No Matter the Temperature, OUTDOOR LIVING IS STAYING HOT

Consumers can’t get enough of outdoor living, as evidenced by the surge in home improvement projects. In the early days of the pandemic, many turned to their backyards to escape the monotony of the same four walls. But even as restrictions eased and travel resumed, people often showed a preference for staying closer to home: investing in outdoor living spaces that turn a simple backyard into a relaxing oasis.

As AD PRO’s 2023 Outdoor Forecast illustrates, outdoor living is a hot trend that shows no signs of cooling down. And as the experts at leading outdoor shading, screening and fabric manufacturers report, consumers remain passionate about outfitting their outdoor spaces for the perfect blend of form and function. They expect trends like the following to drive more growth in 2023.

Blurred Lines: Outdoor Becomes a Seamless Extension

Forget about the barriers of exterior walls: The border between indoors and outdoors is fading fast. “Homeowners are continuing to find innovative ways to repurpose their outdoor living spaces as an extension of their homes for relaxing and entertaining,” said John Fryc, director of business development, solar protection, Serge Ferrari Group.

Sarah Dooley, director of upholstery at Sunbrella, agrees: “We’re seeing new demands for seamless indoor-outdoor connections at home, meaning there should be connection points between an interior space like a kitchen or dining room and an outdoor space that is used for a similar function, like a porch or patio.”

Often, blurring the lines means borrowing design ideas from the home’s interior to create a unified look. “Designers and their customers are creating outdoor spaces that reflect their indoor spaces,” said Marc Knight, director of design at RM Coco. No longer confined to traditional “outdoor furniture,” they’re outfitting these areas like they would an indoor room—adding a vintage side table, a contemporary floor lamp, a lush rug or a custom wall hanging.

This trend has transformed the fabric choices available for outdoor furnishings, with more options that reflect the homeowner’s style and preferences, said Holly Bridwell, marketing manager at Mermet.

“Outdoor living in 2023 will revolve around extending your interior style preferences to your outdoor living spaces, while incorporating fun pops of color, textures or patterns,” she said, with this approach showing up in everything from roller shades to furniture to decor, sporting playful hues like bold blues, lively greens and vibrant oranges. Other consumers are favoring a more sophisticated palette, as Rollease Acmeda has noticed a trend toward dark colors for screens and shades—like black, charcoal and dark gray—combined with matte finishes and textures.

Much like indoors, consumers are craving more texture in their outdoor spaces. With a nod to that trend, Sunbrella introduced Momento, which Dooley described as “a highly textural fabric with a channel-like ribbed surface, featuring chunky boucle yarns that looks beautiful when layered and feels luxurious in any outdoor space.” Similarly, Mermet sees natural fibers like rattan and jute making a big splash outdoors, adding depth and fusing patterns for visual interest.

Sol-Lux views the blending of indoors and outdoors as touching every element of design. “We’re seeing interior designers expand their reach outside the home by coordinating patio furniture, pots and planters, and shade systems, namely awnings, as an extension of the home’s interior look and feel,” said Kevin Mayer, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing.

When outdoor living abuts the indoors— along an adjacent patio or a deck— designers will appreciate an expanding array of shading and screening options that make the transition seamless. Many are creating a design statement on oversize patio doors or floor-to-ceiling windows with treatments like Norman’s Woodlore Plus shutters, featuring lightweight, durable ABS and an aircraft wing-inspired louver construction for greater strength and less weight. Those who prefer a softer look will find lots of choices, too, like SmartDrape from Norman. “The undulating sheer and fabric vane construction is specially made to bring style, versatility and seamless indoor-outdoor living,” said Derek Tran, marketing coordinator.