[dotti105]

Our lot will allow for no front to back stretches. Therefore we are stuck with an 8 foot Lanai. We plan to build a Sunflower.

We plan to have 2 sets of sliders, one 12' from the LR and one 9' from the DR. (the idea we stole from the Aspen, which was our original choice) I would love to be able to add width to the Lanai, but since we cannot, Could I please get some feed back from you guys about the usability of the standard 8 ft lanai?

we are able to do a 2 ft side stretch on the guest, LR and Lanai side so the Lanai will be 30 ft long and 8 ft wide. Sounds like a bowling alley or dog run....

I am hoping to have a narrow, (oval maybe) outdoor dining table and 6 chairs, at the DR end of the Lanai and a rattan type patio sitting area with loveseat, 2-4 chairs, coffee table end tables etc. on the LR end.

Does this sound like it would work? I would love to see photos of how you have used your 8 ft lanais.
Any suggestions appreciated!!
TIA!!

[jimbo2012]

Dotti, U already know the answer to spend all that money when U can switch lots & have a real open lanai??????

Ours is 12x45, the 12 is minimum I want due to all the time we spend there.

when you step out into a space U need 3' unobstructed, so that leaves 5'

Borrow a table & 4 chairs, take them to a model or a house under construction with an 8', if U can find one.

[Harleyman]

Is the 8 foot inside or outside measurement . If it is inside, it is even worse. When we were building a piece on our cottage my wife outlined it in yarn and put the furniture in it because she thought it was to small. I think you would be very disappointed with an 8 foot room and I also think that it would be a hard to sell if you decided to move, down the road.

[OCsun]

Dottie,

You can make anything work, but will it be what you want and how important is it to you. I built the Iris and stretched the Lani 4.5 feet. It made a big difference as far as furniture placement. It will be hard to cluster furniture for entertaining. You could put two chairs and an end table in one corner, place the couch against the screen. Not sure about the coffee table since you will need space to step out into the Lani from the sliders you will have. Also, Not so sure about the table and six chairs. You will need room to pull the chairs away from the table, therefore the normal outdoor kind of table and chairs may be to bulky.

But like I said, with some creative purchasing you can make it work. Building a home is not always an easy process. Best of luck! Pam

[bonrich]

We have a Whispering Pine. Our lanai is also wide, we wanted a 2' stretch, but were only able to add 1' stretch to make it 9'. We wanted the lot so we agreed to it, but would have been very happy to add 2' stretch to make it more comfortable to move around.
We have a 42" round table, and allowing for 2' for each chair, and that adds up to 71/2 feet from walls to screens.
Even with a rectangular table, 4' for two chairs and a 3' depth table, that just leaves you 1' or 6" on each side to move around.

[jblum315]

I don't think you'll be happy with it. Don't forget, anything that's against the screen is going to get soaked every time it rains.

[Uptown Girl]

Dotti, for a quick visual, take a room that you have now, that has furniture in it, like your living or dining room and measure 8' from the wall and maybe 10-12' in length. How much of your furniture fits within that measurement?

We measured our prior garage, with our stuff in it- to compare spatially what our garage here would reasonably hold- it was helpful to actually stand in the space, with US and stuff IN it.

A friend elsewhere in Florida has an 8' wide lanai. She has chosen to make it a focal point rather than a place to repose- by placing a row of waist-high, contemporary, rectangular planter boxes (raised underneath by little feet- for drainage) along the screen side filled with foxtail ferns. She ordered the planters online @ hay needle.com

She keeps empty plastic pots (in ground level holes) in the soil here and there and plops colorful, potted annuals into those empty pots, between the ferns. Makes it very easy to change them out. The result is very attractive and visually expands and compliments the view looking out from the living room.
Just a thought.

[cmfjr]

I too think that you will be disappointed with the 8' width. We have a CYV with the narrow, 8' width. Even with a 36" round table it is very difficult and uncomfortable to sit 2 people opposite each other. since we have the room we are going to add a 12' wide addition. As others indicated IF you plan on spending any time on it, go for a lot that will allow you to make stretches that will give you the lani you WANT.

[Happinow]

Are you able to change lots or is it too late? Our neighbors just moved from an8' lanai to a 10 foot lanai, ( they didn't move because of the lanai) and what a difference they said it made. I agree that down the road you will feel cramped. Most of us spend many, many hours out on our lanais and need the room to move around and entertain. With that said, if you can't find another lot then you will have to be creative with furniture. In the end, you will make it work.

[dotti105]

Thanks so much for the input!
We are building a sunflower/ begonia. We LOVE our lot! No one behind us. With the 8th Green and the Evans Prarie conservation area as our uninstructed view across Pinellas. But the lot allows no front to back stretch.
The only stretch allowed is a side stretch which we are using on the guest room, LR side. Maybe with the 2 ft stretch on the LR side we can steal 2 feet of living space across the back to allow for a 2 ft deeper Lanai.
It's quite a trade off. But the living area is very open and it appears that the LR/DR dimensions are just the carpeted area on the floorplan and since we plan to tile the entire area, I think I can cheat the DR table a bit and still have plenty of room inside.
This may be a decision that we will need to make when standing in the models. I just want 2 extra feet! Ugh!!!

[jimbo2012]

I would make the interior space smaller before compromising my lanai space, especially with that view.

[gomoho]

Originally Posted by jimbo2012

I would make the interior space smaller before compromising my lanai space, especially with that view.

Agreed - way pay all that extra $$$ for privacy and a view if you can't sit on the lanai and enjoy it???

[mickey100]

You will have room to sit on your 8 foot lanai and enjoy it. The question is, do you do enough entertaining to want to expand the depth of it and rob your living room space because that is probably when you'd like the extra room. It is cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Most people I know don't use their lanai's 12 months/year. Good luck with your decision.

[JC and John]

We built a Lily with a 3 car garage on a corner lot and could not expand front to back. Our lanai is 8ft wide and we have a small outdoor 2 seat sofa 2 chairs 2 small side tables and a coffee table and it works fine for the 2 of us. That said, we built a 9x18 ft birdcage at right angles to the end our lanai to serve as a place for the grill and eating space. Best choice we made. We could have made the birdcage a bit wider and longer but feel it wasn't necessary. The key to buying outdoor furniture is the size of the furniture. We don't have big families come visit and we prefer to only have small gatherings for entertaining. Depends on the lifestyle to want to live at home. IMHO I'd go with location, location, location and be creative on making the rest work. Good Luck

[fb32162]

We had a house with a 12x 32 ft lanai and move to one with an 8x 28 lanai. It took a while to get used to the more narrow lanai but we love it now. We have a table and 4 chairs on one end and seating area with a loveseat, coffee table,small lamp table, two chairs and two ottomans at the other. We too traded lanai space for house/lot and don't regret it.