Outdoor Living Gaining Popularity

According to a survey published in April by HGTV and Casual Living magazine, 87 percent of the roughly 5,000 Americans interviewed said an outdoor room was “important or very important,” and more than half said they had one. Another 15 percent said they were in the process of creating one.

Editor in chief of Furniture Today, Raymond Allegrezza said, “The total value is $3.8 billion, but if you’re a retailer in a challenged economy, a $3.8 billion slice of pie is nothing to sneeze at. People are actively going after it.”

Homeowners have purportedly been influenced by home improvement TV shows to extend their living space outdoors. Certainly the recession has played a role, as backyards are today’s staycation hot spot. And, surmised Allegrezza, with the housing slump and the credit crunch, homeowners are making the most of their properties.

“A lot of times people can’t get mortgages, so they feel trapped,” he added. “They’re going to take steps to make the experience of staying in their own home as pleasant as possible.”

Designer Rashid prosed an additional theory, “One could argue that so much has been done indoors that the opportunities for originality are becoming less and less. Whereas outdoor is a new territory, a new frontier of exploration.” All of this bodes well for the hardscape contractor.