In luxury homes a house is not a home without an outdoor living space that rivals its indoor living space.
“In that higher-end price range, you will start to see that the builder has already either built an outdoor kitchen and living area or the owner is improving the outdoor area to include an outdoor kitchen and living space,” says Vernetta Angelo of Budget Home Supply in Longmont. “California has been doing it for years and years and now in Colorado, we’re seeing it more and more. It’s bringing the outside in and the inside out.”
One great way to blur the line between indoor and outdoor living is with infinity or Nano doors. Options that are available at Budget Home Supply.
“Nano doors are very popular when you’re going in and out of your home, especially out to grill and then back inside or entertaining. A swinging patio door doesn’t cut it anymore. Being able to open it and let everyone walk in and out freely is a real game changer,” says Angelo.
She says you can get tall doors so it looks like the whole wall is opening up or just a standard eight-foot door.
“You can change a space with eight-foot-doors with openings up to 20 feet. At 10 feet it feels like the room is completely opened up. Depending on the type of exposure the door is under you can choose from a collapsible door or frame-by-frame doors,” Angelo says.
Once outside, a living area and outdoor kitchen are a must for an ideal outdoor living space. Budget Home Supply carries Bull Products, providing the ability to purchase an all-in-one unit that includes a countertop, full unit with refrigerator, sink, cooler and grill. It’s plug-and-play.
If you’re interested in designing and personalizing your outdoor kitchen, Budget Home Supply also has weather-resistant cabinets from brands like NatureKast. You can design an outdoor kitchen similar to designing an interior kitchen complete with warming drawers, grills, tabletop coolers and more.
“Once you’ve put that in, normally people put some sort of covering over it, whether a partial-covering like a pergola or full-covered porch or deck area. Some real high-end homes even have their outdoor living spaces glassed in so they can control the temperature,” says Angelo.
When it comes to patios and decks, Angelo says two of the most popular options are stamped concrete and composite decking.
“Composite decking has come a long way. There’s new technology now that offers temperature control for composite decking. When it first came out it could get really hot if you came out in bare feet. Not that they’ve built it with cooling elements in the material. There are a lot more colors now to go with any exterior color of a home,” said Angelo. “Concrete is normally used for one-level patios while composite decking is the best choice for multi-level decks. There’s not nearly as much maintenance as staining or sanding real wood. Composite decking will last 40-50 years with basic maintenance.”
Angelo says Budget Home Supply stocks about 52 colors of composite decking for customers to choose from. Something she says you won’t find in big box stores.
A beautiful addition to decks is lighting and a big upgrade to the outdoor aesthetic.
“It’s kind of like you would find in a resort with each step having its own light. From afar it’s a beautiful look,” says Angelo. “Up-lighting is another big upgrade. Uplight some beautiful features on the exterior of your home. Lighting is now also being made with built-in Bluetooth Speakers.”
Don King of Don King Landscaping, says he sees people moving to xeriscape.
“They don’t want to spend all this money on stuff that needs a lot of water like grass. In certain municipalities like Greenwood Village, they’re not even letting people put in thirsty grass yards. People are getting sick of having to spend money on watering and municipalities are getting water-wise because of climate change and the amount of water all the western states are using.”
Xeriscaping uses native plants and grasses that require less water and are hardier in the given climate. It is colorful all year round, cuts down on the water bill and requires less maintenance.
King says drip irrigation and automatic feeders are growing in popularity for their ease of use. Some automatic feeders even include fertilizer so the plant is watered and fertilized, fortifying the soil around the plant with the organic fertilizer.
“When it comes to new home builds it’s not finished without a landscape,” says King.
By Darian Armer, AH Luxury. Photos courtesy Budget Home Supply
