Today’s outdoor spaces are transforming into an extension of the home. From outdoor kitchens, fire pits, and fireplaces, to comfortable seating areas, homeowners are trying to recreate the comfort and style of their interior in their backyards.
Here are three of this year’s biggest outdoor living trends that might give you some inspiration for your own backyard.
Outdoor Kitchens
Homeowners today want much more than just a grill in their backyards. With aspirations to cook and entertain guests outdoors with everything the best outdoor kitchens can offer, the possibilities are endless. From grills to cooktops and ovens, or even a wine cooler and an outdoor bar, homeowners have many options when it comes to the design and price point of their outdoor kitchens.
Multifunctional Spaces
Multifunctional outdoor spaces are growing more popular by the day because homeowners want to use the space at their disposal to the maximum. Some ways to optimize your outdoor living include:
- Create built-in seating
- Build raised garden beds
- Add planters and container gardens
- Build fire pits and fireplaces
Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting makes it possible to use your space both night and day. From string lights to lights in pavers and retaining walls, lights can be everywhere outdoors. Good lighting can make any outdoor space fun and charming, while highlighting points of interest, whether it be your patio, your walkway, your impressive retaining walls, or your landscape. Lights are also a great way to make your outdoor space safer for you and your guests by highlighting walking areas once the sun goes down.
DIY: Container Gardening
Container gardening adds versatility to gardens large and small. Plants lend instant color and provide a focal point in the garden. On the surface, it is not that different from gardening in a typical landscape garden bed. Many of the same flowers common in a garden can also be grown in containers. Containers planted with a mix of plants are fun to create and offer almost unlimited possibilities of combinations. The best combinations depend on plants that feature foliage and flowers produced over a long bloom season.
One easy guideline for choosing the plants to combine in a container is to include a thriller, a spiller, and a filler.
Thrillers
Plants that grow taller and draw the eye vertically. Look for options that offer a pop of color or some kind of visual interest in the shape of the flowers or grasses. Plant thrillers in either the center of the pot or the back.
Fillers
Plants that anchor the container and provide fullness at mid-height of the arrangement. Fillers are meant to surround the thriller; flowers that can grow closer together are a good choice. Fillers should be planted in the middle of the container.
Spillers
Plants that provide depth to the arrangement. Spillers are typically low-growing and flow over the side of the container. Spillers are often white or green, but there are a number of varieties of trailing flowers that can provide color. Plant close to the edges of the container.