Outdoor is the new indoor: what’s trending in outdoor design for 2020

|

Last winter, because I took part in the 2020 edition of Domotex and also because I didn’t want to be unprepared for the new summer season, I did some research to identify the new trends for 2020 outdoor design.
It feels as if hundreds of years have passed since then!

Now spring has arrived and we all have a great desire to be outside and so I thought it would be a good idea to refresh our memory about these trends. With a renewed desire to spend time outside the four walls of our homes, taking with us some practical and stylistic ideas from inside our homes.

The outdoor design trends for 2020, in fact, revolve around the concept that can be summarized as follows: outdoor is the new indoor. This trend appeared in 2019 and is confirmed to be continuing in the year 2020: I am talking about making the outdoor spaces more like the indoor ones.

But what exactly does this mean? Simple, we are recreating a real living space outside, perfectly designed to bring us the same conviviality, comfort and functionality that we have in our inside living spaces.
And so, with this in mind, we are talking about upholstered furniture, rugs, tables, decorative accessories, plants and all the things necessary to create our outdoor living space.

Photo credits: serenaandlily.com

These new trends which we are seeing in this spring season also demonstrate another inside space that will move outside. The living space will be followed by the kitchen space, becoming a small outside kitchen. These spaces are smaller than that which we have inside, but the trend tells us that we are recreating an external space in which we can cook and more: there will be a worktop, an oven and a dining area.

I talked about this new trend with outdoor kitchens in episode #11 of Design for breakfast, here is the link below.

As you see in the video, I talked about stools and high top tables –  bar/restaurant style counters – all which are elements that suit this space best, especially when you may need to consider limited spaces. 

As the designer Linda Fennessy says, counter tops that face the kitchen allow us to stay in company whilst we cook and eat, giving us the feeling of being in a restaurant or lounge bar inside our own home, or better still, outside!

Photo credits: contemporist.com
Photo credits: contemporist.com, pinterest.com

Obviously, this “bringing the interior to the outside” means we must pay particular attention to  materials. It may seem trivial to mention this, but it’s always best to repeat it: outside the climatic conditions for your furniture are more hostile than for internal furniture.

For this reason, when choosing materials we must keep in mind the minimum requirements: waterproof, resistant to humidity and temperature changes.

However, let me give you a tip, there’s a good way to get around the limitations, at least in part. I am referring to the possibility of creating covered or partially covered outside spaces.

Another trend will be to mix materials for the outdoors. In the elements such as the floors, roofs and walls that surround our outside space, we can mix many material types.

The most popular mix? Wood and cement with a touch of metal. Also in this case, it is a trend that is transcribed from the internal world. A popular trend  from the autumn and winter of this year 2019 has been the japonordic style which whilst being minimalist, it brings the meeting of wood and cement together.

Photo credits: houzz.com

As for the stylistic and decorative side of our outdoor space, we see a wide use of stripes, which come in contrasting colours, and also in a version that gets its inspiration from the Amalfi Coast with its black-white colour combination.

Lighting is not only functional but it takes on the task of being decorative, making the outdoor space magical. The designer led lamps, bulbs and strips are definitely in, positioned carefully to create an ambient full of atmosphere and intrigue.

Photo credits: cb2.ca

To finish, would you like to know a timeless element that will never go out of fashion and is not affected by seasonal trends over time? The bioethanol fireplace, beautiful, useful and extremely contemporary. Here we have an object that is particularly aesthetic: the flame exerts an ancestral charm over us!

In short, if you don’t have one yet, then you absolutely have to get one!

Photo credits: antoniolupi.it

And you, what do you think? Do you have an outdoor space that you would like to furnish? Which of these trends inspire you the most? What ideas come to your mind? Let me know, you can write below in the comments or you can send me an email to [email protected].

IN COLLABORATION WITH

Domotex

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *