Outdoor Trends

Posted: 27 July 2009 by Metricon Homes

Tags: alfresco, decking, entertainment, furniture, outdoor

Melbournians are demanding more flexible outdoor living spaces at home with a view to using them all year round. While we love to be outdoors, we have been ultimately reliant on our climate.

A paved area or deck without any shade from the sun or cover from rain has limited value. We looked at ways of providing an outdoor space that could be utilised no matter the weather.

An ‘indoor/outdoor’ room is really the natural extension of alfresco living. It solves many of the dilemmas posed by weather and it has proved to be a very popular feature of our homes.

This covered space is the transitional area that has been missing from home design. This area is sited to flow from the family and entertaining areas indoors. It is a portico that is often combined with an open deck area to make the most of summer days and crisp winter nights.

There is ample evidence of this trend. We have seen a range of furniture and other products spring up, targeted at the outdoor room. People are looking to protect much of their outdoor furniture from the elements, particularly fading from the sun, and the patio heaters seen outside restaurants for years are now a backyard staple.

An Alfresco are is a great contribution towards low-maintenance living too, because ultimately having most of your backyard landscaped. Most of us don’t have time to get into the garden or mow lawns and water restrictions make gardening particularly hard to sustain.

Customers have been looking for a smart, functional and easy solution to enjoy outdoor living and the indoor/outdoor room is our way of meeting that demand.