Every year Southern Living picks one home to show off everything good about Southern design. The 2023 Idea House landed in Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee, and Phantom Screens ended up playing a pretty big role in how the outdoor spaces actually work.
A Tennessee Showpiece on 60 Acres
The house sits on 60 acres in Williamson County, which is about as scenic as Tennessee gets. Rolling hills, big sky, the kind of property where you build the house specifically to look out at the land.
The builders were Patrick and Mary of Hatcliff Construction. They’ve been building custom homes for over 30 years and have been part of the Southern Living Custom Builder Program for 15 of those years. So this was not their first rodeo.
The brief was straightforward in concept and difficult in practice. Build a smart, sustainable home that takes advantage of the views without feeling closed off from them. Every room should connect to the outdoors in some way. No wasted space.
Where the Screens Come In
Twelve Phantom motorized retractable screens went into this home. They’re not all in one place either. The team spread them across three different outdoor zones:
- The lower-level sleeper porch
- The lower patio off the billiards room
- The home’s top terrace
Three completely different uses. The sleeper porch is for actually sleeping outside, which means insect protection is the whole game. The billiards room patio is an entertaining space, so you want bugs out without losing the connection to the rest of the yard. The top terrace is the trophy spot, the panoramic view, where the screens need to work without getting in the way of any of that.
Motorized screens handle all three because they disappear when they’re up. Down for bugs, pollen, and debris. Up when the weather is perfect and you want the space wide open. You don’t have to commit to one mode.
Why This Setup Works So Well
The Idea House isn’t just a pretty home. It’s a working example of how to build outdoor living that gets used. A sleeper porch you can’t actually sleep on because the bugs are bad is a $50,000 architectural feature with no purpose. A terrace that bakes in the afternoon is just a hot deck.
Adding retractable screens to those spaces is what turns them from features to rooms. Rooms you use. Rooms that work in spring, summer, and fall, not just on the four perfect days a year.
Why This Matters Down Here in Tampa Bay
Tennessee gets the credit for Southern hospitality, but Florida might be the harder test for outdoor living. We have the porches and the lanais and the pool decks. We also have humidity, no-see-ums, love bug season, and that 3 PM thunderstorm that shows up every summer afternoon like clockwork.
The same approach the Idea House team used works just as well on a custom home in South Tampa, a waterfront build in Clearwater, or a new place going up in Wesley Chapel or Lutz. Pick the outdoor zones, figure out what each one needs to do, and add motorized screens where they’ll get the most use.
We’ve installed screens on Tampa Bay homes that read like a checklist of the Idea House layout. Covered porches that the homeowner wanted to use as a guest sleeping space during the cooler months. Pool patios doubling as entertaining areas. Upper-level balconies and terraces with great views that were unusable in summer until we cut the sun and the bugs.
One trick we’ve picked up working in Florida: it’s worth thinking about what kind of mesh you want in each zone. Insect mesh for sleeping porches and dining areas. Solar mesh for west-facing terraces that get cooked in the afternoon. Vinyl panels for the rare cool snap when you want to actually hold heat in. A single home can have all three running on different sides.
Building or Remodeling Around Tampa Bay?
If you’re working with a builder or architect on a new home or a remodel, the best time to think about retractable screens is before the walls go up. The screens can be hidden inside soffits, recessed into ceilings, and color-matched to anything you want, but only if we get involved early enough to plan for it.
We work with Tampa Bay builders and homeowners all the time on this. Call us at 1-727-372-5900 or reach out through the contact page. Free in-home consultation, no subcontractors, all measuring and installation done by our team.