When Craig and Emma stepped through the rear sliding doors of their West Pymble home, there wasn't really anywhere to go.
The existing outdoor area was dated and incredibly narrow. A set of steep, rusty stairs led down into the backyard and the space itself was little more than a thoroughfare between the house and the clothesline.
There was no real destination outside. No room for a decent outdoor dining table, nowhere for a BBQ or outdoor kitchen, and certainly nowhere you would naturally sit down with a coffee and stay for a while.
More importantly, there was very little connection between the inside of the home and the backyard. You stepped outside simply because you needed to get somewhere else.
They could see that the opportunity was there. What they couldn't yet see was how to turn such an awkward starting point into an outdoor living space that genuinely worked for their family.
As Craig and Emma began exploring what might be possible, they discovered the project wasn't simply a matter of finding someone to build a deck.
Their home sits within Sydney's leafy northern suburbs and, importantly, within a Bushfire Flame Zone (BAL FZ). That meant the design, materials and approval pathway all needed to be considered together from the beginning.
They spoke with a number of builders and landscapers, but struggled to find someone who could bring all of those pieces together. One conversation might deal with construction, another with landscaping, but they were still left a little confused and how everything would eventually become one finished outdoor space.
That's where the frustration started to creep in.
They didn't just need someone who could build it. They needed someone who could first work out what should be built, make sure it could actually be approved, and then take responsibility for bringing the whole thing together.
When we sat down with Craig and Emma during their Design Consultation, the conversation wasn't just about decking boards and roof sheets.
We wanted to understand how they imagined themselves using the space…and two things kept coming through.
The first was space. They wanted enough room to create more than one outdoor living zone.
Somewhere for a proper dining table where family and friends could gather, but also somewhere less formal where they could sit with the Sunday paper or enjoy a cup of coffee.
The second was flow.
Emma wanted the transition from inside the home to feel natural. Instead of walking through the back door and immediately feeling restricted by a narrow deck, she wanted the home to open into a genuine outdoor living room.
Those two ideas, space and flow, became the foundation for almost every design decision that followed.
There was another important consideration sitting beneath the proposed outdoor room.
A Sydney Water easement ran directly through the area where we wanted to build.
An easement doesn't necessarily mean you can't build your outdoor room, but it does need to be understood early. The location of the pipework influences structural design, footing locations, engineering and the approval process, so it can't simply be dealt with once construction is ready to begin.
For Craig and Emma's project, we designed the floor framing, piers and footings around the easement's zone of influence. The existing pipework within the construction area was then excavated and encased in concrete to provide the required protection.
There was additional planning, documentation, engineering and excavation involved, but the important point for Craig and Emma was that these requirements became part of the overall design and approval process rather than another separate problem for them to solve.
It's one of the reasons we spend so much time understanding a property before finalising a design. The earlier you understand the site's limitations, the better you can design around them.
Sometimes the best design decision is simply asking “What if…”
There were two existing posts which sat directly outside the sliding doors and would have been right in the middle of the new outdoor living space.
We tried designing around them, but nothing quite felt right. So we simply posed the question “What if the posts weren’t there?”
That one change opened the whole space up.
It created a much better flow from inside to outside and gave Craig and Emma enough freedom to create two distinct areas within the one outdoor room: a more formal dining space and a relaxed lounge or coffee area.
Removing the posts did require additional engineering and structural work, but it was the decision that made the entire design come together.
Sometimes the biggest difference comes from questioning what is already there.
Rather than attaching the new patio cover below the existing gutter line, we raised it above the rear roof of the home.
This created more height, light and airflow, while the lined ceiling helped the new space feel like a natural extension of the home.
Just as importantly, we carefully considered the height of the outer framing so Craig and Emma could still enjoy the beautiful bushland outlook and afternoon sunsets through the trees.
The result was an outdoor room that felt open and connected, without taking away from what already made the backyard special.
