“We’re on a job right now, and the family have a large outdoor
patio,” says Brian Deas, owner of Memphis’ Deas Floor Decor.
“They had their patio furniture and grill sitting on drabby, gray,
unsealed concrete. Once we clean the concrete, stain it, and seal it,
it will transform the living space outdoors.
“Put the furniture back on the patio, and you just want to hang out
outside,” Deas continues. “We’re used to seeing warm hardwood floors.
When you do this with concrete and you protect it with the sealers we
use, it’s a very attractive solution. And in a lot of cases, it’s very
economical.”
Increasingly, homeowners who want to add a little flash to their
home — or who want to punch up the value — are putting
money into their outdoor spaces. It beats burying their cash in the
backyard.
A home’s outdoor space can go from good to great with some targeted
spending. For starters, go blue or green: blue, with a swimming pool
(consider a saline pool — it can be cheaper over time and less
harsh on the skin than traditional chlorine pools); or green, with an
investment in landscaping (consider shade trees that will grow to
protect your home from the sun — and save you money on
utilities).
The newest trends and technological advances are in the way of
hardscaping — the complement to landscaping, including stone or
concrete features such as pool decks, patios, and seating.
Deas works inside and outside customer’s homes to upgrade flooring.
Outdoors, Deas touts custom decorative overlays that turn boring
concrete into a show-stopper.
“We can take concrete that doesn’t have a prayer and resurface it,”
he says.
With features such as custom patterns, colors, and engravings,
flooring can look as natural as stone, as familiar as tile, or as
unique as a homeowner’s personality. It is also durable. “The sealers
we use are essentially bulletproof,” Deas says. They also require
little maintenance and are easy to clean.
Structures such as patios, kitchens, fireplaces, or pergolas can
round out the backyard experience. Jason Rhea of JRI Design/Build says
demand is up for outdoor kitchens and living spaces.
“You can maximize the use of your backyard by making it another room
in the house,” Rhea says. Extending homes 100 or more square feet adds
space for entertaining, value to the property, and aesthetic appeal, he
says.
With fully or partially enclosed spaces, patios can be enjoyed
year-round.
As with home interiors, the extent of outdoor upgrades depends on
budgets. Rhea has done high-end patios with flat-screen TVs, sound
systems, bar areas with sinks, refrigerators, grills, stone or brick
fireplaces, and advanced lighting amenities.
Another new trend is ipe (pronounced ee-pay), a richly
colored, dense wood from South America that is durable and
long-lasting.
Other ideas are popping up all the time.
“In outdoor kitchens, we use a lot of concrete for our countertops,”
Rhea says.
“We’ve started embedding fiber optic lighting into the concrete
prior to pouring it, so that at night when you’re entertaining, you
turn it on and the countertops change colors. It’s definitely a
conversation piece.”
