Indoor comforts create outdoor rooms for all seasons

• ‘Transterior’ trend brings the outside inside
• Buyers willing to travel for Great Australian Dream
• Advice: What should come first – house or kids?

Australian backyards may have shrunk over recent years, but what they’ve lost in square metres they’ve more than gained in all-weather usability thanks to the prevalence of covered outdoor entertaining areas.

Morphing from low-key pergolas into substantial extensions of the internal roof space or free-standing pavilions and cabanas, outdoor living spaces now often come with built-in lighting, fans, overhead heating or a fireplace, custom seating and outdoor kitchen equipment.

Award-winning landscape designer Ian Barker from Ian Barker Gardens says covering these spaces enhances their appeal.

“An outdoor pavilion allows us to extend the usability of space throughout the year,” he says.

“In the best-case scenario, if designed well, it can also be used as a three-dimensional sculptural element of the garden.”

In Sydney, outdoor living and entertaining areas such as those of Bellevue Hill character home Chalfont are sought after for their flexibility in any season.

A covered terrace adjoins the family room of the 18 Rivers Street property, which BradfieldCleary Double Bay agent Bob Guth says creates an all-weather additional room for everyday living and entertaining.

“So much more of the entertaining we do today is done on a casual basis, we host a lot more barbecues than dinner parties,” Guth says.

“I think a covered outdoor space is really a prerequisite if you’re offering the quintessential family home.”

One of the latest buzzwords in home design – “transterior” – describes a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor spaces.

“It’s all about bringing the indoors outside, and the outdoors in,” says award-winning landscape gardener and TV star Jamie Durie.

“We want a much more symbiotic outcome, where buildings are more sympathetic to the landscape outside, and vice versa.”

In one of Toorak‘s most coveted streets, a 1930s house has undergone a meticulous renovation that combines indoor and outdoor living space to great effect, thanks to the expertise of its owner.

The 10 Evans Court property is the home base of architect Leigh Ratcliffe, who has designed some of the country’s most impressive resorts including Palm Cove village and the Sheraton Mirage at Port Douglas.

“Leigh Ratcliffe is the master of creating outdoor spaces that become extensions of the indoor living spaces,” says agent Ada Taylor, of RT Edgar Toorak.

The north-facing loggia has built-in seating, fireplace and barbecue overlooking a lawn bordered by established greenery. There is also a heated pool conservatory enjoying the garden vista.

In the western suburbs of Perth, century-old timber beams rescued from Sydney’s Woolloomooloo Wharf have travelled thousands of kilometres to become a key feature of a Claremont home.

The 28 Walter Street property has not one, but two spaces dedicated to outdoor entertaining – a big deck with a retractable roof as well as a poolside cabana.

There’s also a cubby house and a pool garden area described by agent Mack Hall, of Mack Hall Real Estate, as “the best we’ve seen”.

In Queensland, where the climate is ideal for being outdoors, many luxury waterfront homes in suburbs such as Sanctuary Cove have commercial pontoons and deepwater moorings, adding a new dimension to the outdoors lifestyle.

The house at 8081 Riverside Drive also has a pool and spa, a covered terrace and an outdoor kitchen.

“In Queensland we spend so much of our time outside and this property has multiple entertaining areas to make hosting a breeze,” says agent Nikki Dunlop, of Harcourts Coastal Hope Island.