Deck External Flooring:
Outdoor Patio Cover:
Other bits & pieces:
Electrical:
The original backyard had no real reason to draw Craig and Emma outside.
It took them from the back door to the clothesline, and not much more.
The completed outdoor room changed that relationship with the backyard. Instead of a narrow pass-through, there was now more than 50 square metres of usable outdoor floor space with room for both dining and casual living.
The higher roofline created openness without losing the bushland outlook. The lined ceiling helped the new space feel connected to the home, while heating, lighting, a ceiling fan and blinds made it far more practical to use across the year.
Perhaps most importantly, the backyard finally had a destination.
Somewhere to have dinner.
Somewhere to sit with a coffee.
Somewhere for friends and family to gather.
Somewhere you actually had a reason to walk through that back door.
The West Pymble project is a good example of why we don't start an outdoor living design by asking, "What deck do you want?"
A better question is:
"How do you want to live out here?"
Craig and Emma wanted space, flow and a stronger connection between their home and backyard. Once those priorities were clear, decisions around floor area, roof height, engineering, stairs, screening and finishes could all work towards the same outcome.
The site wasn't without constraints. It was in BAL-FZ, required a Development Application and had a Sydney Water easement running directly beneath the proposed construction area.
But those constraints didn't define the finished outdoor room.
They simply needed to be understood, planned for and designed around.
And that's often the difference between replacing what's already there and creating something that genuinely changes the way you use your home.
Yes, an outdoor living project may still be possible on a property within a Bushfire Flame Zone, but the bushfire requirements need to be considered from the beginning of the design process.
Craig and Emma's West Pymble home was within BAL-FZ, which influenced the design, materials, engineering and approval pathway. The specific requirements for any property will depend on the site, proposed works and current regulations, so they need to be established before finalising the design.
An easement doesn't automatically mean you can't build in that area, but it can influence where footings and structural elements can be located and may require additional engineering, approvals or protection of the existing infrastructure.
At West Pymble, the floor framing and footings were designed around the easement's zone of influence and the affected pipework was excavated and encased in concrete as part of the approved solution.
The important thing is identifying these constraints early so the outdoor room can be designed around them rather than trying to solve them once construction is due to start.
There isn't one ideal size. It depends on how you want to use the space.
Start with the furniture and activities you want to accommodate. If you're planning a dining table, allow for the chairs to be pulled out and for people to comfortably walk behind them. Then consider whether you also want an outdoor kitchen, lounge area or a second casual zone.
At West Pymble, increasing the main floor area to just over 40 square metres allowed Craig and Emma to create both formal dining and more casual outdoor living areas without everything competing for the same space.
Good flow starts with thinking about movement before deciding where all the features will go.
We look at where you naturally leave the house, where people need to walk, how furniture will sit within the space and how the outdoor room connects onwards to the backyard. Structural posts, stairs, outdoor kitchens and large dining tables can all interrupt that movement if they're positioned without considering the overall layout.
The goal is for moving from inside to outside to feel natural, rather than feeling like you're navigating around the outdoor room.
For some homes, positioning the new patio cover above the existing rear roofline can provide additional height, openness and airflow compared with attaching it beneath the existing gutter line.
At West Pymble, this approach allowed us to create a simple skillion roof while increasing the head height underneath and maintaining the outlook towards the surrounding bushland.
It isn't the right solution for every property, but here it was an important part of making the new outdoor room feel spacious rather than enclosed.
Adrian will visit your property to discuss design and measure the space.
You'll get a detailed proposal, 3D renders and plans ready for approval.
Adrian Apostolatos is the founder of Emanate & Co, a family business with more than 30 years of history. He has been helping Sydney homeowners create thoughtfully-designed outdoor rooms for the past 25 years.
He specialises in outdoor room design, custom decks, patios, outdoor kitchens and fully managed outdoor living projects. Through his articles, he shares practical advice to help homeowners plan before they build.
