Design Mind.

Outdoor spaces need just as much intentionality as those indoors. Here are Chris and Peter M.’s top five tips for designing in the great outdoors.

1. INNER CONNECTION. The house is just another object in the garden. “Look for ways to connect your house geometries with the surrounding geometries found in nature,” Chris says. “For example, we often echo the angle of the river in our pool edges.”

2. EXPOSED TO THE ELEMENTS. If you want more outdoor space, consider a finely crushed firm gravel underfoot and palms overhead, or whatever tree canopy you might already have, to create another room. “Add café lights and you are all set.”

3. BRING THE INDOORS OUT. Use your outside spaces as you would your interior spaces, especially for a special evening. Your best dinnerware, pillows, throws, candles all make an outdoor space feel like a comfortable room and are easy to bring back inside at the end of the night.

4. PREVENTIVE MEASURES. Peter M. says, “Use a small fan on the floor to blow away pesky ankle-biting insects at dusk … it is more effective than a ceiling fan.”

5. CONSISTENT STATEMENT. Consider using the same materials inside and out. For example, a shellstone floor patinates beautifully outside and easily hides sand tracked in and other imperfections inside.

THE DETAILS OF DESIGN

Before the advent of cars, architects in Tequesta considered the side facing the river to be the front of the home as people would pass by in boats. Now, however, there is traffic from both the river and streets to consider when building. “The design acknowledges that there is something public about both sides,” Chris says. “One is aquatically public while the other is civilly public.”The designers sought to create an exterior that, whether you are viewing it from the street or the water, will make you feel as though you are facing the front of the home and that is welcomingly stylish. Gables, simple forms and shed roof lines on the two-story home create a beguiling exterior, no matter where you view it from—and integrate the residence with its environment. “The metal roof and stucco masonry are a climate-conscious way of building,” architect Peter M. says, “particularly since this area gets hurricanes.”The color scheme was selected as a way to highlight the design and blend the home with the terrain. The paint color doesn’t compete with the water or the surrounding landscape and lets the shapes and forms of the home truly take center stage. “We wanted the design to take in the surrounding environment,” homeowner Ellen says. “And it does that.”

COOKING SOMETHING UP. Double-arched openings create two ways to enter the kitchen, while cabinets ring the perimeter from floor to ceiling. Nothing interferes with the movement of the homeowners as they move through the kitchen—in fact, they can pass along the sides easily while enjoying the ribbon of windows along the wall.

|ABOVE LEFT| POOLSIDE. Water is a big part of the design—from the views of the river to the pool situated behind the house. Its movement and sheen add a unique textural element only found in nature. “The edge of the pool is aligned with the river. The two bodies of water have a relationship,” Peter M. says. |ABOVE RIGHT| ORANGEADE. An orange door marks the entry to the home and is uniquely located to the side of the concrete walls