Enjoying a Florida lifestyle often means spending time outdoors, especially for new Florida residents who hail from different climates.
We at ICI Homes are Florida residents too, and our more than 46 years of building new custom homes all over the state confirms that many of our customers also prize this same perk!
Since every ICI Homes floor plan comes with a covered lanai, use yours to create an amazing outdoor “living room.” Whether simple or stupendous, it can become a vital part of your household’s new lifestyle.
Sample these tips for putting the “living” in your outdoor living space.
Key takeaways
Every ICI Homes floor plan includes a covered lanai, creating the perfect foundation for an outdoor living space.
Open floor plans, glass sliders, and window walls help blend indoor and outdoor living for a seamless Florida lifestyle.
Ceiling fans and creative outdoor lighting add comfort, style, and functionality to outdoor gathering areas.
Durable, comfortable outdoor furniture can transform a lanai into a true extension of your home’s living space.
Personal touches such as planters, outdoor décor, and vintage furnishings help create a unique outdoor retreat.
Not just the lanai
Florida’s year-round climate offers opportunities for seamless transitions between outdoor and indoor living spaces, especially with today’s open floor plans.
Many ICI Homes floor plans do this by including glass sliders or statement window walls at the rear of a home’s indoor living space.
Considering both living spaces as a whole not only will expand your options, it also will expand your new custom Florida home’s visual horizons.
Ceiling fans rock
These breezy fixtures are classics for a reason, and a core element both indoors and outside.
They can be silent, remote-controlled, contain lights and multiple speeds. They also can be wholly invisible or serve as a delightful decor statement.
So does outdoor lighting
Forget that solitary light outside the back door. Creative lighting options are everywhere in today’s new custom Florida homes, from light-show swimming-pool illuminations, to discreet task lighting for the outdoor kitchen.
Also consider stringing LED twinkle lights around a lanai ceiling or pool cage. And know that digital lighting systems with innumerable personalization options can raise everyone’s exterior lighting game.
Comfy furnishings
If your previous outdoor furniture or lawn chairs are showing their age, or aren’t completely lounge-able, check out some of today’s workhorse exterior furnishings that can take the heat, moisture, constant use and still look resplendent.
Many current exterior fabrics resistant fading, which means lounge chairs can be pet and kid-proof. Or repel mustard stains from last night’s cookout. Many outdoor performance fabrics — and some tropical-wood furniture pieces, for example — also clean up just fine with a hose blast.
No matter what your tastes or budget, from a classic rocking chair to a 100-foot outdoor-proof sofa, only focus on new furnishings that are resilient and endlessly comfortable.
After all, you can’t enjoy outdoor living without being comfortable outdoors.
Do outdoor decor
So key to personalizing your new outdoor living space!
Turn a few large planters into your own backyard garden, from juicy tomatoes climbing pyramidal towers, to a classic mix of bright hibiscuses, favorite annuals and a specimen palm.
Love retro Art Deco or mid-century bar carts, iron furniture or original yard art? Go for it. Explore nearby antique shops and art galleries for vintage pieces. If they’re built for the outdoors, they’ll be a joy for years to come.
Read for your new custom Florida home? Talk to ICI Homes here.
Since every ICI Homes floor plan comes with a covered lanai, use yours to create an amazing outdoor “living room.” Whether simple or stupendous, it can become a vital part of your household’s new lifestyle.
