Backyards traditionally are the domain of gardens, play sets and impromptu barbecues.

Now make room for … a second living room?
Many homeowners are maximizing their backyards by creating outdoor living spaces with seating that looks less like lawn chairs and more like living-room furniture.


To accommodate this growing trend, patio furniture also has changed. The plastic-strapped patio chairs and chaises you probably were used to seeing have given way to furniture pieces you might mistake for belonging inside of a house.

In 2014, you’ll see even more patio furniture readily available from specialty patio stores to your local home-improvement store.

OUTDOOR ROOMS

The shift to outdoor spaces began about five years ago, say several manufacturers and stores that sell patio furniture, but it has especially taken off in the past couple of years.

“Even three years ago, in most mass-retail [stores], what customers were used to seeing were dining sets, with a glass tabletop in a five-piece or seven-piece dining set,” says Aaron Bonham, a national outdoor living merchant for Home Depot. “It was a place where people had dinner and ran back inside. Now, when you talk to the customers, they want to be spending more time outside. They want it to be a place where they can entertain and just hang out with the family.

If people are going to be sitting around and relaxing, they want conversational or deep seating, he says. Chairs, love seats and sectionals that you often see in a living room can now be found outdoors. Often made of aluminum or cast aluminum frames, these outside furniture pieces usually are made of resin and have cushions designed for the sun and weather. They also tend to be bigger than your basic patio furniture, and many can swivel, rock or glide.

While clear, tempered glass tabletops still are available, they’ve given way to other options. This year, materials that are popular for inside the home, such as granite, marble and faux stone have been integrated into outdoor tabletops.

In recent years, outdoor fabric selections have greatly increased. You can find fabrics that look and feel like indoor furniture materials such as leather, linen, silk and chenille, but are actually solution-dyed acrylic for outdoor use.

A ROOF OVERHEAD

Canopies, cabanas and pavilions are now larger and have additional features.

“We’ve seen them get bigger just as patio furniture has gotten bigger,” Bonham says. A 10-by-10-foot canopy used to be the biggest size offered, but now you can find 12-by-10-foot or 14-by-10-foot ones, he says.

Canopies, cabanas and pavilions also now come with side insect netting or privacy curtains.

A 12-by-14-foot screened aluminum pavilion that includes removable windows and bottom privacy panels costs $1,490 US at The Home Depot online.

OUTDOOR ACCESSORIES

To complete the living room look, accessories for the outdoors also are available, including rugs, lamps, pillows and wall art.

“I’m seeing accent pieces that match the colour of the fabric” on the furniture, says Harold Hudson, vice-president of sales and marketing for Summer Classics, a garden furniture manufacturer.

“For instance, outdoor lampshades can be the same exact same shade as your [furniture] fabric.”

He also suggested toss pillows with decorative fringes and tassels, acrylic outdoor rugs that can be left outdoors and outdoor lamps, as well as floor lamps that can be left outside.