Home outdoor spaces have evolved over the years. Nowadays, there is a lot more involved than just setting up a few chairs on your front porch or your backyard patio. From fire pits to furniture to colorful fabrics, people are really creating an outdoor oasis. With this in mind, we wanted to share some outdoor living trends to watch for in 2018.
Cool Outdoor Furniture is a Must
Comfortable, attractive furniture is a must in 2018, and we’re not talking just a typical wicker chair, we are talking fully upholstered, beautiful fabric, chairs and sofas. Don’t be afraid to combine different styles of furniture to create a well put together look, just like you would in your living room. Everyone has their own unique style and your outdoor living space should reflect your style, but also complement the look and feel of your home. Explore different colors, styles of furniture and decide what’s best for your space. The only thing to remember is to make sure you consider the weather/elements in your area.
Colorful Fabrics
Sometimes it’s hard to step outside your comfort zone, and neutral and light colors will always be the classic colors, but color is definitely in for outdoor furniture. Bright, contrasting colors are going to be hot this summer. One way to tone down the colors is to combine bright colors with soft, earth-tone colors. For example, combine a brown base cushion with some colorful and contrasting patterned pillows.
In addition to colorful fabrics; natural, organic fibers are also trends this year. These fabrics which are pleasant to touch are timeless. Print fabrics are also still very popular. You will see a lot of geometric drawings, spikes, zigzags, florals and ethnic prints.
Fireplaces and Fire Pits
Nothing quite ties together an outdoor living room space like a fireplace, especially in cold winter nights. If a fireplace is not your thing, there are very modern fire pits that are always a great option for an outdoor fire vessel.
Although the regular wood burning fireplace or fire pit is nice, with technological advances, fireplaces or fire pits that can be programmed to turn off or on, or are operated through a smartphone are all the rage.
This trend is also true for anything that can be programmed or activated with a smartphone including fountains, lights and sprinklers.
Landscaping
An outdoor space cannot be complete without including some natural elements like flowers or plants, in other words, landscaping.
Some items to keep in mind when looking for landscaping that is on trend are:
- Low-maintenance, natural looking landscaping. Flowers or plants that are native to your area work best for this type of maintenance.
- Lighting is big. Footpaths and doorways are no brainers when it comes to lighting but with more options to choose from such as LED and solar lighting, homeowners have expanded to lighting pool areas, flower beds and any other accents in their outdoor living room space.
- Contemporary and classic fall plants. The classic, Chrysanthemums, boxwood, and maples are most commonly used, but now homeowners are mixing those classics with contemporary plants. Visually, look for grouping of these mixes of contemporary with classic giving a more sophisticated and cleaner landscaped look.
Overall, the trend this year is clean lines, sleek and sophisticated. Whether or not you like color, you can’t go wrong with combining strong colors with neutral tones to pull your look together. In addition, mixing modern with classic is a way to make your look stay fresh longer and make it easier to update the look when you feel like you need a new look.
