It’s one of the major features most in demand for new home construction—outdoor living space! Today’s typical homebuyer is looking for luxury and flexibility during their house plan search, and the range of outdoor living areas available answer the wants and needs of each customer. For some, a simple patio or deck is perfect, because it extends the scope of the home to more naturally connect to its environment. For others, a covered or screened porch is ideal, because it allows people to relax and enjoy fresh air while out of the sun and protected against insects. And for those who enjoy hosting summer barbecues and want to spend as much time outside as possible, an exterior kitchen is an amazing investment. Whether you’re planning for parties or for your own enjoyment on the property of your dreams, we have homes with outdoor living spaces you’ll want to see!
With more than 1,200 house plans in our Outdoor Living House Plan Collection, you’re sure to find something that you love. With representatives of all architectural types and ranging in size from tiny personal cottages to expansive mansions, there is something for every taste and budget. To help get you started, here are some great designs you can find in this collection!
House Plan 9773: A Modern House Made for Nature
At first glance, this brand new plan has a striking contemporary design. The mono-pitched rooflines and uniquely shaped windows support the modern aesthetic, and an open floor plan with split bedrooms carries that atmosphere inside. One of its most noteworthy features is the great room, which is designed with daylighting in mind. There are high windows on three sides of this space to naturally illuminate from above, and folding glass panels form an entire wall that opens to the back terrace. Interior photos show this off very well; you immediately notice just how much this house places a focus on its surroundings. Even sitting inside, you’ll feel a connection to your environment. If you love your land and appreciate this architectural style, you’re lucky to have found this special home!
The outdoor living areas of House Plan 9773 only serve to further its emphasis on its property. Not only does the great room have a big and breezy entrance to the covered portion of the back terrace, but the master bedroom has its own door to the open side. The eave overhanging the folding glass wall provides shelter from the sun and rain, so you can enjoy it in more kinds of weather. There’s also a dedicated grill space, making it just perfect for the summer cookout season. Outfit this back yard living area with some furniture for lounging in the sun and shade, and you’ll definitely find yourself gravitating toward it.
House Plan 3238: A Compact Home with a Porch for Kicking Back
For those who don’t need a lot of space but insist their home still has a particularly desirable design, House Plan 3238 is a great choice. With a master suite, one secondary bedroom, an island kitchen with plenty of counter space, and a two-car garage, this home delivers just what many young professionals and empty-nesters need. Of course, there’s a lot more to it—be sure to consider this efficient little Craftsman if you want to live large in style!
It’s rare to find an outdoor fireplace in such a small home, but it is integrated naturally in this example. The architect actually envisioned a see-through fireplace that can be viewed from both the vaulted great room and the covered patio, providing ambiance and options that still fit into a small footprint. Large windows on either side of this fixture ensure that you still can see the back yard clearly. Doors to the patio can be found through the den and dining nook, flanking it to create a perfectly symmetrical exterior. This is a fantastic place to relax alone or with a couple friends, and it’s novel in that it’s attached to a home that can fit just about anywhere. If you decide to build in a densely developed area, you can enjoy the privacy of the back patio or watch the hustling world go by from the front covered porch—the choice is yours!
House Plan 8292: A French Country Home with Outdoor Kitchen
A luxury plan with a ton of extras, you’ll find that this refined home is an amazing union of traditional architecture and modern desires. Among other features, House Plan 8292 boasts secondary bedrooms with walk-in closets and a Jack and Jill bathroom as well as a huge laundry room with a closet, folding counters, and a sewing station. Its front entrance clearly draws inspiration from quaint European courtyards, but you’ll find that the outdoor kitchen out back is truly something to behold.
Accessed through the folding glass walls of the dining room, the outdoor kitchen entices you when the weather is right. This area is covered and has enough room for seating, but you can host a dinner party in style with a table on the adjacent patio. The kitchen includes a sink and cabinets for all of your storage needs, so you don’t have to venture inside for anything. There’s a fireplace to draw the eye, and a spot for a grill beside it that is open to provide proper ventilation. With the right exterior design, complementing the regal nature of the house with furnishings that set the stage for a relaxed yet classy dining experience, you can really make this space special. Be sure to look at the plan page to see all the pictures we have of this outdoor living area, fully finished!
House Plan 3824: The Perfect Mountain Getaway Home
With a dramatic A-frame shape with all the best features of the style, including vaulted ceilings and large windows, this plan is already an attention-grabber. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms are neatly packaged into a modest amount of square footage, so it would make a perfect second home or even a primary residence for a small family who really wants an attachment to their environment. House Plan 3824 goes above and beyond with its inclusion of four separate outdoor living areas, and each one serves a different purpose to create a totally well-rounded residence.
The main floor has three points of entry: the covered main entrance porch, a screened porch that attaches to the kitchen, and sliding glass doors that connect the vaulted great room to the expansive deck outside. Inspect the floor plan and you’ll notice that each porch has something special to offer; in front, there’s a standalone shower so you can clean off before coming inside, and in back, the screened porch comes barbecue-ready. The deck is spacious enough to host a gathering and offers direct access to fresh air and sun without really having to leave the comfort of house itself. Finally, the upstairs bedroom suite has a private deck that provides a great place to unwind, rounding out this plan with an amazing mix of indoor and outdoor living areas.
House Plan 4445: A Popular Home for Both Sloped and Flat Lots
One of our top-selling plans, it’s no wonder so many people love this home! With a subtle Craftsman exterior, open floor plan, split bedroom ranch layout with a luxurious master suite and two secondary bedroom suites, bonus areas above the great room and garage, and ENERGY STAR® approval, there are plenty of reasons that this house gets noticed. The frontage is beautiful and inviting on its own, but it’s what’s behind that really causes jaws to drop—and it can be finished multiple ways to fit the land that it’s built on!
House Plan 4445 is a great choice if you have natural property to admire, and thanks to having four foundation options, we have seen it built multiple ways with great success. The main floor plan shows four distinct outdoor areas at the rear of the house: a covered patio, grilling terrace, covered porch, and patio with optional fireplace. All three bedrooms and the dining and great rooms have direct access to one of these spaces, so you’ll find that this home caters perfectly to an outdoorsy family, but you can also easily pick and choose if you don’t want them all, and simply modify the plan to include walls and windows instead of doors. How these open-air living areas present varies greatly by the grade of the land where it’s built, but each one is amazingly beautiful, functional, and perfect for whatever the land has to offer.
On level lots, this home allows you to effortlessly enjoy natural surroundings in a laidback transitional space. A comfortable, breezy living room can be constructed between the great room and the great outdoors,and it makes a fantastic seasonal getaway at your own home. When built on a sloping lot with a walk-out basement,the resulting deck is breathtaking; spanning the entire width of the house and providing an amazing vantage point, it is definitely a conversation starter on its own, but it also allows you to lay a patio at ground level and creates even more space to utilize. Pair this with plenty of windows and you’ll definitely be tempted to finish that basement to make the most of the entire house!