Outdoor rooms extend home relaxation space

“The whole point is to make the outdoors be an extension of the indoors,” said Sharon Renyer, who co-owns Outdoor Rooms by Design in Kimberling City, with husband Randy Renyer. “It can display the same personality and same style as the rest of your home. If you’re standing in the kitchen and you look out into the yard, you want the fireplace to be the focal point, so that it just flows.”

Enjoying the home front

According to a survey by the Propane Education & Research Council in June, 50 percent of American homeowners said they’re spending more time at home than they were five years ago, and 80 percent said it is important to have an outdoor living space where they can relax and entertain.

Features homeowners were likely to include in an outdoor room, according to the PERC report, were outdoor lighting units (94 percent); a gas grill (86 percent); mosquito eliminators (79 percent); an outdoor fireplace or pit (67 percent); and patio heaters (53 percent).

Adding an outdoor room may be assimple as creating a comfortable seating area or as elaborate as an outdoor kitchen with appliances designed to stand up to the elements.

“When you design, keep two things in mind,” Renyer said. “Make it look like a continuation of the home and think about how you’re going to use it. Do you entertain a lot of people or do you want a cozy little corner where the two of (you) can relax and read a book? It makes a difference. We’re finding it’s one extreme or the other.”

Whether simple or elaborate, Renyer said that a few simple touches can make a difference.

“We’ve found that what really pulls it together is an outdoor rug and outdoor lamp,” Renyer said. “You put your furniture on a rug and bring some accessories outside and it really makes it home.”

Michael Baird, sales manager for HMI Fireplace Shop in Nixa, said certain features are in demand for outdoor rooms in the Ozarks.

“Drop-in grills and building custom islands are extremely popular, especially on the West Coast, but they’re starting to be here,” Baird said.

HMI, which also has locations in Camdenton and Rolla, provides fireplaces and fire pits for outdoor rooms. Stone and cultured stone also are available to create partial walls to set the outdoor living area apart from the rest of the yard.

Outdoor dining

Features requested by homeowners vary, but Bev Schmidt, owner of Outdoor Home in Springfield, said outdoor kitchens are high on the list.

“It depends on people’s space considerations, but they want more of a kitchen feel outside. More than just a grill sitting there. They want counter space, more room, and a lot of times they want a lot of different units,” Schmidt said. “They don’t want just a gas grill. They want a gas grill and a smoker.”

Furniture for outdoor rooms isn’t limited to the traditional dining table and chairs.

“We’re seeing a large increase in the amount of seating rather than dining (furniture) that’s going in,” said Greg Nutting, general manager of Maschino’s Home Express.

A small difference in table height – chat group tables sit 16.5 inches off the floor vs. conversation group tables at 19.5 inches – makes a big difference in comfort, Nutting said.

“It makes it not so far to bend over and put your plate or refreshment down,” he said.

Nutting estimates 80 percent of shoppers choose seating rather than dining furniture, choosing soft, comfortable cushions and sets that can withstand the abuse of remaining outside.

Outdoor Home’s Schmidt agreed. “We’re selling more and more of what you would call in the furniture realm ‘deep-seating pieces,’ like big, comfortable lounging chairs and sofas,” she said.

Outdoor furniture manufacturers, she said, are keeping up with consumers by designing cushions so water will drain out rather than be held within the cushions, and fade-resistant fabrics.

Year-round warmth

While the outdoor room extends the home’s living area, some homeowners look for ways to extend the season, too. Installing an outdoor heater is one way to enjoy an outdoor room longer.

“The traditional propane heaters have been what someone thinks of when they think of outdoor heating, but we have infrared heat,” said Renyer of Outdoor Rooms by Design. “It looks like a fluorescent light with tubes but it’s actually infrared heat. Infrared heats the objects, not the air.”

Three-foot and 5-foot units are available to mount under an overhang or on a pole for about $200 to $400, she said.

50%

Percentage of American homeowners who say they’re spending more time at home now compared to five years ago

80%

Percentage of homeowners who think it’s important to have outdoor living space

94%

Percentage of homeowners who would likely include outdoor lighting units in outdoor living space

86%

Percentage of homeowners who would want a gas grill in their outdoor living space

Source: Propane Education& Research Council [[In-content Ad]]