In these times when the costs of building make large houses extremely expensive, there is a way to extend your living area and that is to use your outdoor space to full advantage. There are many contemporary houses that have made many a room appear larger by visually extending it into the lawn or garden. This has been achieved through the use of tricks such as glass walls, continuing the use of a wall material inside and out on a terrace and doing the same for the ceiling. With such techniques it is now possible to have your living room, dining room and even the bedrooms in the house flow right outdoors on to decks of wood that appear to "float" , terraces constructed of brick or cement blocks or lattice roofs.

Whichever method you choose for your home, using vines, fences and shrubbery as well as shade trees and flowers can create an area that is both a delight to the senses and a very practical place for entertaining and relaxing. When you add a barbecue, another dimension is created, as having your very own fireplace or barbecue on the terrace, lawn or spot in the garden can transform it into an enchanted area for dining under sun and stars. When you are planning your terrace, you should consider installing an electric outlet to allow for lighting, a portable radio or stereo system, or an electric spit for your barbecue, etc. If you use vines for a lattice roof such as grape vines, you will have the advantage of shade in the hotter parts of the year and when the sun is low in the sky, the deciduous nature of the grape vine will allow welcome sun to pour in. The fruit is another added bonus. Whichever vine you choose, it should be a fast growing one such as the grape, wisteria or gourd vine.

Connect your terrace to the rest of your grounds by growing flowering plants and vines in pots, baskets and tubs. You can also soften the line of bare walls, cement slabs or paving with the careful arrangement of pots of plants. Dwarf trees growing in pots in a sunny position on the terrace and flowering shrubs in a retaining wall around the terrace add to the effect. Changes of level will add interest as will flower beds around trees, steps and walls.

For a house with young children, the terrace where everybody in the family assembles should contain a play space such as a sand box which can later be filled with plants, or a little square pool for sailing small boats. This latter example can be converted to a luxurious water feature when the children have grown. Trees need not be the only source of shade: the construction of a "self-bracing" terrace roof, extended from the side of the house and using wood, masonry or metal pillars as the supports, is an excellent way to create shade. Corrugated plastic and reinforced glass as roofing materials are in frequent use nowadays because they are watertight, yet let the sunlight through.

Being used more and more in architecture - particularly in hotter climates - is a structure known as the "parasol" roof usually extending from the walls of the house 4 feet or more to give pleasant welcome shade to the surrounding area. The planting of grass that can cope with the shade under the "parasol" roof helps to maintain a comfortably cool temperature range inside the house as it does not reflect heat and cause glare.

The accessibility of an outdoor living space will often increase its use. Converting a window in a living room to a French door will make it more natural to step right out on the terrace instead of having to walk around the house to reach it. A terrace that is an extension of a narrow porch in the form of a paved area next to the porch will ensure that the porch is much more livable. A flagstone path-or any other path- that leads directly to a terrace away from the house will increase the usefulness of the terrace and makes it more inviting. Some kind of hard flooring is of prime importance in making the terrace area or other outdoor area more usable. Examples of these hard surfaces include bricks, flagstones, cement slab and crushed, compacted rock. The hard surface allows for easier movement of furniture and other heavy objects and means that lawn is not tramped down and compacted. A terrace located in an area where you are having difficulty establishing a lawn can be a solution to the problem.

A successful outdoor living space is one that is sheltered. For instance, stone patios that are tucked away from street noises and traffic, from the neighbors and from the wind are perfect examples of calming and relaxing living spaces. An otherwise unused corner of the house or the garage, with the aid of fences and walls, can be transformed into a sun trap that will stretch out the season for out-door living both in spring and fall. Fences or structures made from louvered board, a basket-weave or lattice, a modern wall made from cement, or brick pavers, are all aesthetically pleasing backgrounds for planting and also act as good screens against wind and other natural elements.