on the north side of a long corridor to create a clear north–south through-axis. From the entry, a large opening leads to a dining area that connects to the garden via a deck; slightly sunken, this transitions to the living room with a wood-burning stove. The exterior is composed of a deep-eaved mono-pitched roof with white plaster and timber cladding, and the interior takes advantage of the mono-pitched roof by finishing the ceiling with cedar boards sourced from thinning operations.

A large deck facing the Seto Inland Sea was introduced so the sea is always perceptible just beyond the interior floor. A sloped lowered ceiling with integrated indirect lighting and a curtain box frames smooth sightlines toward the sea. The kitchen is positioned at the center of the living area to allow cooking while conversing in an open-plan arrangement. A former Japanese-style room was converted into a theater room; when opened, it produces a continuous, dynamic space expressed through a simple design.

This apartment renovation maximizes the views from the 10th floor. Situated on a site blessed with city views to the east and Mount Fuji to the southwest, the layout of private rooms and the kitchen was reorganized so that the landscape can be enjoyed in everyday life. The shared space opens widely toward the views, the previously underutilized east deck was regenerated as an outdoor room connected to the kitchen, and movable partitions were introduced to reconcile openness with flexible use, creating a living environment that balances spaciousness and adaptability.

This residence, for which we were engaged from the site-selection phase, leverages the plot’s characteristics to organize the living room, a deck for enjoying wine and al fresco dining, and a garden abundant with flowers and greenery into a single, continuous spatial composition. Design strategies that soften the boundaries between each element were employed to create an integrated interior–exterior environment. The result is a pleasant living space where occupants coexist harmoniously with plantings.