25 Apr Inspiring Modern Architecture – 5 Design Tips for Healthy Indoor/Outdoor Living!

Aaaah, outdoor living!  It’s spring here in Austin, Texas and what better way to celebrate April (my birthday/anniversary month) than with the launch of the beautiful spring issue of the national lifestyle magazine, Seasonal Living.  (A great distraction from our present stay-at-home circumstances.) It was an honor to be a Guest Contributor and write about Austin’s cool architectural Modern Home Tour; see pages 22 -23.  Learn architectural details about two of the gorgeous homes from that tour below. This is a perfect time to get motivated with the uplifting Seasonal Living Magazine. In addition, you’ll find 5  Design Tips for Healthy Indoor/Outdoor Living. Be sure to see the exciting Seasonal Living video at the new stretch break!

About Seasonal Living

Since so many of us are working from home (see post on home office spaces HERE), take a break from your computer and enjoy the spring issue of Seasonal Living HERE.  It is brimming with exciting photos of:

• wildflowers in the Texas Hill Country,
• traveling with pets,
• delicious recipes (you’ve got to try the Roasted Asparagus Farro Risotto!),
• gardening,
• outdoor furniture,,
• a cooking checklist,
• a spring paint guide, and
• the Austin Modern Home Tour

 

In addition, there’s a wonderful piece on designing with color featuring my friend Linda Holt’s beautiful interior design.

I mean, what does this magazine NOT have?   It is an incredibly comprehensive, gorgeous and inspiring magazine that I know you will thoroughly enjoy. Therefore, I highly encourage you to get your FREE subscription below.

Seasonal Living Details (quoted from Seasonal Living)

Seasonal Living Magazine is a quarterly consumer-facing, shoppable luxury lifestyle magazine.  It’s published by Gary Pettitt, the CEO of the award-winning indoor/outdoor furniture, lighting and decorative accessories manufacturer.  Seasonal Living headquarters is in Austin, Texas.

Seasonal Living Magazine’s Mission –

To help people around the world live more in harmony with the 4 seasons – spring, summer, winter, and fall – through inspiring imagery and fun, informative articles and videos on all things seasonal in food, recipes, wellness, design, entertaining, and travel.

To view the SPRING 2020 magazine in its entirety, please click HERE. 

If, after reading the SPRING issue, you’d like to subscribe, subscriptions are complementary and are available at this link HERE. 

When you subscribe, you’ll also get a free link to immediately download your bonus issue “How to Design a Beautiful Indoor/Outdoor Living Room on Any Budget.” – Seasonal Living

Austin Modern Home Tour Highlights

Now onto two stunning modern homes from the spring Austin Modern Home Tour that really captured the essence of indoor/outdoor living. Austin Modern Home Tour is produced annually by Modern Architecture + Design Society.  

Be sure to catch the Austin Modern Home Tour write up in Seasonal Living Magazine HERE. 

 

The Portofino Ridge Drive

 

 

The Portofino Ridge Drive home, by Cornerstone Architects, was designed for the couple’s love of entertaining and their athletic sons’ active lifestyle.  With luxurious interiors by ButterLutz Interiors and lush green landscaping, the front entryway opens up to a glass wall with direct access to sweeping views.

I was impressed with the multiple decks for entertaining and large windows. The views from almost every large window and doorway made this home feel like it was right in the middle of the Texas Hill Country.  The over-sized outdoor planters, filled with succulents visible from almost every room, added a burst of greenery throughout the home.

 

 

 

 

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The Foothill Residence

 

 

Designed by architect firm Bercy Chen Studio, the Foothill Residence was one of my favorites. It stood out to me in terms of indoor/outdoor living for two reasons –

1. every room had natural light pouring into the windows, and
2. the landscape design, by Open Envelope Studio, incorporated the natural environment beautifully.

 

It was remarkable how the architects achieved a continual view of nature from every window, corner, and even ceiling. The homeowners were very involved in the design process and this is exactly what they wanted. They chose architects Thomas Bercy and Calvin Chen of Bercy Chen Studio for their creative vision and because they were inspired by how they designed another Austin home’s unique space by making it fully integrated into the landscape.

 

 

About the Home –

This Mid-century modern home, originally built in 1953, gave Bercy Chen Studio a unique opportunity to renovate and create additions in an L-shaped plan with floor to ceiling windows throughout. This design not only accommodated the current homeowners but incorporated a mature oak tree. As was the original home’s purpose, the updated modern home provides a rich connection to the outdoors from every space throughout the house.

In Bercy Chen Studio’s words –

Nature is the primary element that defines new boundaries, establishing volumes for the office, master wing, and children’s bedrooms…. Nature acts as a screen that softens and filters, creating subtle layers of privacy and a feeling of ease. The wooded site provides intimate views and creates dappled sunlight that floods the house, softening hard surfaces and helping to tie together spaces of different eras.

 

 

 

 

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Healthy Living Architecture and Design Choices –

The homeowners are thrilled with their new home. The new space and outdoor living areas add to their already healthy lifestyle.  They can hear birds singing and sense the light at every turn. To them, their home is now a “calm and sacred space”.

The homeowners explain it this way –

The land captured our imagination. Neighboring a greenbelt near Mount Bonnell, the wooded half-acre of towering oak trees provided a shaded canopy shielding us from the Texas sun.  Two intertwining oaks in the backyard provided us a clear centerpiece around which we designed our landscaping and remodeling.

