For generations, a house set smack in the middle of an open field has been part of our collective image of the American home. It conjures up the old family farm and the pioneer house on the prairie. It speaks to our romantic notions of rugged individualism and family solidarity.
Unfortunately, in 21st-century America that image often doesn’t translate into a practical or pleasant reality. Especially in the outer suburban rings of most American cities, you’ll find a sea of houses, each sitting forlornly in the middle of a featureless, functionless lot. The houses often bear no relationship to the ground they sit on or to neighboring houses, and the yards offer no shelter or delight to their owners. Sadly, you’ll rarely see people outside enjoying their land.
What a waste. These homeowners aren’t realizing the full value of their property. That expensive ground could do so much more for them than simply distancing their house from the neighbors. In fact, in the hands of a deft design team, the site could expand a home’s living space with functional outdoor rooms, provide recreational facilities for the family, improve the views from interior rooms, and offer a much better buffer from the neighbors. Fortunately, many custom home pros have begun to realize that the home doesn’t stop at the outer walls of the house, but rather encompasses the whole site. They are expanding our idea of what a home is and they are giving us a new image of what the American home can be.
