March 15 • 2018

With Memorial Day less than 100 days away, now is the time to start making a checklist of everything you want to have in place -- maybe new seating or some fun new fabric to reupholster pieces you already own -- so you’re ready to kick up your feet and enjoy the great outdoors all summer long.

“As I often say to people, if you have the great fortune of living in a house, often the backyard is the biggest room of your home,” Los Angeles-based landscape designer Judy Kameon told Gardenista.com.

Homeowners have expanded what outdoor living looks like to include rooms traditionally surrounded by four walls, like kitchens and living rooms, where they can gather during warmer months.

“People are embracing the idea of outdoor rooms,’” Zoe Gowen, Senior Home Editor for Southern Living, told Summerclassics.com. “They want the same amount of comfort and convenience from their porches and decks as they do their living rooms.”

We’ve put together a list of ideas to help update your outdoor areas, including some of the latest design trends for bringing the indoors outside.

One of the biggest factors driving the outdoor living room trend are the advances that have been made in performance fabric technology. These new fabrics not only hold up to the elements but have the look and feel of the most sophisticated fabrics, according to Duralee designer Lonni Paul, whose first fabric collection combines fresh hues and patterns with Crypton performance technology.

In fact, many designers are choosing the livability and cleanability of performance fabrics to use everywhere inside the house -- from living room sofas to headboards.

“Performance fabrics are not a fad, but rather a logical evolution of what a consumer would expect of a textile once they realized that they really can have those attributes,” Randy Rubin, co-owner of fabric supplier Crypton, told Furniture Today.

When one of our super-fashionable clients was looking to update her outdoor seating area, choosing this fun and vibrant Trina Turk fabric for Schumacher was a no-brainer. We finished off the look by popping the juicy green Crypton fabric on the club chairs and finishing it off with coordinating pillows from Frontgate.

“Outdoor living now means a lot more than a few lounge chairs scattered on a brick patio or some rocking chairs lined up across your front porch,” says Gowen.

Advances in furniture and fabric technology make it possible to bring living room-worthy pieces outside, like the Summer Classics Helena Collection that combines Sunbrella outdoor fabrics and deep seated design for a cozy spot for reading or entertaining.

Open air rooms lend themselves to using lighting and ceiling fan fixtures traditionally found inside the home.

Kameon, the LA-based landscape designer, employed giant orbs to light her client’s outdoor living space that quite literally spills outside from within. The fixtures seem to hover moon-like over the hills of Los Angeles when viewed from inside.

We love how this client played off the more traditional teak of their decking with the whimsical patio that paired step stones with grass, creating nice texture and giving it an English garden vibe.