Entertaining Outbuildings

Relish a night out without worrying about traffic, rude service, or whose turn it is to be the designated driver. Designate a building in the backyard instead, like the ones on these pages, for a change of scenery and a daily escape. Custom home pros add that there are design benefits as well with the separation of home and leisure such as structural freedom, framing views, and transforming unused yards into cozy piazzas. “Little jewel boxes with an incredible amount of detail,” says architect Eric Logan of well-done outbuildings.

Slot Play What began as a basic screened porch addition progressed into artful ecology in this Bethesda, Md., backyard. The clients wanted the porch to be next to their kitchen, but architect Rick Schneider worried it would block too much of the home’s natural light. His suggestion was to pull the porch away from the house, raise it up on stilts (less harmful to surrounding trees) and create a freestanding structure connected by a deck. “We reversed the usual order,” says Schneider. “Now we have a deck that’s a nice courtyard space, and the porch can be treated as a separate architectural object. That also allowed us to have more fun and play around with a more modern design.”

This porch celebrates its purpose as a place to enjoy the outdoors with protection from bugs and rain. A steel and canvas canopy roof makes obvious its intent to collect rainwater for surrounding gardens. FSC-certified cedar boards generate three levels of transparency corresponding to the desired privacy on each elevation. Open screens face the house while a combination of louvers and slotted planks face garage and neighbors. An operable awning makes a blithe reference to beachfront food stands and creates a serving station for either deck or porch dining. Interior porch perks include a built-in bench and kids-only platform. Builder: DMI, Deborah Magono, Bethesda, Md.; Architect: Inscape Studio, Washington, D.C.; Photographer: Redmond Architectural Photography.

Cask of Thousands What do you build for the client who has everything? A 2,500-bottle wine silo with a covered roof deck for sipping and sunset watching should suffice. “The silo goes with the other agricultural forms we’d designed on [the clients’] compound,” says architect Eric Logan. Plus, the property lies in Wyoming’s Snake River floodplain, so underground storage was impossible.

Oxidized steel panels on the exterior will rust and patina into shades of reds and browns that will blend into the wide-open spaces around it. The reclaimed fir interior-in-the-round conjures an aging cask. Vertical fins provide support for the spiral staircase, an upper landing, the roof deck, and custom wine racks. Steel accents along with the wine bottles and stemware add sparkle. Sandwiched between steel and fir are lightweight concrete and rebar walls insulated with 10-inch-thick foam. “We basically built a giant cooler,” says Logan, “then suspended the steel panels as a skin.” Builder: Bontecou Construction, Jackson, Wyo.; Architect: Carney Architects, Jackson; Structural engineer: KL+A, Golden, Colo.; Mechanical engineer: CN Engineers, Jackson; Millwork: Spearhead Timberworks, Canada; Lighting: Dave Nelson & Associates, Boulder, Colo.; Design team and photographer: Jeff Lawrence, Carney Architects.

Lounge-n-Lodge “We use it to have drinks before dinner, so it really is like our own lounge,” says Eric Logan of the pavilion behind his house that’s used to entertain, accommodate overnight guests, and work at home. A basic shed form executed in glass, steel, and rough-sawn cedar belies sophisticated details. Thin steel columns support long narrow rafters that in turn support a roof with a deep overhang. Extending out into the sagebrush, a floating cedar deck reaches 40 feet toward the Tetons. “We call it the plank,” Logan chuckles. “You literally walk the plank and sit in the landscape.”

A single airy volume has boxes tacked on for entry, bath, mechanical, woodstove chimney, and library. Exterior materials are left to weather naturally, but “inside is a much more refined palette,” says Logan. Polished concrete floors, blackened steel counters and wall panels, and exposed galvanized roof decking are warmed up with clear-sealed MDF cabinetry. Builder: Precision Builders, Jackson, Wyo.; Architect: Eric Logan, Jackson; Structural engineer: KL+A, Golden, Colo.; Photographer: Greg Hursley.