As we spill more and more into the outdoors and the post-Covid landscape takes shape, an old concept is again in focus. We want to be outside, but we don’t want nature’s uncleanliness. We want to be outside, but we want it to feel like the inside where comfortable lounging doesn’t leave our white pants stained and the fear of spiders lurking in crevices is generally contained. What to do?
First, let’s face it, nature IS dirty. The process of spreading seeds, blooming, fruiting, adapting leaves to bring proper interest for sustainable partnerships in a balanced ecosystem, weathering storms, wind, rain, and sun is messy business. And that’s even before we show up. Those who decide which trees, for example, should dot the urban landscapes of our world know this well, and their selection process is always directed by how to bring the best and most compelling features of a tree in front of us while leaving as many nuisances as possible behind. Seed pods, intense leaf drop, sap, pinecones and the like have no place on our town floors. (Nor does our own manufactured litter, though of course it appears.) The truth is these civic decisions at the macro level reflect the collective dilemma we all face, and that’s how to proceed in a built world enhanced as much as possible by a civilized relationship with nature.
In cultivating residential exterior spaces, we’ve long contended with this notion. And while it hasn’t slowed our urge to push people into the outdoors, the obstacles impeding many of our clients have been real: it’s too cold, but bringing heat is expensive and I don’t want a campfire in my living space; it’s too hot, but I don’t want a tree that blocks our view or those of the neighbors; it’s too windy but we don’t have the room for a hedgerow and a plexiglass barrier gets dirty so quickly, etc. Successes have generally been born of procedure and not product: provide a convenient solution for seasonal storage of seating cushions; contain the dog’s business in a certain area; set up electrical access so cleaning can be adaptive and thorough when necessary, etc. etc. Slowly, however, product-driven solutions are materializing.
An important development in the first part of this century was a gradual mainstreaming of Nana (or accordion) doors. These doors can effectively eliminate whole walls at a time, breaking down the binary worlds of indoors and out. The resulting spaces just outside them often manifest as an architecturally protected yet outdoorsy living space that generally feels clean and is often comfortably shaded by eaves or other creative extensions of the building architecture. Though expensive, these doors have worked their way into a contemporary vernacular of elegant indoor-outdoor living. Building on this success, designers like us have leaned harder into the idea that sophisticated stylings of the indoors could spill out from within. Think of all the restaurants you’ve been to where pleasant, protected al fresco dining occurred without feeling like you’re in a different place. Why not at home? Why can’t I refine my grill area so both meat focused chefs and the salad minded among us can dwell comfortably? And why can’t that kitchen combine the family room with it as so often happens inside?
With the pandemic, these challenges are more in focus as the urge to fully function in our residential spheres takes hold. We’re now more insistent, while so often working from home, that the outdoors adapt to us rather than us adapting to it. Manufacturers have been taking notice (like OOD, shown above), and this groundswell to push living spaces comfortably outward has become a rising tide. Shade, for example, is cleaner from an architectural pergola than a shade tree. If it’s more efficient at handling rainwater, sturdier than umbrellas, and stylish, even better. Fire features, while elemental and always appealing, can often be substituted with less volatile heat accessories like electric furniture and infra-red heaters. For many of us, staying connected to the indoors means having digital access alongside, and weatherproof wi-fi extenders are arriving to oblige. And on and on.
So, can nature be cleaned up? Of course not. And for all the impulsive notions we have to alter its ways, the best results come from simply framing its good sides. But can the terms on which we encounter nature at home be defined to keep things clean, comfortable and functional? More and more the answer is yes.
DJ
Photo credit: OOD House