Outdoor living trends for 2008
What’s driving the market?
The outdoor living market is being driven by baby boomers, second-home owners and retirees. They are fueling trends we saw emerge in 2007 that are accelerating into 2008. It’s about convenience, saving time and enhancing the home’s investment value.
• The average second-home purchase may involve more money than the owner’s primary home. It’s a major investment that needs to be managed professionally, much like a portfolio would be managed by a financial services company.
• Wealthy baby boomers are not retiring. They are continuing their businesses or buying new ones. They don’t have the time or patience to maintain their homes themselves.
• More people can afford to be coddled. They are spending their money staying at home and entertaining more. And now that entertainment is occurring outdoors.
• Consumers want more than lawn-mowing services. They want companies that will provide services from A to Z – including home security, winter-proofing, even maintaining boats.
• It’s not just a pool anymore. It is landscaping, stonework, an outdoor kitchen – all planned and coordinated, even if the project has to be phased over time. This is increasing the need for greater specialization by traditional landscaping companies and a model approximating that of a general contractor who must work with many retailers and subcontractors.
• Grandparents are among the fastest-growing consumer sectors. They’re spending heavily to convert outdoor space into attractions for their children and grandchildren.
“I am hearing this kind of conversation a lot from baby boomer dads,” recounts Chris Joyce, owner of Joyce Landscaping in Marstons Mills: “They say: ‘I’ve worked so much that I wasn’t there for my kids. Now, I want to be there for my grandchildren.’ They’re building pools and installing swing sets.”
Outdoor living retailers also point to a trend that began after 9/11 and has accelerated in part because of the dollar’s falling value. It goes like this: “Life is too short. Let’s add to our quality of life. Let’s stop traveling and put money into our homes.”
Michelle Treese, owner of Cape Cod Aquatics in Harwich, recognizes these attitudes personally and professionally. She and her husband were living in the Washington, D.C., area on 9/11, and saw the Pentagon on fire. They moved to the Cape for both security and a newfound drive to realize their dreams. Since opening their pool and Jacuzzi business, they have encountered scores of customers just like them.
Adds Thomas Kearns of Anchor Pool in Hyannis: “Rather than jumping on a plane and vacationing somewhere else, homeowners are investing in their property and doing it here.”
This all translates into homeowners viewing their outdoor property more than ever as a “destination,” consisting of pools, spas, play areas, landscaping, even putting greens – all to attract and sustain family and friends.
Finally, the outdoor living boon is the upside of the down housing market. While businesses serving this sector are feeling the sting of the sagging real estate market, the savvy players are appealing to homeowners who will invest in their current house if they can’t manage to move up to more expensive homes.
What’s hot
Less maintenance
It applies to decks, patios, lawns, pools and fencing and the increasing use of fiberglass and plastic products. When it comes to decks, for example, homeowners are turning to artificial products that need less maintenance than wood and are more resistant to insects, warping and splintering. One popular product is Trex, a 50/50 mix of wood fibers and recycled grocery bags. Another composite that's gaining in popularity is called Tendura, comprised of hardwood sawdust and polypropylene.
The region is beginning to see a proliferation of non-wood fencing – even beyond vinyl. Eon fencing, for example, imitates the appearance and feel of natural wood without requiring annual painting, staining, and upkeep. It also is impervious to mold.
Automation
Suppliers are retrofitting pools with totally automated systems that can be operated remotely and can manage heating, chemicals and lighting. Costs range as low as $2,000 to $3,000.
Landscape lighting is being connected to automated systems controlling interior lighting. Some new products are wireless and controlled with handheld devices.
Bringing the outdoors indoors
Low-emittance windows, doors and skylights are growing in popularity. They offer natural light that block the sun’s UV rays that heat up the inside of a home, sometimes necessitating air-conditioning. They also retard fading fabrics, wall coverings, and artwork. Most low-E products block 70 percent to 90 percent of the sun.
Buying locally
Homeowners are increasingly aware of the environmental footprint businesses have on the environment, and about the health benefits of buying locally grown foods, and hiring local service providers.
