Yardzen's annual report reveals the data-backed landscaping and exterior design trends for better outdoor living; in 2023, homeowners are investing in outdoor projects that maximize enjoyment
SAUSALITO, Calif., March 23, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Yardzen, the leading online landscape design and build company, today released its annual report on outdoor living and design trends. As the largest landscaping firm in the United States, Yardzen has designed over 50,000 yards across the country, giving the company a comprehensive view of homeowners' changing functional needs, style choices, and desires for outdoor living.
The report relies on yearly trend data from homeowner requests and insights from Yardzen's expert team of over 200 designers. To date, Yardzen has collected responses from over one million homeowners across the US as a part of its all-online design platform that makes designing outdoor spaces easy and fun.
"With a challenging housing market delaying moves this year, homeowners are instead seeking out ways to create outdoor spaces that maximize their enjoyment outside, or, backyard bliss," said Allison Messner, CEO of Yardzen. "This year's trends - from organic, cottage-garden inspired aesthetics to wellness yards replete with cold plunge tubs and cedar saunas will inspire homeowners to invest in outdoor projects that spark joy."
TREND SUMMARY
- 2023 Top Style: Organic: This style draws on the hallmarks of the English cottage garden with abundant shrubs and flowers, gravel paths and patios, stone, interlacing pavers reminiscent of cobblestone, and antique-inspired decor.
- Immersive Yards: A tried and true landscaping principle for drawing the gaze through the yard is to design on both the horizontal and vertical plane, think: pathways, arbors, trellises, and even gazebos for climbing vines.
- Climate-Responsible Space: Eager to lessen their environmental footprint, in the last year, 24% more Yardzen clients opted for artificial turf over sod grass, and 13% more YOY requested to remove their lawn altogether. Plus, 17% more people said they wanted drought-tolerant plants.
- Wellness Outside: Homeowners are seeking out ways to transform their outdoor space into spa-like environments with saunas (up 45%), hot tubs (up 28%), cold plunges, yoga platforms, and outdoor showers (up 28%).
- Maximalist Plantings: Nearly a 20% increase in full and lush plantings in designs. An exuberance of dense planting that embraces an untamed style and creates a calming and verdant feel.
- Bring on the Trees: Many trees are keystone species, which means that even adding one to a yard can exponentially improve the environmental impact of the landscape by creating habitat. 47% of Yardzen clients request additional trees in their yard, which is up 12% year over year.
- The Plunge Pool: Small, but mighty, plunge pools are the perfect 'staycation' amenity in your yard. This sleek, space and money-saving feature continues to reign as the go-to pool design with requests up 15% YOY.
- "Size Up" At Home with Creative Use of Space: As homeowners hunker down in their current homes due to a tough housing market, they're looking for creative solutions like ADUs, functional sheds, and creative storage to expand their home's square footage.
- Yards for Play: Parents want to create a yard that is not only beautiful but fun and enriching for their kids, helping keep them off of screens and connecting with each other and finding joy outdoors (85% increase in slides and 28% increase in play structures).
- Get Your Hands Dirty: Since 2020, we've seen requests for edible gardens and raised beds increase every year, and that trend is not showing any sign of stopping (30% of Yardzen clients request raised beds, 43% increase in greenhouses).
- Day-to-Night Yards for the Outdoor Entertainer: Homeowners want entertainment-ready amenities that transition their outdoor spaces from day to night. This includes long dining tables for large groups (up 70%), outdoor bars, (up 70%) pizza ovens (up 65%), outdoor fireplaces (up 40%), and heaters (up 41%) for memorable evenings under the stars.
- The Outdoor Living Room: There has been a notable spike in requests for outdoor fireplaces this year as more and more homeowners translate their favorite interior amenities to their outdoor rooms (outdoor fireplaces up 40% YOY).
- Make a Statement with Siding: An effective way to add richness to a home's facade and highlight architectural elements, designs with exterior siding are up across the board (91% increase for board and batten, 73% for stone siding).
- Top Exterior Paint Colors: Yardzen's designers chose Benjamin Moore's Slate Gray, a dusty blue-green, as the top exterior paint color of 2023.
- Top Front Door Color - Black: One of the easiest and most cost-efficient ways to transform the look of your home's front face, homeowners and designers alike are opting for black or charcoal paint for front doors (30% of clients made this change).
- Window Embellishments are Back: Harkening back to the quaintness of "organic" style, there's a renewed interest in window dressings, including window planters (up 41%) and shingles (up 54%).
- Statement Front Porch: The front porch sets the tone of the home's exterior, creating space for seasonal decor and functional elements, like porch swings and statement doormats. Reimagining these timeless spaces has been top of mind in 2023.
For a breakdown of all the trends and inspiration images, see the full Yardzen Outdoor Living Trends Report.
About Yardzen
Founded in 2018, Yardzen is changing the landscape design and build process by delivering a fundamentally better experience to homeowners and contractors, alike. From the online studio to the field, clients are treated to a custom design firm experience that respects their time and aligns with their priorities, before being connected to a vetted pro who can bring the design to life. Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies and Inc.'s Best Places to Work in 2022. For more information, please visit https://yardzen.com/yardzen.com.
Media Contact
Kristin Swenson, Yardzen, 1 8889273936, [email protected]
SOURCE Yardzen
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