Farren Architects

A look at how carefully considered outdoor spaces are becoming essential parts of the home. From covered terraces and garden rooms to outdoor kitchens and sunken lounges, we explore how architecture can extend beyond walls, creating spaces that are lived in, and deeply connected to their setting.

In recent years, we have noticed a shift in how clients think about their homes. Increasingly, we are asked to design outdoor spaces as meaningful parts of the home — spaces that are lived in and used every day, spaces that extend the brief and are integrated into the overall design.

These outdoor spaces reflect how our clients want to live, and how we build in response to climate and context. From sheltering from wind and rain to catching the evening sun, each space is carefully shaped to offer comfort, connection and longevity — enduring, thoughtful and grounded in place.

Spaces to cook, eat, work, gather or simply take in the view. Protected, purposeful and beautifully considered.

*Boutique Meadows outdoor space designed for year-round use — warmth, privacy and a sense of retreat.*

At Farren Architects, we believe that a home can extend beyond its walls, shaped by the site’s natural contours, the quality of the light, the privacy of a courtyard, and the quiet reach of a view.

*Olive’s view outdoor room has uninterrupted views over the Lough and beyond*

We have designed elevated garden rooms and workspaces nestled among trees. Covered terraces anchored by fireplaces. Outdoor kitchens that flow from the heart of the home. Balconies, sunken lounges, dining spaces carved into the slope of a hill. Some open to the sky, others sheltered and enclosed. Each one carefully attuned to its setting and to the life that will unfold there.

*Inverfoyle House Garden Room doubles as a workspace and a place to pause — fully glazed and fully immersed in its setting.*

Through a careful and considered design approach, we work with both client and climate to create spaces that feel good to be in. These spaces offer shelter, connection and calm throughout the year.

*A private courtyard shaped for stillness — sheltered, soft and connected to the home from within.*

These outdoor rooms are part of the design from the beginning. Designed with the same care, warmth and clarity of materials as the interiors, they create a transition from building to landscape, from inside to outside.

*A covered terrace anchored by a chimney — part outdoor room, part quiet gathering space.*

For many of our clients, these are the spaces where life quietly happens: morning coffee, late evening fires, time spent with family, or moments of solitude. More than ever, people are asking us to design for these moments. We respond by shaping homes that connect them to the surrounding landscape, and that support a way of living that values space, light and rhythm.

*A first-floor balcony designed to capture light, view and a sense of openness — without losing intimacy.*

In shaping these spaces, we create homes where inside and outside are in quiet dialogue; places where life naturally extends beyond walls.

‍

FARREN

ARCHITECTS

Living Beyond Walls: Outdoor Living Spaces in Contemporary Homes