Colors and shapes
Monochromatic is in for gardens. That’s potting and planting with one basic color, while adding foliage plants or succulents with variegated leaves as an accent. It’s also about more organic or free-flowing garden designs, replacing boxy shapes of old. Curves are in.
Eco-chic
Eco-ethics is the emerging philosophy. Homeowners are selecting plants that are bred to withstand attacks by disease and insects, without requiring traditional chemical applications. For those that don't want to use conventional chemicals, a slew of new ecological repellants are available.
Fire pits
Fire pits are popular. These open vessels are used for warmth, atmosphere and sometimes, depending on the model, cooking. There is a wide market of materials and sizes, with most enclosed by some type of steel mesh or glass. The fire pit sits off the ground, and fuel options include natural wood, propane, natural gas, gel inserts and manufactured fire logs.
Greenhouses
The desire for greenhouses is part of the gardening craze, especially among retirees. In some cases, it’s adding some extra windows to a room in the house and installing different ventilation systems as well as different roofing.
Landscape lighting
“Lighted features have become an essential element for 24-hour use of the garden,” says designer Peter Cilio of Campania International. From stylish table lamps to modern freestanding cast stone wall fountains equipped with submersible lights, homeowners want dramatic nighttime illumination of their landscape. Also, water carries light beautifully, from LED rainbow waterfalls in Jacuzzi hot tubs to luminescent water features in swimming pools and fountains.
Lawn maintenance and irrigation
Lawn maintenance costs – especially irrigation – are convincing homeowners to consider water-saving features and less of the traditional grass lawn. Instead, gardens will increase in prominence while incorporating more native and drought-resistant plants. These same features can also make a home's landscape significantly more sustainable
Natural shelters
Bird baths and birdhouses are just the beginning. Homeowners are creating natural shelters that birds can retreat to. They’re planting flowers and plants to attract and feed wildlife. This includes vines beneath deck railing and potted flowers around decks and patios to help birds hide.
New-fangled sheds
Sheds are becoming multipurpose and customized. Pine Harbor Wood Products reports growing upscale demand for customization – structures designed for different uses such as storing kayaks. Their custom designs include greenhouse sheds, pool sheds, cabanas, retail storefront sheds and three-sided run-in-sheds for pets.
Outdoor kitchens and fireplaces
Outdoor kitchens are one of the most popular trends. Homeowners are transforming backyards into ‘specialty rooms’ complete with kitchens, bars, TVs and even heaters for cool nights. Flowers, shrubs and trees are being used as accents, room dividers, carpets and curtains. “Today the average homeowner can walk into the home and garden department at any major store and find outdoor end tables, all-weather floor lamps, waterproof art and even affordable entertainment sets along with big and bold flowers and plants,” says one retailer.
Pools
A pool alone isn’t enough. Today’s pool owners demand less maintenance – from materials to automation. And the extras that surround the swimming area are increasingly important. Pool areas are being remodeled to add water features, entertainment areas or more relaxing sitting spaces.
“Trends are going toward adding pools and hot tubs that the owner can entertain and relax around, as well as swim and exercise in – the beauty is as important as the function – outdated are the simple 20x40 rectangle pools that were once so popular,” said Treese of Cape Cod Aquatics. “I think that the desire to bring more indoor luxuries outdoors will continue to grow.” Some homeowners are investing in lamps and carpeting designed for outdoor use. Jacuzzi hot tubs now offer standalone, non-glare, weather-resistant, LCD widescreen HDTVs for your outdoor living space.
Kearns, of Anchor Pools, points to an uptick in pools that come with optional systems that automatically measure and add chlorine and others that are substituting salt for chlorine. “You don’t have to worry about your hair turning green,” he said.
Rainwater holding tanks
Capturing rainwater and storm runoff can be used for greenhouse cultivation, and sprinkler systems. It can even be diverted indoors for plumbing and laundry.
Water features
Water gardening became a craze two years ago and appears to be continuing. The focus is on petite water ponds and fountains that require less water and maintenance. Fountains and waterfalls that re-circulate water should be very popular this year.
Published in Cape Business Health & Wealth March/April 2008
