The farmhouse veranda idea.

The farmhouse veranda idea Summertime, and the living is easier outdoors. That's especially true in hot rural areas like the Napa and Sonoma valleys, where many of the original farmhouses used shaded, breeze-catching verandas as outdoor rooms. San Francisco architect William Turnbull adapted just such a "living porch" idea for this new house near Rutherford, California. His skeleton of a room creates the feeling of an interior space outdoors. Overhead, exposed rafters and slats follow the roof line, filtering sunlight and throwing a bold grid pattern on the floor below. A solidroof veranda, which wraps around the entire house, extends beyond the dining area, making it seem even more like a separate room. French doors allow access to a home office; the glass-paneled door in the lower picture (at the back) conveniently opens onto the kitchen. Owners Dolores and Jack Cakebread use the porch for buffets and sit-down lunches.

PHOTO : Sun-dappled outdoor dining porch tucks into a corner of this new house. Exposed beams

PHOTO : overhead, two walls, and wraparound veranda define the space without enclosing it