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Design Dilemma: Living Outdoors in the Middle of the City

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One month into Spring, we’re already thinking about spending more days out in the sun. But have you thought about making the outdoors an essential part of your home? One couple in Barcelona did, taking an old unused terrace and transforming it into a vital part of their homes.

This is what the terrace looked like before:

The apartment is only 517 square feet but its terrace is nearly twice that size at 753 square feet. The sheer size of the terrace in comparison with the size of the apartment, made it imperative for the owners to make use of all that space. Since the apartment is located in the sunny city of Barcelona, it’s possible to use it nearly year round making this renovation of $118,000 truly a great value.

Here’s another before picture:

And here are some after shots:

And here:

One of the biggest feats of the renovation involved lowering the terrace floor so that it would be at the same level of the apartment floor inside. Just this part of the job cost the couple nearly $12,000. But lowering the floor made a big difference, because it allowed the terrace to blend seamlessly with the apartment. A new sliding glass door out to the terrace dining area makes it easy to carry trays and plates from the kitchen.

The couple eats almost all their meals outside. They erected a pergola to protect them from the sun in the hottest summer months. Protective curtains allow them to linger on the terrace as long as they like.

The living area of the terrace also functions as a workspace. A small kitchen garden, below, includes a lemon tree, strawberries, cacti, geraniums, lavender, mint and other aromatic herbs for cooking.

And here’s a view of the apartment’s interior:

And here:

It’s easy to see just how essential the terrace is to the functionality and feeling of the apartment itself.

Here’s a view from the bedroom.

And another view from the living room:

Kudos to this couple for nearly doubling their apartment space, making for wonderful indoor/outdoor living!