According to findings from Brown Jordan Outdoor Kitchens’ 2023 Outdoor Living Report, 75% of Americans who are in the market to buy a new home consider outdoor living spaces a must-have. As the trend of outdoor living has steadily grown, homeowners and designers alike are finding ways to incorporate bold color.
“I’ve seen more clients focusing on elevating their outdoor spaces now than ever before. As my clients come to me for pops of color, that’s meant being able to play with elements like more vibrant outdoor furniture and adding bold accent colors, whether in cabinetry or décor,” designer Cara Woodhouse of Cara Woodhouse Interiors shares in the report.
Surveying over 2,000 Americans, in partnership with The Harris Poll, 69% see outdoor kitchens as an opportunity for different color selections compared with their interiors, and 77% embrace the opportunity to depart from more traditional options for their outdoor design. Hues of reds, blues, and even golds are on the forefront for outdoor kitchens.
While a large percentage see outdoor living areas as an option to get creative, 30% still prefer traditional styles compared with clean and contemporary at 21%; beachy or coastal at 18%; transitional at 15%; bold and modern at 12%; and other at 4%.
Over half of respondents, 56%, cite their experiences at hotels or vacation home rentals as influences for an ideal outdoor living space at home, and many are looking to create an everyday escape. On the trend horizon are backyard bars with 40% expressing interest, and 45% note a preferred shift to more Zen-inspired escapes.
Seven in 10 respondents say that if they’re investing in their home’s outdoor living space, it would be important to include or update an outdoor kitchen, and 63% say if they were to renovate their home, they would prioritize investing in an outdoor living space.
As homeowners look to renovate—especially younger respondents 18 to 44—there’s also a preference to use sustainable materials in home design, including the outdoors (75%). For smaller spaces like balconies, new outdoor-rate induction cooking can create a compact outdoor kitchen rather than expected seating spaces, the report notes.
