Decorating & Design
10 Incredible Indoor-Outdoor Spaces From The H&H Archives
Updated on June 11, 2025
Creating a designated place to bridge the indoor-outdoor divide invites you to linger outside a little longer, no matter the season. From fabulous screened-in porches to cozy covered patios, these breezy rooms offer the best of both worlds. Get inspired by these incredible indoor-outdoor spaces from our archives below!
Designer Sarah Richardson and her family enjoy dinner with a lakeside view on their screened porch in Georgian Bay. “We took out the wall that separated the screened porch from the kitchen,” says Sarah, who also upgraded the porch with a fresh coat of paint on the walls and floor.
Creating a lounge area in a boathouse is a great way to take in the outdoors, while being sheltered from the rain or blazing sun. This one designed by Lisa Worth has an appropriately nautical vibe with rope-detail sofas.
This screened-in porch leads right to the dock of Cory DeFrancisco’s Muskoka cottage. Custom louvred shutters, made by Muskoka Living, keep the southwest-facing porch cool.
In this Bowen Island cabin, a giant 4 x 7 ft. cafe-style window swings open to the outside, offering a place for the homeowners to cook with a view. Outside, a 28″ counter outside feels like a resort bar. “It creates a seamless indoor-outdoor moment for easy outdoor entertaining,” says designer Jocelyn Ross.
Most summer afternoons, you’ll find homeowner David Morris in the Muskoka room of his cottage on the Joseph River, sunk into the L-shaped sectional listening to the water lap against the dock. The retractable screen allows him to enjoy the fresh air while warding off pests.
Floor-to-ceiling glass doors flood this great room — by Canadian designer Cory DeFrancisco — with natural light. The designer brought the outdoors in for a style that’s refined yet casual.
Every vantage point is special in landscape designer George Coito’s magnificent Oakville house, which perfectly blends indoor and outdoor living. “That connection is part of our design ethos,” says architect and interior designer Vanessa Fong. “It’s about human health and wellness, and how a building can make you feel both physically and psychologically connected to the landscape.”
At this lakehouse, an entire wall can be opened up to combine the dining room with the screened-in porch. Glass panels appear almost invisible, giving you an unobstructed view of Lake Huron.
This lakeside living room gives cottagers a break from the sunshine without having to head indoors. The L-shaped couch and surrounding lounge chairs can accommodate a crowd.
Here, a wood-panelled ceiling extends beyond the living room and onto a porch. When the glass doors are open, the two spaces become one, creating indoor-outdoor flow.