Fall is the perfect time to enjoy changing tones and textures. Winter encourages us to slow down and appreciate warmth. Spring blooms color and greenery.

The projects shown below represent design solutions that create opportunities for engagement between interior and exterior spaces through all seasons of the year.

Bring the Outdoors In

This abode in Mexico, designed by Taller Estilo Arquitectura, blends the exterior courtyard and pool with the interior living spaces through two-story swing doors.

Focus on the Landscape

A modern home, located in a forest amidst the Andean foothills of Chile, is deeply rooted in its setting and gains inspiration from the area's geology to provide a unique bathing ritual. Terraced platforms look to the landscape beyond, stepping down to an outdoor hot tub that's fully encased in the trees and land.

Provide Greenery and Shelter

A retreat in Mexico City provides a rooftop pool sheltered by concrete walls and green vines. The pool blends with a dining space and master suite through large, pocketed glass doors, creating an indoor/outdoor private retreat.

Carve Out a Space to Dine

Designed to be one with the landscape, this home in Venice, California, is set among the trees, fully supporting indoor/outdoor living. Every interior room has a matching outdoor space, including the dining space shown below, which is connected to the main home via a fireplace.

Add Elements of Fun

Roof Mediaimae in Tokyo, Japan, features a rooftop terrace complete with a grass lawn and a movie screening area. It is an ideal setting for outdoor movies under the stars.

Make it Warm

The Curved House by Hufft Projects incorporates an outdoor fire pit, surrounded by ipe wood with integrated seating.

Embrace the Elements

The Delta Shelter, a 1,000-square-foot cabin by Olson Kundig, is a steel-clad box that sits on stilts, hovering over a flood plain below. The compact plan is virtually indestructible and can survive any adventure or provided weather in the mountains.

Create Layers

A hillside home in Australia provides a layering of outdoor spaces that engulfs the surrounding trees and scenic views. Outdoor terraces, louvered floor-to-ceiling windows, and a square plunge pool wrap the house and provide a variety of spaces to jump into the landscape when summer rolls back around.

Also Appears In

A Modern Bungalow in Venice Beach