Search Results for: Trends

The warm weather seems to be hanging on in Kansas City and if you’re still thinking about your patio furniture, you will want to know what’s hot for next spring.

Gray is taking over

Neutral colors don’t always inspire enthusiasm, but this year’s furniture designs using gray are startlingly crisp. You can tone down those harsh blacks and still give your patio a clean look.

Love those curves
This year, patio furniture makers have loosened up their lines, and the results vary from sensual to elegant to pleasantly relaxed.

Surfaces
Patio tables and dining sets featuring concrete, mosaic and distressed surfaces are lending visual texture. You should also look at durable, low-maintenance resin wicker (both natural and glass-topped)

Mixed Media
The creative use of mixed media is a breakout trend that deserves attention. Table and chair combinations such as wrought iron and wicker, concrete and metal, or trios such as aluminum, wicker, and faux stone or aluminum, wicker, and faux wood bring sophistication to outdoor decorating.

Now that you have put together your outdoor décor, wouldn’t it look better on a custom deck from Outdoor Environment s. Call us at 913-897-2706 or visit www.outdoorenvironments.com.

Photo by osseous on Flickr.

Image via Potter Barn.

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) recently reported their Top Outdoor Living Trends for 2012.

• Grills. 97.4 percent of respondents stated that grills are popular.
• Outdoor living spaces. 91.5 percent said outdoor living spaces were popular, and they associated these spaces with outdoor kitchens and entertainment.
• Terraces, patios, decks. The most popular outdoor structures were terraces, patios, and decks.

ASLA was founded in 1899 as the national professional association for landscape architects, representing over 17,000 members. ASLA’s mission is to lead, to educate, and to participate in the stewardship, planning, and skilled design of our cultural and natural environments.

In 2012, expect outdoor spaces to take a leap into eco-friendly territory. How so?

• Consumers will increasingly invest in plants and products that conserve and collect water. This feature is a must since much of the country has experienced severe drought over the past few years.
• Irrigation systems now offer customized sensors that turn off when it rains, preventing a great amount of wasted water.
• Some plants are considered drought-tolerant, which means that don’t consume large amounts of water. Examples include roses, lemon trees, hedges, grass, palms and succulents.
• Homeowners are requesting more hardscapes and permeable surfaces that prevent rainwater from collecting in unwanted areas.
• Year-round or seasonal landscapes keep the yard beautiful during the winter as well as milder seasons.

To find out how Outdoor Environments can upgrade your outdoor space, view examples of our work on Facebook!

Information from Ask for Lara

Image by Jordan Polevoy Photography on GettyImages.com

Analysts have predicted that by 2015, U.S. consumers will spend more than $4.4 billion on outdoor furniture. More than half of that will be spent on dining sets alone. Across the U.S., families everywhere have long been married to the idea of backyard barbecues and picnics. This has led to an up-tick in the number of outdoor kitchens and plenty of seating for everyone to relax and enjoy the outdoors. And while traditional love seats and side chairs are dominant, sectional sofas especially for the outdoors are becoming a trend. It also appears that consumers place more emphasis on ample seating, often forgoing more formal dining tables and chairs.

This year, seating is taking on a bright face. As far as color trends go, orange is in. Shades of mandarin, tangerine and carrot are blended with rusty beiges and browns to create the most comfortable and appealing outdoor living space full of earth tones. And don’t forget to toss in a few bright pillows!

Outdoor Environments can help you to achieve this perfect outdoor living atmosphere with plenty of plush and stylish seating for your spring and summer entertaining. Call us at 913-897-2706 for more information about our services around Kansas City and Overland Park.

Information from SacBee

Image from Houzz

This is the time of year when outdoor living trends will be all over the blogosphere. We know, because just last week we told you all about how outdoor kitchens are coming on strong in 2011.

Now the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has released their Residential Trends Survey. Included are some very promising finds. ASLA asked a group of professional landscape architects what trends and features they expect to see grow this year. Check out these highlights:

Most popular outdoor living features:

Exterior Lighting – 96.2%

Fire pits/fireplaces – 94.2%

Seating/dining areas – 94.1%

Grills – 93.8%

Installed seating like benches – 89.5

Most popular structures:

Fencing (includes gates) – 85.1%
Arbors – 83.8%
Pergolas – 82.6%
Steps – 79.3%
Ornamental water features such as fountains or splash pools – 77.5%
Decks – 74.4%
Porches – 72.3%

Outdoor Environments specializes in many of these popular outdoor living features including patios, decks, porches, fire pits and fireplaces, grill enclosures, pergolas and arbors. Call us at 913-897-2706 to find out more about how Outdoor Environments can bring life to your outdoor living space! You can also visit our Facebook fan page to see our impressive portfolio!

Outdoor living area shown is by Outdoor Environments

The National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) has named their top 12 remodeling trends for 2011 and we are happy to see outdoor living spaces as number 4. It doesn’t come as a surprise to us here at Outdoor Environments that homeowners are looking for more ways to enjoy their backyards.

Outdoor Environments

Whether you are looking for a new deck, gazebo, arbor, hot tub and spa enclosure, a screened patio or a 4-season room we can help fulfill your outdoor living needs for 2011.

Give Outdoor Environments a call at 913.897.2706 for more information.

According to a recent survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), homeowners are still spending on outdoor living, but they are forgoing many of the bells and whistles (think sport courts, showers and outdoor TVs) in favor of focusing on the basics (dining and seating areas, grills, lighting, firepits and fireplaces).

Other outdoor living elements that ranked as popular for 2010, according to ASLA:

Installed seating such as benches, seatwalls, ledges, steps and boulders (90.6 percent)

Weatherized Outdoor Furniture (77 percent)

Counter Space (73.5 percent)

Decorative elements such as ornamental pools, waterfalls, grottos (86 percent)

All projects pictured are by Outdoor Environments. Let us know how we can help you get back to basics, just in time for Spring!

The motto of Las Vegas may be, ‘What happens here, stays here’, but we’ve opted to break that hard-and-fast rule to share a few insights from the International Builders Show (IBS), taking place in Sin City this week below.

Green is still king, as sustainability stays on the forefront of professional home builders’ minds. Environmentally-friendly products remain the stars of this year’s show. But there are a handful of green products–according to Wall Street Journal columnist June Fletcher–that have failed to catch on, despite their advantages, including spray-foam insulation, isolated concrete forms (ICF’s) and solar shingles. For further details, check out Fletcher’s piece, “Green (Again)“.

According to a top economist at the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB), the recession is over, home values are stabilizing, and the housing market is expected to plateau. As a result, many homeowners are opting to stay put, and implementing strategic upgrades. From a stone-hearth oven with open flames similar to one found at pizza restaurants to residential elevators with cherrywood trim and motorized revolving shelves, these products are hoping to grab the attention of the cranky consumer.

The show continues through the weekend, so check back next week for more highlights!

One of the biggest outdoor remodeling trends that you should take note of is adding radiant heating to the floor of your four season room. Why is this such a hot trend in remodeling right now and why is it important to add radiant heating? There are a couple convincing reasons. (more…)

It’s a refuge, a playground, and a place to entertain – all rolled into one. It’s your yard, and while it may not be perfect, you love it.

You can enhance your yard by following one of the hottest outdoor remodeling trends of all: adding more hardscaping. Doing so will tilt the balance: you’ll have less lawn maintenance to do in the spring, which will give you more time to enjoy your yard and all the “play and purpose” functions it fills in your life. (more…)