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The open-plan public zone, which includes the kitchen, dining area, and living room, looks out onto the back patio, where the dining table is often wheeled in the summer for al fresco meals. Ken and Joan regularly have 10-20 guests over, so she requested enough space in the dining area to put another table if needed.

Joan’s main request, aside from a single-level residence, was that she would feel like she was “outside in and inside out” at all times. A sliding glass wall system along the back of the house lets her and Ken open their dining room up to the surrounding forest.

A simple, hardscaped back patio is the site of many summer parties. The steps lead down to the firepit, where one feels increasingly embraced by the forest.

The back patio and fire-pit area are central entertaining spaces. When the weather is nice, homeowner Joan and Ken wheel their dining room table outside for parties and dinners with friends. The fire pit was built using a steel cut-off from a natural gas tank.