When the weather is perfect, being indoors can begin to feel claustrophobic, even in the most beautiful of homes. If you’re craving some time with nature, consider expanding your living space beyond your back door. Almost any outdoor area can be transformed into a welcoming outdoor room. If you are already familiar with all the outdoor kitchen options, keep those creative juices flowing, because outdoor rooms come in so many varieties that you almost can create an entire second home outdoors. Whether your family wants a special place to eat, chat, play or even sleep, life al fresco can be very inviting.

Leisure time
Living rooms are not just for the indoors anymore, and visiting with friends in an outdoor area can be extra relaxing. “Gorgeous new designs for outdoor furniture have exploded on the scene, and even beautiful outdoor rugs are available,” says Dixie Speck, president of SolTerra Landscape. “Consider adding an outdoor living room, and discover the enjoyment of tea time outdoors with your friends while the kids also have fun running around.”

You also can challenge the kids by adding a sports area. A horseshoe pit is simple to install, according to Bryan Dorman of Bonsai Lawns. Just get some pressure-treated lumber to make a backstop, dig out the proper area (find out the rules of the game and get the exact measurements) and fill it with play sand. A pingpong table designed for the outdoors also creates an opportunity for family fun, and it is easy to fold up and roll away. Croquet and badminton areas are popular, too, and for those who have a little more to spend, basketball and tennis courts will have the whole neighborhood stopping by for a visit.

Cooking out
To construct an outdoor kitchen near the house or the pool, add a refrigerator, a stainless steel grill and a countertop for prep work. Pair these items with cabinets made from pressure-treated wood or covered with tile to make them truly waterproof. An outdoor kitchen can start with an area as small as 600 square feet.

Even if you do not want to add an entire kitchen outside, you can get a lot of mileage from an outdoor fireplace or fire pit. For ease and budget, there are several portable outdoor fire pits on the market, but if you’re looking for something more permanent, consider a built-in pit made from paver stones. Add a grate to the stone pit, and you can cook over it. Place seating nearby to create an outdoor eat-in kitchen. Of course, you can add entertaining elements such as a television or speaker system to any part of your outdoor room. Control panels can be inside the house or camouflaged by rocks.

Making a splash
If you want to warm up the outdoors a bit, but prefer to avoid open flames, consider installing a hot tub. “The new craze right now is in-ground hot tubs,” says Kevin Paulen of Oasis Landscapes and Irrigation. These tubs are like mini pools, but with salt water. They also can include waterfalls, making them beautiful to look at as well as calming to sit in. Pebble tack, which looks like pebbles but has a smooth surface, makes an appealing lining for the interior. For many homeowners, outdoor rooms have become retreats with no travel time required.

For another way to get wet outdoors, contemplate an outdoor shower. “You feel even more in communion with nature when showering outdoors,” Speck says. If you want an organic feel, a shower can be made with natural stone that simulates showering under a waterfall. “Materials such as stone, wood or tin can be used to create privacy ‘walls,’ ” Speck says.

A quick commute
Sleeping outdoors can be relaxing in good weather, whether overnight or just for an afternoon nap. An outdoor bed or sofa lets you feel like you’re camping while also keeping you off the ground. Create a weatherproof sleeping structure in an appropriate spot outside, and hang a mosquito net from a tree to keep the pests away. Cushions and fabrics are available for outdoor use in a wide array of colors and patterns.

Sleeping outdoors also makes for a pretty fast commute to an outdoor office. A slate patio with a retractable awning can protect a desk near the house, and a data port on the wall will allow you to connect a laptop. This room also can double as an outdoor patio, and the desk can be custom-made to fold up, creating more space.

Separate spaces
Just like inside the house, outdoor rooms require delineation so that each area can be used for its intended purpose. This can be accomplished using plants, curtains, drapes, screens, furniture or structural elements.

Even while differentiating areas, it is vital to keep the spaces fluid. All outdoor areas should work together, or else the whole space will seem chopped up, says Eric King of Piedmont Landscape. Although the sky is endless, outdoor rooms should remain human in proportion. Use the same principles you would use inside the house, and create a floor, walls and a ceiling for each area. “We are comfortable with the same elements on the outside as on the inside,” King says. The outdoors just requires a little extra creativity.

Flooring or ground materials that work well outside include concrete and cobblestone pavers. According to King, pavers are great, because one or two can easily be replaced if necessary without having to repave an entire area. They come in a variety of colors that allow coordination with furniture and other elements, and they can be placed in unlimited shapes and patterns. King also likes to use flagstone with mortar. Other options include cobblestone, bricks and slate. A simple change in floor elevation, material or pattern can separate one room from another.

