The best terrace design options for your home

The history of the creation of the first terrace originates in Persia. Moreover, the story began there as a word, and at the very construction.

The terrace has a literal translation, defined as a gallery or portico.
In Russia for the first time the veranda appeared in the XIX century under Peter I. They were built for meetings of guests, for unhurried evening conversations, and also for pleasant leisure activities. Then it was the veranda that was the most visited place in the whole house – here they read books, played table games and spent time thinking about the meaning of being.

This part of the interior has never changed its purpose. Yes, in due course structural features changed: glazing, frame construction, applied building materials, but the original idea remained the same: it replaced the summer rest room. Eventually, however, it became functional in the winter – but before that, a whole century had passed before new building materials, insulation methods and double-glazed windows appeared that did not allow heat to pass through.

The construction of the veranda is a rather simple process. This is a wooden (often) extension to one of the exits of the house. By the way, she may not have doors leading directly into the house. Entrance is only one – from the street. But this is very inconvenient. If the room is insulated and has its own heating system, it is logical to make an entrance from the house – so you do not have to throw a jacket in order to get into it from home. In addition, in order to go to the terrace, you have to leave the house and go into the extension. Much more convenient if the additional premises will have two outputs: on the street and in the house.

By the way, a convenient place can be done near the apartment building. But this is only possible for residents of the first floors. We make a door in the window opening, and in the street we build our nice terrace. If the house is slightly elevated above the ground, then it is necessary to build it on screw piles. This is a kind of foundation that will lift the structure above the ground. Fortunately, its weight is rather small, if the extension is made of wood, so you can do without a ribbon foundation.

Types of terraces

Verandas can be both open and closed.
The first do not have walls in the normal sense. These are replaced by a small fence installed along the perimeter. The remaining space is best decorated with grapes or ivy – they will not let insects fly to the veranda in the summer and annoy their intrusive presence. Such verandas are much cheaper than terraces of a closed type.

The second – this is a more serious construction, the construction of which uses windows. If you make the frames single, the heat will quickly evaporate, and you can only use this veranda in the spring-summer-autumn period. In winter, yes by and large, and in the summer it will be very problematic. In the cold season, it will be too cold, and in the summer – it’s stuffy.

Much more interesting are verandas with double or triple windows. They can spend leisure all year round. But, they require additional waste on their insulation. Otherwise, making verandas with double windows is meaningless.

As you can see, there are two types of terraces: open and closed. The first will be reasonable to build where you are in seasons: in cottages. The latter look much more promising, but they require additional investments.

If open terraces can be built almost for free: from old boards brought from the disassembly of the house, then for the second, certain investments are needed. But they are completely justified. This veranda will be able to shelter you not only in the warm season, but also will allow you to rest there in the winter. Yes, though the New Year there celebrate: the building will allow you to do it. And the unusual place of the holiday and the view of the snow-covered land opening from the windows, will make it truly unforgettable!

How to decorate a terrace

The appearance of the veranda, as a rule, is dictated by its functional purpose. To make the terrace cozy, you need to consider some of the features of its arrangement:

• The whole family should participate in the design. The verandah is a resting place and it is necessary that everyone there is well and cozy;

• Collect the veranda from the same building material as the house itself. If the house is wooden, then you need to collect the verandah from the tree. If the house is built of brick or cinder block, it will be fine if the verandah is built of them. Thus, they can complement each other and look together more organically;

• The terrace must be filled with sunlight. Therefore, when constructing a closed-type veranda, be concerned that it has many large windows. In the case of an open veranda, you also do not need to make the walls deaf. Better, just put piles that will support the roof, and in the openings let some curling plant;

• The terrace should not be out of the picture of the surroundings. The veranda in the style of high-tech in the village will look not just inappropriate, but simply ugly. The same can be said about the neighborhood of a small wooden terrace with a huge three-story mansion. This neighborhood will be ridiculous;

• For the arrangement of an open veranda, folding furniture is used. In our turbulent times it is better to bring furniture to the house for the winter. Do it with a massive soft corner will be quite difficult. But lightweight folding furniture – is nowhere easier;

• Do not forget about the heating for the winter veranda. It can be a banal “burzhuyka” or a luxurious fireplace. Also, if your house has its own heating system, you can take one or two radiators to the veranda or use an oil heater. In any case, whatever it was, the heating system should be;

Several interior solutions for terraces

Terraces can be issued in a variety of styles. But, the most commonly used are the following:

• Pop Art;
• Traditional;
• British;
• Rustic;
• Glamorous;
• Modern.

These are the most frequently used styles of decorating the inner space of the verandas, which people already like.

