Outdoor spaces top home upgrades

Middle Tennesseans are spending more time than ever enjoying life outside. Thanks to relatively mild temperatures and a renewed desire to reinvest in homes, outdoor living spaces are still one of the top renovations in the area, perhaps now more so than ever.

“Outdoor living is extremely popular,” says Trey Pettis with Pettis Builders. “People want a space that can function as an indoor and outdoor space, and contrary to the cold we have right now, it is something you get to use a large portion of the year.”

And he is not the only local builder seeing the ongoing trend continue to grow.

“There is a lot more outside living space where you have people doing outdoor grills, patios, fireplaces and stuff like that,” says James Wallace with Wallace Custom Builders.

Pettis says they have been doing a lot of covered porches, which offer homeowners a gate to the outdoors without leaving them exposed to the elements. Many times they will be three-sided, with an acid-stained floor and bead board ceiling.

“It is a true indoor/outdoor space, and a lot of people are looking for large French doors or accordion doors so in nice weather they can open that up and have one large space that connects into the home,” he says.

Outdoor kitchens

Covered spaces or open-air, homeowners are continuing to add kitchens, even though the home’s main cooking space is probably just steps away.

“The reason those things are so popular is that people are beginning to understand it is not really about the cooking, it is about creating an environment,” says John Puryear with Puryear Farms. “It is a lot preferable to keeping the festive environment going rather than having to excuse yourself to have to go to the kitchen for this and that.”

That’s why people now are asking for firepits with intimate seating areas, raised bars with cocktail seating and other extras to create a place people want to gather.

“It is about creating a space that draws people into it to entertain,” Puryear says. “It is really about creating an experience.”

The right furniture

Eddie Gibson with Gibson Furniture and Patio in Gallatin says as people are installing pools and doing extensive outdoor work, they are looking for new furniture as well, and more so now than in recent years.

“The economy is coming back,” he says. “The patio is a luxury item, so it is not something you have to have, and I am seeing people more willing to spend money on their patio now. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on your outdoor furniture if you haven’t updated your inside.”

Gibson says many people come to him looking for wicker items because it is a material that most everyone is familiar with, However, there are new options in vinyl or resin that reduce weathering and wear from the elements.

“I see people now buying the cast aluminum because it is more comfortable and it really will last a lot longer than the wicker,” Gibson says. “Everyone knows wicker because it has always been around, so when they come in they are not aware of the cast aluminum product but will end up going with it over the wicker because of the comfort level.”

Gibson does suggest people buy the best they can afford, only so they are not back in a few years looking to upgrade some seriously weathered pieces.

“Spend what you can because you do get what you pay for,” he says. “If you try to go a little too inexpensive, it will not last you very long.”

Across the board, the fact homeowners are ready to reinvest in their outdoor spaces shows consumer confidence is much higher than previous years.

“We are very busy and poised to have one of our best years, if not our best year,” Pettis says. “This year is looking really strong in terms of not only new construction building, but also larger renovations where people are putting quite a bit of money into their existing homes.”