Exterior Excellence: Inventive Ways with Screens
These super-smart screening solutions give homeowners complete control over their privacy, and the elements
Extensions and additions can transform a home from cramped and uncomfortable to light and liveable, but in areas of high density or where a home is particularly vulnerable to the elements, screens can solve issues of privacy and shelter brilliantly. Whether a home is high-end designer or renovated on a tight budget, a good-looking, whimsical or just plain functional barrier between indoors and out is oft becoming the way to go, as these standout projects reveal.
Before the renovation, the existing verandahs upstairs were rarely used. Now, the family gravitates to the newly added verandah at the back of the house.
The verandah also has a louvred roof that can further open up the home to the light.
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See more of this house
2. Just for kids
The grandchildren of the semi-retired couple who own this house love coming to visit them. And why wouldn’t they? The vineyard home on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula now has a purpose-built extension – a super-sized cubby house, really – connected to the main house via a glazed bridge. The pattern of dots routed into the timber window shutters was derived from a photo of the homeowners’ favourite pinot noir vines, and gives the kids’ zone a lantern-like feel at night.
The grandchildren of the semi-retired couple who own this house love coming to visit them. And why wouldn’t they? The vineyard home on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula now has a purpose-built extension – a super-sized cubby house, really – connected to the main house via a glazed bridge. The pattern of dots routed into the timber window shutters was derived from a photo of the homeowners’ favourite pinot noir vines, and gives the kids’ zone a lantern-like feel at night.
Wooden shutters on the standalone pavilion can be closed up to create a sanctuary at night, and opened up like eyelids in the morning to greet the day.
The 59-square-metre pavilion comprises two multi-purpose rooms that can be used for rest or play.
3. A touch of whimsy
Adding an extra level onto a single-storey terrace comes with a few challenges when neighbours are in close proximity. In honour of a tree removed to make way for the extension – and to create the privacy needed to meet council regulations – an artistic treetop screen shields the upstairs bedroom of this home from view.
Adding an extra level onto a single-storey terrace comes with a few challenges when neighbours are in close proximity. In honour of a tree removed to make way for the extension – and to create the privacy needed to meet council regulations – an artistic treetop screen shields the upstairs bedroom of this home from view.
The screen comprises a steel sheet external ‘appliqué,’ and an internal decal, to provide texture and interest inside and out. Light can still penetrate by day …
… and by night the screen provides a whimsical outlook, complete with a wise old owl.
4. Golden box of joy
The upper level of the new addition adjoining this 1900s worker’s cottage was wrapped in an eye-catching perforated screen to shade the interiors from the sun. ‘The box’ houses the children’s zone – bedrooms, a playroom and a bathroom. At night it glows, providing what the architects hope will be a ‘moment of joy’ for passersby.
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The upper level of the new addition adjoining this 1900s worker’s cottage was wrapped in an eye-catching perforated screen to shade the interiors from the sun. ‘The box’ houses the children’s zone – bedrooms, a playroom and a bathroom. At night it glows, providing what the architects hope will be a ‘moment of joy’ for passersby.
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The screen pattern was inspired by the original carpet and fireplace tiles in the home, albeit with a contemporary edge.
Cool and shady interiors are a welcome relief from the heat of the Western Australian summer.
A fringe of the patterned screen defines the new living/dining/kitchen area downstairs.
5. Pattern on repeat
To shelter a holiday house in Victoria’s Blairgowrie from the summer sun, Wolveridge Architects added a wrap-around, permeable skin of laser-cut steel.
To shelter a holiday house in Victoria’s Blairgowrie from the summer sun, Wolveridge Architects added a wrap-around, permeable skin of laser-cut steel.
This home was designed as a get-away-from-it-all sanctuary using rammed earth, timber, and that laser-cut feature screen surrounding the central outdoor living room.
A pergola features the same pattern overhead, but has been covered with polycarbonate sheeting to further protect the homeowners from the elements. The pattern casts ever-changing shadows into and around the home, negating the need for much in the way of decorative embellishment inside.
The same pattern reappears over the kitchen and on living room dividers, uniting inside living areas with those outside. Painting the ceiling black allows the patterned screens to further stand out as a feature.
6. Street smart
Providing privacy from the street is a common reason to shield a home with a screen.
Providing privacy from the street is a common reason to shield a home with a screen.
And when it looks as good from the inside as it does from the street, what’s not to love?
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See more of this Brisbane home
7. Neighbourhood hero
This St Kilda house was designed to feel more like a local cafe than a home isolated from the street. The decorative timber screen on the upper level provides shade and privacy for the main bedroom, however, and keeps the neighbours happy too.
This St Kilda house was designed to feel more like a local cafe than a home isolated from the street. The decorative timber screen on the upper level provides shade and privacy for the main bedroom, however, and keeps the neighbours happy too.
The timber screen doesn’t make the room’s inhabitants feel penned in. Its design still affords them views through the trees and over the rooftops beyond.
YOUR SAY
Do you have a privacy screen in place at your house? Share a photo or tell us about it in the Comments.
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YOUR SAY
Do you have a privacy screen in place at your house? Share a photo or tell us about it in the Comments.
MORE
Browse more house exteriors
Once dark and introverted, this heritage-listed home on Sydney’s North Shore is now a stunning family abode fit for modern living. Luigi Rosselli Architects added a wide, sheltered verandah downstairs that can open up and connect the kitchen and breakfast area to the garden. When the western sun gets too hot of an afternoon, the wooden shutters can be closed up to keep the interiors cool and comfortable. Tilting the shutter blades also serves to keep the air flowing, while blocking out the sun.