1. Resort Style
One trend that will continue to gain ground in 2017 is the focus on resort-like outdoor living spaces at home. Many residential architects and designers are even taking cues from the hospitality industry, where much attention is given to creating beautiful outdoor settings where people can relax and unwind. Desiring to create that same vacation lifestyle at home, affl uent homeowners are adding outdoor pavilions— sometimes with a full bathroom and shower— to their backyards. They also like the idea of having two living spaces, one shaded and one unshaded.
“ When you look at the Miami hotels, for instance, there is a pool that’ s uncovered, and then there are usually covered cabanas if guests don’ t want to lay out in the full sun,” says Weremeichik.“ Homeowners want that same resort feel at home.”
2. Made in the Shade
Building off of the resort design movement, Keene says“ comfortable shade” is a hot-ticket item right now.
“ What this entails is a separate structure that is designated just for outdoor lounging and often includes the outdoor kitchen and a bar,” he says.“ These shaded structures typically range from 18 to 20 feet wide, and 28 to 30 feet long, to make it feel like you’ re outside and yet you’ re still comfortable in the shade. You’ re more likely to see this in ultra-high-end residences in areas such as Boca Raton and larger estates in Miami.”
3. Indoor Meets Outdoor
Maintaining a seamless indoor / outdoor connection is another key component for creating an attractive outdoor living space today.
“ Designers are blurring the lines between indoor and outdoor as much as possible,” says Weremeichik.“ Many homeowners also view the outdoor space as extra footage.”
Like Keene, he is using wider openings to connect un-air-conditioned outdoor space to air-conditioned space. He is also seeing a lot of glass or use of accordion glass doors, which open up to the outside.
“ The idea is that the two spaces are completely open to each other and fl ow seamlessly between each other,” he says.“ Your friends or family can be lounging in the living area, watching TV, while you’ re cooking in the outdoor kitchen, and it’ s all open.”
Keene agrees:“ The overall design fl ow is how it relates to the inside of the home. From an aesthetic perspective, I want to design a space so it looks bigger. But I also want to make sure the vantage point of the outdoor space can be seen when people walk into the house— so people are pulled outdoors.”
Keene says it’ s important to keep the placement of the outdoor living space in mind,“ so you’ re not making 10 trips back and forth from your interior kitchen to your grill when you’ re entertaining.”
Weremeichik says it’ s also really important to pay attention to proportions.
“ It’ s vital to design those outdoor spaces for the right dimension, as you would a living room or a dining room,” he says.“ You might have large outdoor living room furniture or dining room furniture, so you must design the circulation around that furniture for comfort. You can’ t have a 10-foot patio and call it an‘ outdoor living room’ if you can’ t walk around the furniture comfortably.”
6 | Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate