At EAQ (formerly E.A. Quinn), our landscape designers are always on the lookout for the latest trends in Outdoor Living. Customers are interested in bringing the indoors outside with multi-purpose outdoor spaces that allow them to relax and entertain as comfortably in their back yard as they do in their living rooms and kitchens!

Central to most Outdoor Living areas is the patio, which is the foundation of backyard design.

Here are the top trends our designers are seeing when it comes to patios:

Size – Patios are trending larger to give homeowners maximum flexibility with their outdoor space.

Creating rooms – Demand is high for outdoor spaces that have different “rooms.” For example, a patio may have a cooking area with an outdoor kitchen and island for guests to keep the chef company while grilling. Typically there is a separate area for dining as well as a lounge area for soft seating.  More often than not, there is a fire feature in the lounge area to create a quiet gathering space for conversation. Outdoor furniture helps to create these rooms as do sitting walls , retaining walls , stairs and plantings.

While it may be one patio, with the right design can give you the feeling of multiple rooms.

New materials, shapes, textures and sizes – Consumers have so many choices when it comes to planning a patio. There’s more than just brick-sized pavers, squares or rectangles. You can find pavers in a variety of colors as well as shapes – planking, hexagon and diamond to name just a few. You can also find pavers with a variety of textures, including smooth, wood grain, slate, tumbled or rustic.

Confused by all the choices and what will work for your outdoor living project?

The Sales/Design team at EAQ (formerly E.A. Quinn) — Darlene, Debbie and Fran – are all here to help!