Indoors vs Outdoors: Where Design Meets Lifestyle

In the 2010's, there was almost a singular focus on spaces, and that was the interior. The home was a fortress whilst the garden was just the yard.

But the ground has shifted. When you walk into a space that resonates in 2025, it isn't because of a sofa or a kitchen island. It’s the flow.

I dug into the industry data, and the numbers back the intuition: The line between "Indoors" and "Outdoors" is dissolving. Design no longer treats these as separate zones, but as one ecosystem.

But if you have to choose, or if you are working with a tricky space, which one matters more? The answer depends entirely on how you want to feel.

The "Ecosystem" Shift

The trend for 2025 isn't buying garden furniture; it’s removing the threshold. Interior designer Sophie Goineau notes, "My aim is always to exteriorise the interior and interiorise the exterior to create a continuous dialogue."

Whatever the budget, the goal isn't to decorate a room. It is to create a view.

From an investment standpoint, the outdoors is doing the heavy lifting. Reports show professional landscaping and usable outdoor "rooms" can jump property value by 15–20%. But for those living in the home, the value is emotional. It’s Biophilic Design—the innate need to connect with nature to lower stress.

So, how do we strike the balance? It depends on the starting point.

Scenario A: The Urban Sanctuary (No Outdoor Access)

Definitions are fine, but standing in the room is better. Here's how these schemes would appear in real life.

The Living Room

This is the real challenge. If you live in an apartment, basement, or townhouse with no garden, does this conversation apply?

Yes. It matters more.

If you cannot go to nature, design must bring nature to you. When you lack a view, you simulate one. Here is how experts trick the brain into feeling expansive:

Lighting: Windowless spaces suffer from stagnant light. The fix is "layered lighting." High Kelvin bulbs (cool white) in the morning mimic the sun; low, warm lamps at eye level in the evening mimic sunset. It resets the body clock.

Texture: If the view is drywall and concrete, furniture must provide relief. Skip slick plastics and chrome. Lean into raw, imperfect materials—unfinished wood, linen, rattan, boucle. These textures absorb sound and mimic the acoustics of the outdoors.

Verticality: No floor space? Look up. Placing greenery above eye level (on bookshelves or cabinets) forces the eye to travel upward, creating a canopy effect, similar to standing under a tree.

Scenario B: The Entertainer (Connecting the Two)

If you have outdoor space, the goal is continuity. You shouldn't be able to tell where the living room ends and the garden begins. We call this "Dissolving the Threshold."

Material Mirroring: This makes the biggest impact. Run the flooring material inside and out. If you have timber floors, match the deck stain. If you have tiles, use "High-Performance Ceramics"—brands now offer an indoor (smooth) and outdoor (grip) version of the exact same tile.

The "Rule of Echo": Treat the outdoors as a second living room. If a plush sofa sits inside, place plush (outdoor-rated) armchairs immediately outside the glass. Ground them with an outdoor rug. This signals the brain that the patio is a "room," not a yard.

Light the Perimeter: A common mistake. We light interiors beautifully but leave the garden dark. This turns windows into black mirrors at night, closing the room in. Light the very back of the garden (uplight a tree or fence) to draw the eye through the glass, maintaining spaciousness.

The Verdict

So, which matters most?

Our bias is balance. An active person might take energy from the outdoors and solace inside; an introvert might need the opposite. But to make a home feel "designed," look at the transition. The most important space isn't the sofa or the patio table—it is the two meters either side of the back door.

Whether faking a view with art or opening up the back of the house with bi-folds, the goal remains: The Interior is for comfort; the Outdoors is for feeling.