Open House

When the sliding doors are fully open, it’s time for a party in this Orlando, Fla., home. The living room, kitchen, terrace, and pool combine to become one big, happy, indoor/outdoor space. “It’s a simple plan,” says designer Dan DeLong, but the disappearing walls, among other features, make it anything but ordinary.

That was builder Scott Green’s intention for the courtyard home, his company’s 2003 Orlando Street of Dreams entry—a house that would rise above its featureless suburban lot by generating plenty of internal excitement. Its sedate façade gives away none of the splashy scene on the other side of the front door, but from the moment you step inside, you know this is not a run-of-the-mill house.

Once across the threshold, it’s apparent that both indoor and outdoor rooms provide the living areas of this house. At the heart of the plan is a central open courtyard that contains a pool, spa, terrace, and summer kitchen. The courtyard is wrapped by the house on three sides, and is enclosed on the fourth side by a privacy wall.

With a push of the 10-foot sliding glass panels, the barrier between indoor and outdoor spaces vanishes. The doors glide along tracks in the floor and are concealed in pockets on either side of the indoor/outdoor fireplace and in the living room walls. This was the first time Green had used the doors and found it was critical to make sure the track and the floor were flush and dead level.

The indoor/outdoor illusion holds even when the sliding doors are shut because there are no posts at the corners where the panels meet to close. Travertine floors that flow from the interior out to the pool deck enhance the impression that the courtyard and living areas are one unified space. Drains in the terrace deck are strategically placed to make sure water drains away from the house.

While the main living area merges with the courtyard, it’s not the only room to benefit from the outdoor space. The master suite at the far end of the plan is situated to take in the long view of the pool and has its own poolside deck. And at the front, near the entry, sliding glass doors open a billiards room to the courtyard for more indoor/outdoor fun.

Project Credits: Builder: Castleworks Inc., Orlando, Fla.; Architectural design: Origins Designs, Orlando; Landscape architect: Redmon Design Co., Maitland, Fla.; Pool builder: Tropical Pools & Spas, Winter Park, Fla.; Interior designer: Susan P. Berry, Orlando; Photographer: Everett & Soule; Illustration: Rick Vitullo.