The full-length windows in the interior and exterior allow for a continuous flow of light and nature throughout the space. I run my wallpaper company, Habita, from my home studio and am surrounded  (in my office) by light and greenery.  It brings a calm and focus to my work. Screens and technology are a part of modern life for us and our children. Therefore, surrounding our living spaces with trees and plants and light keeps us grounded and connected to nature.

 

 

 

 

Great landscape design is important

About halfway through the project, the homeowners brought on Open Envelope Studio to design the outdoor living sections and landscaping. Open Envelope’s goal was to create comfortable connections between the interior spaces and the outdoor living areas.

Open Envelope Studio’s co-owner and Senior Designer Angelica Norton shares her vision –

One of the most interesting aspects of the Foothill Terrace design is that every egress point is at a different elevation. Our strategy was to utilize multiple small terraces woven together by clearly defined paths to connect the differing elevations. Because the architecture of the building allows for a visual connection between the interior and exterior of the home, we wanted to blur where the natural element ends and extend the living spaces to create outdoor rooms. 

A snippet of this photo below, showing the beauty of the multiple terraces, is in the Seasonal Living Magazine article on the Austin Modern Home Tour on page 23.  Check out the entire article HERE.  Be sure to get your FREE magazine subscription HERE.

 

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Living walls add color + texture

In addition, the homeowners commissioned a “Living Wall” designed by Monique Capanelli, owner and principal creative of Articulture Designs. The Biophilic wall brings color, texture, life, and energy to the interior spaces.

 

 

Biophilic Design –

is a concept growing within multiple design industries to promote healthier living by connecting spaces to the natural environment in a variety of ways.

 

 

5 Pillow Goddess Design Tips for Healthy Indoor/Outdoor Living

 

• Increase natural light by adding floor to ceiling windows to your interiors and skylights. This allows natural light to flow throughout your space and provides a continuous view of the outdoors.
• Position green elements in large outdoor urns similar to your existing natural landscape by the front and back entryways of your home.
• Keep the interiors calm by creating a clutter-free interior with simple home furnishings, a few  pops of color in your home decor, and neutral painted walls.
• Incorporate Biophilic design to interiors by bringing nature indoors with plants or a “living wall”.
• Design outdoor spaces to enhance outdoor living with comfortable seating and unique lighting. From the blue water of a pool to natural grasses and trees, incorporating colorful outdoor furnishings allows homeowners to enjoy the outdoors as extensions of their home.

 

 

Okay, time for a stretch break. Please enjoy this FUN video produced by Seasonal Living Magazine:

 

Modern Home Tour Series

I’m sure you’re wondering when you’ll be able to get out of your home to enjoy The Modern Home Tour Series in 7 more cities across the U.S., right?  The Modern Architecture + Design Society is taking health and safety very seriously during the coronavirus outbreak. Spring 2020 events have been rescheduled and may be postponed further.

Tentative new Modern Home Tour Schedule –

June 6 – Seattle Modern Home Tour

June 13 – Houston Modern Home Tour (10^th anniversary)

June 20 – Austin Outdoor Living Tour

June 27 – Portland Modern Home Tour

 

Please visit the http://mads.media/ website for the most current news and tour dates.

Austin Outdoor Living Tour

Another exciting Home Tour, only in its second year, the Austin Outdoor Living Tour tentatively rescheduled for June 20th, dives deeper into how outdoor living promotes wellness.  The tour highlights the backyards and outdoor living spaces that make Austin unique. Six to ten spaces will be featured giving homeowners a chance to experience what outdoor living really lookclas like in Austin.

To learn more about the Modern Home Tours Series and these inspiring homes, please visit the websites of all the businesses that made these two stellar modern homes a success –

Modern Architecture + Design Society/Modern Home Tour Series

Austin Modern Home Tour

Cornerstone Architects

Bercy Chen Studio

Open Envelope Studio

Articulture Design

 

While you’re home for this long stretch, I hope this inspires you to think outside of the box to create calming indoor and outdoor spaces in your life. We all could use places at our homes for ourselves and our families to relax. Step outside into your back yard and see what simple features you can enhance for an exciting outdoor living experience.

Shop the Outdoor Living Look

I’ve selected some beautiful products (see below) that can add color and texture to your outdoor spaces. These items contain affiliate links. Any purchases, at no additional cost to you, are much appreciated and make this blog possible. Thank you for your support!

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Now is the perfect time to spiff up your backyard and get outside to enjoy spring. I promise you it will help relieve the stress of our present situation by getting outdoors in the fresh air, safely of course.

Till next time,  enjoy a little shopping below and stay well and safe my friends. Cheers to outdoor living! XO PG

P.S. If you’re not subscribed to our quarterly newsletter, please subscribe HERE. for updates from our studio!

Note: All Austin Modern Home Tour and Seasonal Living photos and info are credited; opinions my own.

Shop the Look!

 

Delk Stacking Patio Dining Chairs

 

Amelie Planter

 

Seasonal Living English Planter

 

Metz Mesh Chaise Lounge Set

 

Darby Home Outdoor Pillows

 

 

Loire Dining Table by Seasonal Living

 

 

Seasonal Living Inda Outdoor Floor Lamp

Seasonal Living Ashlar Stool Accent Table