Pop Art

Most often this type of terraces is used for arranging children’s spaces. He is characterized by games with the colors of the walls. Also, for registration, you can resort to applying various graffiti. But here it is already important to take into account the opinion of the child: he must select the sketches (under the close attention of the parents, of course). Also. On the walls you will need to hang big posters featuring superheroes or musical performers. Still not bad with images with cars or motorcycles.

As for the space of the room, it needs to be filled with objects of various shapes, sizes and colors. They will create a gaming atmosphere. Also, it would be nice to add a soft corner or a sofa-baby so that the grown-up and tired child could rest. As the items for sitting, it is best to buy soft ottomans or large pillows.

In colors you can not restrain your imagination: the richer it is and the more colorful objects in the room, the better.

Traditional

Also, the traditional design is called cottage. Here, in contrast to pop art, it is best to use rigor and pedantry. No wild colors – just a strictly selected color scheme, which will set the mood of the entire veranda.
Such verandas are ideally suited for the role of working classrooms, when you need to put your thoughts in order and start to think productively. But, you can make a veranda in the traditional style, even when you built it in a purely summer version. In this case, it will save a lot of money and you do not have to buy for decoration many different colors, rugs and interior items.

British style

Here it is best to show all your aristocratic and stylish sides of the soul. Britain is a country of rigor and elegance. Therefore, if it is possible to install an object on a similar terrace, sharply distracting from the general picture of the interior, then it must be one and should not set the style of the whole room.

An excellent solution is to use wicker furniture. Still, the rocking chair is perfect. On it you can indulge in meditations on long winter evenings. On the walls must be present shelves, which are decorated with plates with drawings of hunting and fishing.

The floor must necessarily be made of wood from densely packed boards. Also, pay attention to the fact that the boards should be painted with dark paint. No light floors or varnish coating: only paint, only dark!

Country style

Here everything is very simple: the walls should be wooden, from their coverings, the maximum that is allowed is a varnish coating. On the walls again, there must be shelves, but they need to install jugs, glass bottles and decorate them with towels with national patterns.

As for sex – it must also be wooden. Strong and polished boards are ideal for this role.
Furniture should be extremely simple – benches and so it is better to do by yourself and especially a little carelessly. So you can achieve the effect of “village” on the veranda. As for the sofa and armchairs – they too should be as simple as possible.
On the windows must be present curtains with a simple pattern. Also, tulle will suit perfectly.

Glamorous style

It’s still simpler: a lot of furs, pink shades and different shiny ones!
Let’s start from the walls: they should have wallpaper. Necessarily bright shimmering shades. But without drawings. If they are present, they should be minimal and be red, white, black or yellow.

As for the furniture, it’s still simpler: there are a lot of mirrors, lots of furniture and it should be fanciful. Color is best to take white. On the dressing table you need to put a lot of make-up.

A sofa, like a chair, should not be alone. Must be very soft. Ideally – with a fleecy blanket, imitating wool.
On the floor we put the same “woolen” carpets. They too must be white. On the walls we hang the same shelves, on which we put a lot of different glass ornaments that will shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow.

If you sum up the colors, it’s good advice: make a room in pink and white colors!

Modern style

On the veranda, decorated in a modern style, shelves should not be. But, if they are present, it is best to decorate them with family black and white photographs. Also, it would be nice to put a multimedia photo frame. This tablet, which knows only one thing: flipping downloaded into the memory of photos. It is inexpensive, but the effect of it is huge!

Even on the wall it would be nice to hang a thin modern TV. As an alternative – the same TV on a low massive bedside table.
Now on the floor covering: dark polished or varnished wood. No options! Carpets should not be. Only litter without lint is allowed in front of an armchair, a sofa or under a table. Necessarily light colors and with a minimalistic pattern.

Armchairs and a sofa should be chosen either with a leather or light lint-free coating. They must also be low and massive. The table and chairs should be made of glass and chrome-plated metal.

This type of interior is very beautiful and will appeal to everyone. However, not everyone can afford it, because the interior and equipment will be very expensive!

