A recent survey conducted by Harris Poll for the National Association of Landscape Professionals showed that nearly seventy-five percent of American adults believe it is important to spent time outside in their yards. This may mean a lot of different things to different people. For example, this could mean swimming in the pool, gardening, playing with kids, or just relaxing in a hammock. Regardless of what they do outside, people like to be outside.
It makes sense then that over half of residential architects believe that the outdoor space plays a significant role in the sale of new homes. They report outdoor living space as the most common special function room. In other words, more people now view their yard as an extension of their home, and they want to be able to spend quality time in their yard.
The outdoor living category has grown in sales by over fifty percent in the last ten years. This includes the sale of grills, tables, patio furniture, outdoor lounge sets, hammocks, fire pits, and more. This is more growth than has been seen in any other category, and it appears to go along with the growing trend of staycationing.
Staycationing is the idea of not going away for a vacation, but rather using vacation time from work to spend quality time at home. People often spend this time just relaxing and unwinding from their stressful work environment or taking the opportunity to visit local tourist attractions that often go unnoticed by residents.
Home decor stores are focusing more on decor for outdoor areas, which are often as decorated and personalized as indoor areas. This is true even in regions that do not have warm weather year-round. Those outdoor living areas are simply packed up and stored during the winter months, which makes it important that they are easy to store. This is one reason why so many people enjoy hammocks. They provided a comfortable and relaxed way to lay down outside and enjoy the sun, but they are also lightweight and easy to store.
Durable outdoor furniture is as important as it being easy to move and store. Every region has their own form of bad weather. Whether it is heavy rains, hail, or high winds, home owners do not want to have to buy new outdoor furniture every season because it couldn’t stand up to the weather. Obviously, outdoor furniture is not designed to stand up to hurricane force storms. However, they should last through hours of direct heat and rain.
Hammocks have grown a lot over the years in popularity, which has resulted in a grown in design and functionality. Traditionally, hammocks have been made of rope netting and hung from two trees. However, there are now free standing hammocks available for those that do not have two properly spaced trees to hang a hammock. There are also fabric hammocks available in different colors and designs to coordinate with the rest of the outdoor space. They may also be more comfortable for those that don’t enjoy the rope mesh.