Finally, spring has arrived and it’s time to get outdoors! One of the best ways to do this is by bringing your living space outside—turning your yard into an oasis where you can enjoy the smell of blooming flowers, take a dip in the pool, sit by a pond, chat with friends around a fire pit or watch the kids as they chow down on pizza made in a portable oven.
Outdoor living is still going strong; not only are people expanding their outdoor living spaces, but almost all high-end structures come with an outdoor kitchen, covered dining area, pool, pool house and more,” explains Eric French, president, Eisler’s Landscapes. “We’re also seeing builders incorporate these spaces into new homes as they are being built instead of adding them later.”
The Bigger the Grill, the Better the Burger?
Grilling outside is still popular, and there’s almost no limit as to the types of grills and outdoor ovens that homeowners can buy. Some of the more premium, popular models include the Fire Magic brand and the Kalamazoo brand, with prices ranging from roughly $2,500 to more than $15,000.
“It’s incredible how much you can spend on a grill these days,” laughed French. “They can cost as much as a small car.”
Homeowners are also incorporating pizza ovens into outdoor kitchen designs, and portable wood-burning pizza ovens—which feature super high temperatures for maximum wood-fired flavor—are also gaining in popularity as these mobile ovens allow homeowners to relocate the oven around the pool or to different locations on the patio. These portable ovens can range from $1,000 to more than $7,000.
“When people go all out on these big outdoor kitchens, they often include pizza ovens, but they’re not quite as popular as they once were,” said French. “It’s great fun, but after you use it a couple times, you realize that it can be a lot of work.”
The Perfect Lounge Area
One of the most important things to consider when designing a dining or lounging area is that functionality and aesthetics should go hand-in-hand, according to Pittsburgh landscaping company Eichenlaub, Inc. In a recent landscaping blog, “Top Four Outdoor Living Trends to Try This Spring,” they suggest incorporating durable and weather-resistant materials, such as stainless-steel appliances, natural stone countertops, and weather-resistant furniture. Additionally, incorporating features like built-in storage, outdoor refrigeration, and ample lighting can enhance a space’s overall usability and ambiance.
It’s also important to try to extend the outdoor season by creating covered areas that provide shelter from the weather, including pergolas with retractable canopies to protect from the summer sun. Heating elements, such as fire pits or gas fire bowls, can provide comfort during the chillier fall months. These bowls, which are typically fueled by propane or natural gas, provide a source of heat and light and offer an easy-to-use, clean alternative to traditional wood-burning fire pits.
Just like with any outdoor furniture, these bowls come in a range of sizes and prices; a simple tabletop fire bowl may cost about $100; a massive copper fire tower can run $10,000 or more, and can be customized for the buyer. Many of these bowls can also be controlled through a homeowner’s iPhone.
Lounge areas are also serving as multi-use spaces that can adapt to the various activities and changing needs of families. Flexible design elements that can easily be rearranged to suit different purposes can transform a space from a dining area, to a lounge or outdoor office. Kitchens may be transfigured to create bar-area seating or more entertainment space.
Speaking of outdoor activities, swimming pool and hot tub combos are still popular, though today’s pools feature far more smart technology than in the past. Homeowners can control pool lighting and heating from their iPhones, as well as sonar speaker systems that can be used both in and outside the house.
While some homeowners do choose to install stand-alone hot tubs, French notes that it’s not really worth the investment. “To build a good outdoor stand-alone concrete hot tub costs almost as much as building a pool, which is why we don’t often see it,” he said.
Unfortunately, pools are not always the best investment as the next person who buys the house may not want to deal with the maintenance. “We used to tear out as many swimming pools as we built,” said French. “The kids leave home, there’s no grandkids, and people don’t want to keep up with the swimming pool anymore, so out they come. The good thing about other outdoor living spaces, like an outdoor kitchen, is that they add value. Nobody takes them out.”
While the sky is the limit on how much people are willing to spend for outdoor living amenities like swimming pools, kitchens, lounge areas and pavilions, Eisler said that the ‘jumping-off point’ is usually around $300,000.
“Some of it is just about keeping up with the Jones’s—in certain neighborhoods with certain types of homes, if a neighbor has an amazing outdoor space, you have to have one,” he said.
Other people invest in these outdoor luxuries because they prefer the privacy of their own homes, especially if they have children.
“Now that the pandemic is over, everybody’s going back to their country club and the swim club,” said French. “It’s not so much that people are trapped at home anymore, but a lot of people’s schedules don’t leave them big blocks of time. If they get off work at 7 p.m. and the country club pool closes at 8 p.m., what do they do? They want it at their fingertips and when it’s in your backyard, kaboom! There you go.”
He added that having these amenities at home makes it easier for parents to know where their kids and their friends are. “A backyard theme park helps keep kids in their yards and not running off to the neighbors,” he said. “As kids get older, it can become a place where teenagers want to congregate.”
From Artificial Turf to Aquascapes
A yard is no longer just a yard anymore. Today’s backyards may include putting greens, turf around swimming pools, or artificial turf in place of grass to create lush, green lawns year-round.
“A lot of city folks have given up on growing grass, especially in tiny urban backyards, which is one reason that turf is big and getting bigger,” said French. “People are building putting greens and even par 3 courses if they have the property. Some homeowners have their own little chip and putt—we’re seeing a lot of that.”
