Indoor / Outdoor Living has become a hot item in recent years.

When I first came to Costa Rica I was entranced by the Indoor / Outdoor living concept.

While we were building Geckoes Lodge, we rented a house nearby and our living and eating space was a large open veranda. I loved feeling as if I was outside with all the comforts of inside!

Hummingbirds passed over the table at breakfast and instead of looking out of a window I could touch the bougainvillea and smell the jasmine nearby. It gives a great sense of freedom and your house seems larger and brighter.

So of course once we started designing and building Geckoes Lodge, Indoor / Outdoor Living spaces were a priority. Here’s the living area at Casa del Bosque and yes, the hummingbirds do regular fly-throughs!

http://www.geckoeslodge.com/casa-del-bosque/

One of the major pluses of Indoor / Outdoor Living is the connection with what’s around you. At Geckoes Lodge we are lucky to be surrounded by a mass of nature and beautiful gardens. With an Indoor / Outdoor living situation the difference between Indoor and Outdoor becomes blurred and so you feel as if you’re part of the whole rather than shut away from it.

http://www.geckoeslodge.com/casa-bromelia/

We chose to enclose the bedrooms and bathrooms for privacy reasons. But we are lucky enough to have lots of space between our houses so when guests are in their open living rooms they still have plenty of privacy.

Some guests are initially concerned about an Indoor / Outdoor living space with regard to bugs, mosquitoes or even a random rainforest critter!

But the reality of Indoor / Outdoor living is that because there is so much openness bugs do not get stuck inside. We have far less problems with mosquitoes here in the rainforest than we did in our house in Holland!

Animals entering the houses has never been an issue. The only culprits are the odd Opossum who may steal a banana in the night. So we just put the fruit away so the Opossums can’t smell it and stay in their own houses.

In this climate Indoor / Outdoor living is sublime… you have shade, breeze and an uninterrupted view of wildlife in stunning rainforest surroundings.

I cannot imagine going back to four walls and windows now. Wherever we end up it will be sure to include a large Indoor / Outdoor living space and I know that will be my favourite space!

http://www.geckoeslodge.com/wildlife-week/