OUTDOOR HOLIDAYS
Design trends come together for outside gatherings this holiday season
Design trends come together for outside gatherings this holiday season
Outdoor Thanksgiving dinners surely will surge this year, as families take precautions against the coronavirus and surging COVID-19 cases.
Houses have never been more prepared for outdoor living and social distancing.
One in three homeowners have updated or created outdoor living spaces since March, according to a survey by Farmers Insurance. Farmers also found that COVID- 1 9 has changed the holiday plans of three of every four people — and 40% of those individuals still plan to get together with others over the holidays.
Decades collide in today' s outdoor living spaces, but the trends are tying everything together in a clear statement:
Outdoor living spaces are for living outdoors.
Sounds obvious, but maybe not so much in previous eras. Outdoor living seems to have gotten where it is one patio paver step at a time.
Outdoor fire is nothing new. Outdoor cooking either. See the cavemen and cavewomen.
In modern times, though, specifically midcentury modern times, outdoor fireplaces were especially hot, both masonry and colorful, space-agey enamel.
Built-in grills were al sos mokin' on backyard patio sin the1950s and 1960s. Maybe burgers and dogs were trotted inside, or munched on a traditional picnic table — wooden, red-stained,
2-by-6's for seats — outside.
Sliding glass doors blurred lines between bright ly lit casual dining rooms and patios int he1960s. Int he1970s, private backyard pools were all the rage. Decks. Hot tubs, too. Wet bars. Outside spaces f or hanging out caught up, with poolside lounging just the start.
By the 1980s, a mud room wasn't enough as a go-between changing space between house and pool: People went bananas over cabanas. Fireplace demand rekindled.
Int he1990s, the whole kitchen started sneaking out of the house — not just a grill, but burners and sinks and prep areas. An eating bar. Game tables.
After the turn of the 21st century, new homes started coming pro genitive, like Tribbles on Star Trek in the 1960s, when outside was still outside, man, and inside was still inside, despite Peter Maxinspired color schemes, egg chairs and other “space-age” decor:
Since 2000, at l east, new up scale homes have come with a whole separate living space outdoors, or ready to birth one:
Fire, fireplace, fire pit, fridge, grill, burners, stove, water, wine, pool, hot tub, spa, kitchen, dining, games, bath, home theater — anything and everything for living outdoors. And smarter than ever, with as much home automation as anyone desires.
Not an extra. Now a must for many upscale homebuyers. They want a special space for outdoor living, sometimes even nicer than inside — especially if meant for entertaining. And the space and place can blur. Automatic retractable walls turn heads, and turn inside spaces and outdoor spaces into one thing: space for living.
Thanksgiving safety
In addition to wearing masks, hand washing and keeping people 6 feet apart, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests taking the following steps if having a Thanksgiving gathering:
• Have a small outdoor meal with family and friends who live in your community.
•Limit the number of guests.
• Have conversations with guests ahead of ti me to set expectations for celebrating together.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and items between use.
•If celebrating indoors, make sure to open windows.
• Limit the number of people in food preparation areas.
• Have guests bring their own food and drink.
• If sharing food, have one person serve food and use single-use options, like plastic utensils.