This patio design project by Strathmeyer Landscaping displays how homeowners can install multi-level outdoor spaces that meet their personal needs.
Summer’s certain approach coaxes us outside, craving sunlight and warmth. With the desire to live out-of-doors at its peak, it’s no wonder that this is the season to create new open-air spaces. The evolution of outdoor living in this region continues to expand, as tacked-on builder’s decks or concrete pads give way to multi-level rooms, each functioning as spaces to dine, lounge and create family memories.
“People are making their backyard an outdoor living room,” says Gerrit Strathmeyer of Strathmeyer Landscape Development Corporation (strathmeyerlandscaping.com) in Dover. “They’re fixing up their homes and turning them into vacation resorts.”
Strathmeyer says this redistribution of vacation savings into home landscaping has been a trend for a number of years.
“People are making the economic decision to make an investment in their homes, increasing the curb appeal and value,” he says.
Dan Longenderfer of York Building Products (yorkbuilding.com) is also witnessing the “strong trend of moving the indoors outside.”
But rather than rectangular patios, the shapes organically evolve as graceful extensions of a home mingling into the landscape.
“People want meandering patios,” he says. “If you look at the interior of homes, they all have square rooms. People want to step outside and feel as if they’ve entered Shangri La.”
Strathmeyer agrees: “The days of Adirondack chairs and wrought iron are over. Now there are waterproof cushions and couches and rugs that are as comfortable as those you’d find indoors.
From furniture to patios to plants, it’s all working to turn your home into a destination.”
Longenderfer says that continuing improvements in engineered stone, as well as outdoor furnishings and appliances, have paved the way for a more opulent look for most budgets.
“Now there are even more sophisticated, stylish ways to do so with new textures, finishes, shapes and styles,” he says. “Customers who used to want natural stone are now looking at engineered stone because it has improved so much, with tumbled finishes that look like they’ve aged for centuries and different heights to break up the patterns. Even the colors are now a blend of tones to look more natural.”
Seamless Design
When considering adding a patio to your home, think about how it could complement your home’s design, ensuring it acts as a seamless whole, rather than something tacked on with an out-of-proportion look. Once the proportions and styles are considered, you’ll also want to consider how your patio will enhance your lifestyle. Do you see it as a space for intimate family dinners requiring just enough space for a table, or are you looking to host parties that necessitate multiple levels, several “dining areas” and cooking and cleaning areas?
“The days of a Weber grill sitting in a corner are done,” says Strathmeyer. “People want to create a more elaborate entertaining space by building a patio around their grill and creating different rooms.”
He says that pergolas and other overhead structures help separate patio spaces, as do freestanding walls.
Longenderfer is excited about a new double-sided retaining wall designed specifically to act as a room divider.
“It’s tumbled, but has a smooth base that’s more elegant,” he says. “It’s very popular with families with young children so they don’t get scratched by the stone.”
Longenderfer says such wall systems also act as a privacy screen, as well as casual seating. “Not everyone wants to sit at a table. It’s a more efficient use of space,” he says.
Hot Trends
As for what’s on the most wanted list: it’s the socializing extenders of light and warmth.
Strategic, programmable illumination to create moods for any gathering, as well as firepits and fireplaces to extend enjoyment through chilly nights and early and late season days, are the hottest local trends.
“Fireplaces are what everyone seems to need right now,” Strathmeyer says, adding that once area homeowners have invested in their outdoor space, they want to enjoy it as long as possible through the cooler seasons.
Longenderfer says that integrated lighting systems that tuck under the caps of wall systems to shine down on the blocks offer “a subtle, more integrated feeling as the lights wash down the face of the wall.”
Strathmeyer designer Mark Zeider appreciates advances in low voltage lighting not just for the ability to create atmosphere by dimming the lights on command, but also for the ability to use filters to highlight landscaping features.
“Where a white LED would wash out an evergreen, a green filter makes it look great,” he says.
Design Basics
Whether you’re designing a basic patio or a high end one, you’ll want to think about how the patio will connect with the indoor rooms of your home. Kitchens and family rooms are the most common transition rooms to connect with a patio. If a doorway doesn’t exist from either of these rooms, it may necessitate adding one, perhaps a sliding patio or a French door to bring in more light.
Zeider says extending wide steps from a patio door offers the added bonus of additional seating as well as a place for potted plants.
Also take into consideration the new traffic patterns you’ll create indoors as family members access the outdoor space.
“The trend of investment in more sophisticated patios comes from people realizing how important it is to have family together,” says Longenderfer.