French adds that his company is also seeing a bigger push into porcelain pavers vs. compressed concrete pavers, especially when paired with artificial turf.
“For the last 30 years or even longer, people have been building with compressed concrete pavers, which have gotten better with the closing of the surface cell,” he explained. “Because it’s a granular surface, though, it collects a lot of dirt and ages relatively quickly. What once was a bright red paver becomes dull pink in five years. Dark brown pavers become a washed-out tan.
“Porcelain pavers are closed cell and don’t have that same porosity, so they don’t age like that,” he added. “They are more expensive and harder to work with, and they take more specialized care and handling, but they’re definitely growing in popularity.”
According to a recent Smith Landscaping and Lawncare blog, busy homeowners are also looking for low-maintenance landscaping solutions that provide beauty without constant upkeep. In addition to artificial turf, they are requesting drought-resistant plants and xeriscaping (using plants that do not need more water beyond what the natural climate provides), as well as hardscaping features like rock gardens and gravel pathways that ensure that outdoor spaces remain attractive without excessive time and effort.
Homeowners are also requesting eco-friendly and sustainable landscaping that includes native plant gardens that require less water and maintenance; permeable pavers to reduce water runoff and improve drainage; and composting and organic mulching to enrich the soil naturally.
To this end, many homeowners are turning to natural landscaping if they have the room to let things grow.
“Some people are removing one- to two-acre pieces of lawn and turning them into meadows,” said French of places like Sewickley Heights, where homeowners still have large pieces of properties. “But some places—like where $1 million to $3 million houses are built on tiny little lots—don’t lend themselves to native landscaping. It looks too unkempt.”
While big homes used to be built on big lots, which allowed for more variety in gardens, French said that the current trend of home builders is to build large custom homes in small yards, in part because there is not as much land available for new construction. “Instead of taking 100 acres and chopping it into five lots, they’re now taking 20 acres and chopping it into 40 lots,” he explained.
To set their yards apart, many homeowners are turning to water features, which not only beautify properties but provide an excellent place to unwind.
“Water features are calming and healing and draw people to them,” said Kevin Soergel, owner of Soergel Landscapes and Aquascapes. “Water is why people go to the beach or spend time beside streams and ponds. It just makes them feel better.
“I’ve had clients tell me that their lives have gotten better just by sitting near a pond I built talking to each other,” he added. “They say their pond paid for itself in therapy bills they don’t have to pay anymore.”
Soergel offers complete landscape designs tailored to the client, though he is most often called for ponds, waterfalls and water gardens. As a landscape designer, his goal is to not only design for clients’ tastes and styles, but to create a cohesive, natural-looking space that doesn’t feel manmade.
“In most cases, I try to plant it to look like nature; like something you would see in a state park while hiking instead of something you’d see in a botanical garden,” he said, noting that he has created English gardens, formal gardens, and botanic gardens by client requests. “A natural space requires lower maintenance than an attended, trimmed, formal hedge garden. Both are beautiful, but a natural garden is easier to maintain.”
For clients interested in sustainability, Soergel designs gardens using native plants and those that attract pollinators, and can also include vegetables and fruit among the plantings.
“The sustainability of a water feature is also different than the sustainability of a formal garden,” he added. “There’s no mulch or need to spray weeds and trim. It’s a little greener.”
He adds that while not as popular as in the past, rainwater can also be harvested to use in water features, with excess water being stored underground or in an open pond to use for irrigation.
The cost of water features ranges greatly, depending on a client’s needs. Soergel charges $1,000 for the design of a project, which includes a site visit, discussion with the client and a drawing of the client’s project on his iPad. That fee is applied toward the work, which can range anywhere from $3,000 to half-a-million dollars or more.
Make it Easy to Maintain
Home and yard maintenance is always an issue for people, and Pittsburgh has an aging population looking for ways to reduce these chores.
“While it used to be a status symbol to have an intricate, interesting yard in places like Sewickley, Squirrel Hill and Upper St. Clair, that’s not as much of a critical driver for folks these days,” said French, noting that it’s getting more and more expensive to hire people to cut the grass or take care of gardens. “Overall, the horticulture industry is holding its own, but it’s not making any great expansions.”
Homeowners are also utilizing technology to make it easier to take care of outdoor spaces. This includes investing in smart irrigation systems that optimize water usage, reducing waste and lowering utility bills. Other tech-driven innovations include app-controlled outdoor lighting, robotic lawn mowers for easy maintenance, and AI-driven soil sensors that notify you when plants need watering or fertilization.
The most important thing when looking for lower maintenance, livability or just beauty, however, is to consider design first, according to Soergel.
“You can buy a nice gazebo or outdoor kitchen set, or beautiful furniture or have a patio built, but by the time you’re done, you just have a yard full of stuff,” he said. “There’s no privacy or no focal point, and that gets old.
“I’ve seen a lot of pizza ovens and fireplaces used once because they weren’t well placed in the yard, and it’s really unfortunate to buy these items that never get used,” he added. “Having good design and the vision to put it all together is extremely important and the first step to creating an outdoor space you want to use. You have to have a good design before putting things down on the ground.” NH