Before construction

Before you begin building a terrace, be sure to consider the following points:

• Location. Think about where it would be most convenient to build a terrace: from which side of the house and where. Also, if the house does not have a superfluous door, but you are determined to do it, be sure to consider whether it will be convenient to make the door in the room to which the terrace adjoins – whether some household appliances or a closet will block it;

• Dimensions of the terrace. Do not make it too big. For a small family is ideal for a veranda area of ​​3×4 meters. In such dimensions you can accommodate all the necessary furniture and equipment, and the construction of the veranda will not become too expensive. In addition, the verandah should not be more than the house itself. If you do not take this moment into account, then the verandah will look unnatural;

• For flooring, do not buy too expensive tree species. If the veranda is open, then after a few years, under the influence of the sun, wind and rain, the boards will begin to deform. As an alternative, you can advise dried boards from inexpensive wood species or, floor coverings, from materials. Uncontrollable natural damaging factors: artificial stone, ceramic tile or mosaic;

• If you decide to build a veranda without a roof, you will certainly need to pull over the canopy over it. On sunny days it will be possible to hide from the scorching sun, sitting in the shade in a light and pleasant breeze;

• Design. Here everything is very difficult: you can choose as a contrast contrast to the rest of the house, and make the interior of the veranda so that it continues the design ensemble of the interior of the house. But, you can not allow half-measures here, otherwise the veranda will look like a pathetic parody, on the interior of the house itself. If the house is made in the traditional style, then the veranda should be either the same or “glamorous”. If the house has an interior “high-tech”, then it is better to make a veranda in a rustic style or continue “high-tech”.

Building materials for a veranda

The verandah must necessarily be strong. Therefore, for its frame it is impossible to use a beam thinner than 50×50 mm. For the walls of the veranda any board is suitable. Of course, it must be stained and painted or lacquered. The roof is made necessarily one-sided or gable. If you choose a two-slope option, the bevels should go along the wall of the house. As a foundation, you can use, as already mentioned, screw piles – they are inexpensive and are quite capable of keeping the veranda.

When building a stone veranda you can practice your mason’s skills: the construction will not be very difficult, but you will sometimes have to break your head over how to solve this or that controversial moment. By the way, here it will not be possible to get rid of the pile foundation. Have to do a full tape or block. A block foundation is when concrete blocks are poured into the ground, under which small concrete pillows are made. It is much cheaper than a tape, but not so long-lasting. Well, and the veranda is not a two-story house and it will be enough for a block basement.

In addition, it’s good to think over the windows. For a summer verandah single glasses or their complete absence are quite suitable. But, if you build an all-season veranda, it will be good to install double-glazed windows. Buy modern plastic windows is not worth it – it can be too expensive. It is better to look for where the windows are sold from the disassembly of the house. So you can buy quite decent windows at an extremely low cost. The most that you need to do with them is just paint and install.

Now go to the insulation. If the veranda is built of bricks, then this is not worth thinking about. But for a terrace of cinder block or wood, it is worth making a separate insulation. For this, mineral wool or foam plates are perfect. When using the first one, it is necessary to take care of the vapor barrier, so that the mineral wool is not damp and does not lose its thermal insulation properties.

This is an additional waste on the film. When using foam plastic, the joints between the slabs have to be putty. What to choose is up to you. But the second option is less susceptible to harmful external influences. In addition, the foam will never get hold of the mouse. To build burrows in mineral wool is their favorite occupation. So, if you do not have a cat in your house that scares off mice, then it’s worth paying attention to foam or polystyrene plates for insulation. When installing the thermal insulation layer, do not forget about the roof. It is through it that the lion’s share of the body goes.
If you intelligently insulate the roof, you can significantly reduce waste on heating the veranda. Therefore, do not forget about this. Here we already recommend not even looking towards mineral wool. Over time, it begins to crumble and crumble. And to breathe this dust is extremely harmful! Therefore, for insulation of the roof, buy exclusively foam or styrofoam.

The second layer of walls. A heater is stacked between the walls. Therefore, in order to close it from the views of the terrace visitors, one more wall will have to be made. In its quality it will be fine to apply a wooden lining. It has a number of advantages over plastic: it is environmentally friendly material, it looks much more pleasant, the tree does not bend like plastic, besides, a wooden lining can be painted in your favorite color. If you want to decorate the walls with wallpaper, you have to use drywall. But between it and a heater it is also worth making a vapor barrier: some condensate will penetrate the street through the thermal insulation, and if you do not buy moisture-resistant drywall it will end very sadly for the latter!

The result

As you can see, the construction of the veranda is a very simple process, but at the same time it has a whole lot of small nuances that are usually forgotten in the construction and design of the veranda. The main advice that we want to give our readers is that before construction it is necessary to sit down and carefully weigh everything:

• Dimensions of the veranda;
• Building materials from which it will be made;
• Its interior and exterior;
• Warming and heat supply;
• An open or enclosed type will be a terrace;
• Which shape will be the roof;
• Its size;
• And a whole lot of small nuances.

The main thing here is design. Sit down with a pencil and a sheet of paper and think carefully about which one you want to see the future building. Also. It would be nice to involve the whole family, especially children, in this process: as a rule, they put forward the best ideas!

Photogallery – terrace design

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Author: Mikhail Bond

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