Published on April 14th, 2019.
Houzz recently published a piece on home exterior trends on the rise in 2019 (click link to view). Certainly, Archadeck outdoor living spaces – specifically, our Central Iowa deck, porch and patio spaces – play in the “home exterior” arena. While glass garage doors and modern farmhouse styles don’t typically fit into our realm (though we’re doing more and more rural-setting projects) it was interesting to see many of the styles and features we are doing in our outdoor spaces mentioned by Houzz:
- We’ve done a number of front porches over
the years in various styles and settings. - A seamless flow between indoors and outdoors is always our goal. Spaces that accommodate an outdoor living room or family room feel are some of our most in-demand and popular projects over the past several years. We take care to design the spaces to seamlessly flow with the home and its backyard and landscape features…or possibilities. There are a number of ways to achieve this, some more practical than others given Iowa’s 4 seasons. Covered porches – both over deck and patios spaces, outdoor kitchens, outdoor fireplaces and other heat-providing components (infrared heaters, for instance) and outdoor lighting are some of the most common ways we invite the outdoors inside. Or is it the other way around?
- Mixed materials are also common in many of our Des Moines-area outdoor living projects. Wood – or “fake” wood (wood-alternative, lower-maintenance products), stone and metal are nearly
always incorporated into our spaces in some form. Mixing colors is another aspect of this. Multi-hued decking and patio paver products can be used to border and trim spaces to offer various accenting features. As the Houzz piece notes, stone (relative to our use in the walls, columns, kitchens and fireplaces we incorporate into our spaces) is very popular; veneer stone has also been one of the highest-valued cost/return ratios within any home improvement project.
Speaking of cost-return values…trends are one thing, but value (and practicality) can be another. The good news for us and for those of you considering the outdoor living aspects of your Central Iowa home exteriors is that updates/additions to outdoor living spaces are some of the most valuable (from a cost/return ratio perspective) home improvement projects a homeowner can undertake. Remodeling Magazine performs annual studies of cost versus return values of various home remodeling projects. The Remodeling 2019 Cost vs. Value Report lists the following projects relative to the outdoor living world we play in (regional values relative to our Des Moines and Central Iowa (north west central) market:
- Backyard Patio – 58%
- Deck Addition (composite-wood) – 64% – 69%
- Veneer Stone – 94% (#1, four years in a row)
Compare those to some of the more “traditional” remodeling projects homeowners undertake…and, typically, ones that are often perceived to be high value and ones that are often undertaken before outdoor living projects:
- Bathroom Additions/Remodels – 61% – 65%
- Kitchen Remodels – 60% – 65%
- Basement Remodel – 70% (2017 value, not tracked since)
- Family Room Addition – 69% (2017 value, not tracked since)
Lastly, in case you are wondering, besides veneer stone already referenced as #1, two other high-value projects are siding replacement (#2) and entry and garage door replacements (nearly equal #3).
I was a show presenter at the 2017 Home + Outdoor Living Show here in Des Moines and the topic of my presentation was “Outdoor Living Trends & Values.” I discussed many of these same issues in my 30+minute presentation. This presentation has been broken into two video segments, one focusing on the trends of, the other focusing on the value of, outdoor living. See these on our video gallery page and/or via the links below:
As the recent Houzz piece and this year’s Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report confirm, this presentation from 2 years ago is still very relevant and I suspect it will be for some time. If anything has changed, its that we’re just doing more of all of this. Our 16-year local and 35-year national history of developing trend-setting value and reliability in our outdoor living spaces confirms our ongoing leadership in this industry. As I said at the close of my presentation, there is value to outdoor living and these trends are trends for a reason – the value that a functional, attractive, easy-to-enjoy outdoor space adds to your home and to your lifestyle at home. Better Value by Design. Better Building by Design. Archadeck principles (not trends) since 1984.
Go Outside and Play!
