{"id":4038,"date":"2026-09-04T16:47:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T20:47:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/?p=4038"},"modified":"2026-09-04T16:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T20:47:09","slug":"designing-your-home-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/2026\/09\/designing-your-home-9\/","title":{"rendered":" Designing Your Home<\/span>
Pattern Nine: Places In Between<\/span>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to our home design series! We are continuing our journey through the chapters of the classic book, <\/span>Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design<\/span><\/a> by architects Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow [120]. If you haven’t grabbed a copy yet, we highly recommend purchasing one to read along with us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we are taking a close look at Chapter Nine: Places in Between. This pattern is all about those wonderful, semi-sheltered areas in a house that aren’t strictly indoors and aren’t fully outdoors\u2014think porches, sunrooms, and cozy built-in window seats [136, 188].<\/span><\/p>\n

Above featured image: AI-replicated image of a photo from the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design, <\/em>Chapter 9: Places in Between.<\/h6>\n
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Between work, family schedules, and chores, our daily lives can feel incredibly hectic. Sometimes, even walking into our homes can remind us of our endless to-do lists\u2014like seeing dishes in the sink or laundry waiting to be folded [187]. What we really need are little pockets of peace where we can pause, take a breath, and step away from the daily rush [187].<\/span><\/p>\n

That is the beauty of “places in between.” These spaces aren’t your typical functional rooms like a kitchen or a bathroom [188]. In fact, you don’t technically need them for a house to function, but they are exactly what make a home feel incredibly welcoming, comfortable, and complete [136, 188]. They let you enjoy the fresh air and natural light of the outdoors while keeping you safely sheltered from the elements [136].<\/span><\/p>\n

As custom home builders, we love crafting these spaces because they add so much character to a floor plan. Here are four practical building and design strategies we use to make these transitional spaces work perfectly in your home:<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Define the Boundary with Smart Carpentry<\/span><\/h3>\n

For an in-between space to feel like a special retreat, you need to clearly mark the moment you step into it [191]. As builders, we do this by creating a physical transition [191]. We might lower the ceiling slightly using a soffit, frame the entrance with a wide wooden archway, or lay down a distinct hardwood threshold on the floor [191]. Highlighting these boundaries tells your mind that you are leaving the busy parts of the house and entering a quiet, relaxing zone [191].<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Keep the Space Out of the Traffic Lanes<\/span><\/h3>\n

Nobody can relax if family members are constantly walking past or stepping over them. To make an in-between space actually usable, it needs to be designed as a dead-end “cul-de-sac” rather than a hallway [188, 189, 195]. We make sure to tuck these seating areas just off the main pathways [189, 195]. This way, the foot traffic flows around your cozy corner instead of cutting straight through it [189, 195].<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"ai-replicated image of a photo from the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design, <\/em>Chapter 9: Places in Between.<\/h6>\n


\n3. Give it Real Structural Bones<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you have an outdoor porch, it shouldn’t feel like a cold, empty concrete slab [190]. It needs to feel like an actual room [190]. We achieve this by building real structural enclosures\u2014using stout support columns, a solid overhead roof, and sturdy railings or low pony walls [189, 190]. Once you wrap the space in these structural elements and add comfortable furniture and warm lighting, it feels like a natural, secure extension of your indoor living space [190].<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Build for the Southern Illinois Seasons<\/span><\/h3>\n

Your transitional spaces should help you enjoy the changing local weather [190]. In the hot summer months, we design open or screened-in spaces that let you catch the breeze while keeping bugs out [190]. For the chilly winter, we can build glazed indoor spaces\u2014like sunrooms or deep bay windows\u2014that use high-performance glass to trap natural solar heat and keep out the cold drafts while flooding your home with winter sunlight [190].<\/span><\/p>\n

The Classic Front Porch: Outdoor Living at its Best<\/span><\/h3>\n

In our region, nothing beats a classic front porch for enjoying a slow evening [192]. It sits right on the edge of the house, offering a comfortable, covered platform where you can watch the neighborhood go by without feeling fully exposed [192].<\/span><\/p>\n

Pro Builder Tip: To add a beautiful, traditional touch to your porch, paint the ceiling a soft sky blue [191]. This classic trick reflects the light and connects the sheltered space to the open sky [191]. If your lot gets a lot of wind, we can even design the porch to be recessed into the main body of the house, using the exterior walls as natural windbreaks to create a warm, protected pocket [193, 194].<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"ai-replicated image of a photo from the book Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design, <\/em>Chapter 9: Places in Between.<\/h6>\n


\nBuilt-In Window Seats: Bringing the Outdoors In<\/span><\/h3>\n

You don’t have to go outside to experience this pattern. Built-in window seats and projecting bay windows are perfect indoor examples [196]. Unlike standard flat windows that just let light in, a bay window projects outward and is specifically designed to be sat in [196]. When you step into a window seat, you are literally sitting within the light [196]. It is the perfect spot to curl up with a book or look out at your garden while staying warm inside [196].<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/h3>\n


\nLet’s Craft Your Home’s Perfect Transition<\/span><\/h3>\n

At Jack Home Construction, we believe a great home should do two things: shield you from the weather and make it easy to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors [201]. We do that by designing smart, comfortable spaces that sit beautifully in between [201].<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re ready to build or remodel a home in Southern Illinois with cozy front porches, sunny sunrooms, or custom built-in window seats, our we are here to help you get the details right.<\/span><\/p>\n

To explore more timeless design secrets, check out our previous posts in the <\/span>Designing Your Home Series<\/span><\/a>, and keep an eye out for our final post on Pattern Ten: Composing with Materials!<\/span><\/p>\n

Call us today at 618-995-2288<\/b><\/p>\n

Contact Us<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to our home design series! We are continuing our journey through the chapters of the classic book, Patterns of Home: The Ten Essentials of Enduring Design by architects Max Jacobson, Murray Silverstein, and Barbara Winslow [120]. If you haven’t grabbed a copy yet, we highly recommend purchasing one to read along with us. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4039,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,12,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-designing-your-home-series","category-new-homes","category-remodeling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4038"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4059,"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4038\/revisions\/4059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/jackconstruction.com\/jfhblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}