Putting up walls
With the groundwork in place, the next step is to create the “walls,” which serve to confine and distinguish the different spaces. Low stone walls are an attractive choice that can provide seating. Plants can be used to separate areas, as can placement of larger elements, such as a fireplace or large grill. If you want to create a bug-free area, sheer screening material can provide privacy without completely blocking the view.

To create a “ceiling,” think about both natural and man-made components. A low-branching tree might be all that you need. If you don’t have a well-positioned tree to work with, arbors and trellises with or without crawling plants also make charming roofs. Most natural ceilings will help keep the sun away, but if you’d like a space that you can enjoy during a light rain, you might want to consider a gazebo or a weatherproof canopy.

Don’t forget details
Many homeowners are choosing themes to tie all of their outdoor spaces together. Rustic-lodge style, a Moroccan look with luxurious fabric and the French-cottage feel with soft, overstuffed furniture are some of the trends right now. There are plenty of ways to bring the inside out, and many companies offer a multitude of weatherproof materials, fabrics and appliances. Art helps reinforce themes, and metal and stone sculptures are unique and resilient ways to add panache outside.

“To carry an outdoor room theme to its completion, you really need to think about lighting,” King says. Lighting should be taken into consideration somewhat early in the process to allow for effective wiring. When making lighting decisions, you also need to take into account the view from inside your home. The placement of lighting can make a huge difference in the atmosphere of the outside space, as well as its appearance from indoors at night.

“You want to accentuate some of the accent points in the yard,” Dorman says. He suggests highlighting a nice tree. The lights will make it look great even in the winter, when it’s bare. Lighting walkways and structures or adding colored lights to a water feature also can add allure, according to Paulen. King suggests putting lights around a fireplace to draw attention to it and emphasize the stonework.

Putting together a plan
If you already have an idea of which types of outdoor spaces you would like to create, it’s time to begin putting together a plan. Before picking out pillow fabrics and tile colors, think about how to arrange the space. King compares designing outdoor rooms to creating a painting—begin with a base color before moving on to the smaller details. “The real key to making a great outdoor space is how the space relates from the inside of the house out, and how the outdoor spaces relate to each other,” he says. Thus, planning outdoor rooms begins inside. Look through your windows and consider the views you will create. Remember, you will see the space from inside even when you are not using it.

The first step should be the layout. Make sure everything is functional. For example, if you are including a kitchen, keep it close to the house in order to simplify electrical and plumbing needs. Additionally, if you do need to run plumbing to one or two of your new outdoor spaces, it’s best if you know that up front, so the pipes can be put in before the stonework is laid.

Every outdoor room should have a good focal point. This can be anything from a fireplace to a nice patio set or a pond. “You don’t want to make it too busy,” Dorman says. Outdoor rooms are similar to indoor rooms in that respect. The entire area should flow together stylistically as well as coordinate with the exterior and interior of the house. Each space also should have some sort of entryway, and the arrangement of the dividing elements—
plants, walls, flooring materials or arbors—can be used to create these entryways.

To plan an extravagant outdoor area with multiple rooms, consider enlisting the aid of a landscape architect and a designer. The landscape architect can handle the structural elements and layout, while the designer will fill in the details like furniture and colors. It’s best if they work together to give the entire space a cohesive feel.

As for space requirements, an interesting outdoor room can be placed in a space as small as a courtyard. A modest kitchen with a prefabricated unit can be installed in as few as 4 to 8 feet. But, if you have 900 to 1,200 square feet available, you can really start to get creative and build a variety of areas.

The bottom line
Since outdoor rooms can vary in size and scope, they come in a broad range of prices. If you have an existing space that works well, and you just need to add some elements to turn it into a room (maybe with walls, plants and furniture), you could spend anywhere from nothing at all to $10,000. Starting from scratch? Adding the hardscaping, walls, ceilings, furniture and appliances can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the extent of the project. King recommends thinking of adding outdoor rooms as comparable to adding an actual room to your house.

Increasing living space by going outside does require an investment. However, the new rooms will be worth the price in relaxation, family gatherings and fresh air. They also will add value to your home. By adding more than one room, outdoor living spaces can be used all year long. Between cookouts in the fall, fires in the winter, hot tub time in the spring or enjoying a waterfall in the summer, you’ll find it hard to pull yourself away from your new outdoor home.