The Outdoor Room

“You have to be careful about spas,” Dahlmeir adds. “Ninety-nine percent of the spas that are sold in the Twin Cities area are appropriate for our conditions, but you should always ask. And you need to be careful about refrigerators. There are some upper-end appliance places in the area that carry appliances made for the outdoors year-round.”

Water lines for ice makers and sinks can be disconnected during the cold weather, or simply run through an insulated wall of the house. Televisions and other sensitive electronics need to be sealed inside dry, heated enclosures.

In summertime, citronella candles, insect-repelling plants, or special mulches can help deter mosquitoes, says Jim Bever, Jr., designer at Bever Landscaping, Inc., in Lino Lakes. But the best —and perhaps most stylish—way is to hang mesh curtains or to build screened porches.

Removable netting is extremely versatile and can be part of any covered space. Alternately, a permanently screened porch can be one of several outdoor rooms. “This is one of the ways people are developing progressions of space for entertaining in Minnesota,” says Lisa Peck, partner at Pisa Design, Inc., an interior design firm in Minneapolis. ”You might have a screened porch, then a covered terrace, then an uncovered terrace, and then green space with pathways and furniture. The screened porch is used most when the mosquitoes are really bad, and the covered terrace is used most when it’s sunny out. There is a large variety of outdoor spaces and a large variety of ways people are using them.”

Creating Comfort

In recent years, furniture and textile manufacturers have noted the trend toward outdoor rooms and have stepped up to the plate with durable new product lines. The new outdoor décor looks more as if it belongs indoors; it has little, if anything, in common with the awning-striped vinyl chaises of the past. New fabrics are weather resistant, yet are so soft and stylish that some designers have used them indoors. All-weather trims, tassels, and fringes help designers complete the look.

This shift has allowed designers to create a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor living spaces. “You are pulling some of the elements, whether it be colors or textures, from the indoor to the outdoor environment,” Dahlmeir says. “You are starting to see people hanging curtains in their arbors and pergolas. And it’s not only fabrics, but also the other materials. The metals are finished, and the manufacturers use woods such as teak [known for its weather resistance]. You pay a little bit more, but it’s something you don’t have to replace every five years.”

A new kind of polyethylene fiber material, sold under the trade name Hularo, can be used to construct beautiful wicker-look furniture, yet it’s impervious to sun, rain, and chemicals. It’s a popular choice for both dining and lounge seating, and can be left outside with impunity.

Where there are diners, there’s food. Here, too, manufacturers have responded with high-end wares. “We are doing a lot of unique, very detailed outdoor kitchen barbecue areas,” Bush says. “They have granite countertops, stainless-steel sinks, wood-burning fireplaces, pizza ovens. They’re like an outdoor kitchen buffet, but they’ve got masonry walls with stone ledge shelves for the dishes and stainless-steel cabinets below.”