For those dwelling in much more temperate environments, the great outdoors can be an option for adding useful square video to your home’s amusing room. Image this: a vast set of gliding doors that open your living room to a charitable, protected exterior area, complete with added seats, a comfortable breeze, and the capacity to allow visitors effortlessly flow in between the exterior and interior space. If this sounds like a dream, a lanai could be for you.
We tapped Charlie Lankston, managing editor at Realtor.com, to share all the details on this exterior entertaining hero.
Background of the Lanai
According to Lankston, the word “lanai” takes its name from among the Hawaiian islands. “The term explains a covered, open-sided patio that is generally provided for comfort, featuring items like couches or chairs, in addition to ceiling fans, and often opens onto a home’s lawn or swimming pool area,” he states.
While the word was originally created in Hawaii in the 1800s, Lankston claims the hybrid frameworks, sometimes used for entertaining, have actually long been a fixture of the islands’ architectural heritage. These days, the appeal of the lanai has actually infected many various other cozy climates within the continental U.S., varying from Florida to Southern California.
What Is a Lanai?
A lanai is an al fresco exterior room that has at least one open side and is normally affixed to the rear of the property, Lankston clarifies. It is frequently thought of as an expansion of the home and hence used as an entertaining area or extra home. “More often than not, lanais are located on the ground floor of the property, and may well feature screens or windows to safeguard those inside it from outdoors aspects like stormy climate or bugs,” he states.
What’s the Difference Between a Lanai, Porch, and Patio?
Verandas, patios, and lanais are all within the same family members, however Lankston states there are a few distinct factors in between the frameworks.
While there are side decks, back porches, and second-story verandas (among others), usually the word patio is usually connected with a space off the front of the residential property that could have a roofing but is mainly open apart from a back wall surface, which it would certainly show the home. An outdoor patio is usually without a roof and an outdoor patio is usually only partially covered.
A lanai offers a sort of inside-outside feeling that is unique to this kind of architectural component.
Lanai Design Ideas
Place Convenience First
” A lanai should be everything about conversation and leisure– believe big, supported chairs or sofas, maybe a table for individuals to place food or drinks, and, preferably, a follower of some kind in order to protect against the area from obtaining as well stuffy in really hot weather,” claims Lankston.
Think about Displays
Opting for screens rather than home windows can aid offer that indoor-outdoor feeling yet, if you want a lot more personalization, consider displays that can be decreased and increased in order to totally open up the room to the outdoors. While this will come with a significant investment, some could locate it is worth the invest in order to raise the space’s capability.
Select Furnishings Wisely
” It is worth keeping in mind that any type of furnishings you intend to put in a lanai ought to be capable of standing up in an outside atmosphere, specifically if you stay in a location that might experience a lot of rainfall,” warns Lankston. Seek fabrics and materials that are tough enough for heat, moisture, wetness, and temperature fluctuations to ensure your home furnishings can stand up to the components.
Bear in mind Just How You Can Best Make Use Of the Space
If you often eat alfresco or prefer to take your early morning coffee outside, consider how your lanai’s home furnishings can even more this objective. The very same can be said when it concerns considering your amusing needs. If room for visitors to sit with a cocktail is often in high need or you merely require much more seating for your family suppers, let your lanai aid. A large exterior dining table, comfortable sofas and rattan elbow chairs, or perhaps a big TV hung over an integrated exterior fire place can assist add square video footage to your home’s home– all without overhauling the inside.
