Decking and Outdoor Living

Top outdoor living trends for 2011
A survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects finds that light and fire are now the most sought-after enhancements for an outdoor living area. Fencing, arbors, and pergolas are the most popular structures, with decks (synthetic decking, lumber decking among others) ranking near the middle.

Homeowners want function, efficiency and fire pits in their outdoor space, according to the 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Residential Trends Survey. The survey asked residential landscape architecture professionals to rate the expected popularity of dozens of different outdoor living and landscape features for this year.

For 2011, the top outdoor living features are some of the most basic: light, fire, food and a place to sit and enjoy it all. Overall, 96.2 percent of respondents rated exterior lighting as somewhat or very popular for this year, followed by fire pits/fireplaces (94.2 percent), seating/dining areas (94.1 percent), grills (93.8 percent) and installed seating like benches or seat walls (89.5 percent).

Top Structures

1. Fencing (includes gates) – 85.1%
2. Arbors – 83.8%
3. Pergolas – 82.6%
4. Steps – 79.3%
5. Ornamental water features such as fountains or splash pools – 77.5%
6. Decks – 74.4%
7. Porches – 72.3%
8. Art (sculpture etc.) – 60.7%
9. Utility shed (tool shed, garden shed etc.) – 59.3%
10. Play structures (tree house, swing set, etc.) – 58.9%
11. Pavilions – 52.9%
12. Awnings, including retractable – 49.6%
13. Gazebos – 49.6%
14. Columns – 40.9%
15. ADA-accessible structures (ramps, bars, accessible shelving etc.) – 23.5%

Complete news article at http://www.asla.org/outdoorlivingtrends.aspx

Courtesy of American Society of Landscape Architects