Take it Outside

Could an oak tree and I share space companionably? I'm sitting on my couch in my living room wondering if there's any way to grow an oak tree right over there by the recliner. Probably not.

I enjoy being in my house. My couch is comfy. It's warm compared to the 35 degrees it is outside right now. I'm pretty sure no skunks will show up unexpectedly behind the shower door in the morning. My computer likes the electricity.

But the stars are out there. Outside. And the bright waning moon. And during the day, the huge Oklahoma blue sky is out there. And the trees I love.

It's like deciding between two good friends. My comfy house? Or the grassy, spongy hill down to the trees full of bird song.

I would love to let my good friends meet, in a house that takes the inside out, and lets the outside in.


I enjoyed checking out other dreamers' versions of their own inside out/outside in houses here. It's worth the visit.


The dilemma of bringing comfort to the outdoors is solved in this luxurious Indian tent, and the outdoors is a simple lift of a curtain away.



Here's the outside view.



I could live with that, until the Oklahoma wind made me crazy.


How about just creating alternate spaces outside for a living room.



Or a kitchen.



Or here is Australian gardener and blogger Stuart Robinson's suggestion for another room in the house that could be moved outdoors.



No, you don't need to adjust your bifocals. That is indeed a toilet to the left. The ultimate outdoor room; the bathroom! Robinson's blog post gives great suggestions for creating privacy with various plantings, trees, flowering shrubs, etc. around your open air tub.

Robert Frost says fences make good neighbors. Surely good bathroom walls also make good neighbors! At least a half wall and some dense brush! I don't know, though. I know some guys who could probably enjoy a great football discussion while reading the newspaper and takin' care of business while his neighbor is doing the same thing behind the rhododendrons.

I think, in my tree house, at least the bathroom will have walls and a door.