Replicating Resort-Worthy Luxury: 10 Over-the-Top Outdoor Décor Trends of 2021

Once the hub of white tent soirees, poolside cocktail hours, and sunbathing sessions, outdoor spaces have taken on new life as makeshift home offices, lunch-break-worthy sanctuaries, and quarantine-friendly retreats. Stuck at home due to the pandemic, homeowners have turned to their backyards as a long-awaited escape from the hubbub of quarantine living.

With WFH professionals retiring business-professional red bottoms in favor of arch-supporting slide slippers, full-scale outdoor renovations stand to be this year’s hottest trend in luxury home remodels.

If quarantine blues have put a damper on red wine tastings, glamorous white parties, and pretty-in-pink birthday festivities, transform your outdoor space into a social-distance-friendly oasis, sure to rival the most luxurious resorts. That way, you can keep fears of missing out to a minimum as you lounge alongside stylish outdoor planters and modern fire pits.

Start with a Lush Canvas

When you begin your outdoor makeover, it’s best to start with a luxury-facilitating foundation of high-quality grass seed from a retailer like Nature’s Seed. Lawn aesthetics are vital to cultivating a peaceful and relaxing outdoor living space. As the cherry on top, investing in your lawn aesthetics can enhance your home’s curb appeal if a for-sale sign is in your forecast.

Once you’ve created a lush green canvas, you can begin building your dream backyard with stylish luxury additions that will make your outdoor space your new favorite room of the house.

Sustainable Sophistication

In today’s housing market, buyers beg and plead for green home features, such as energy-efficient windows and roofs complete with solar panels. Home renovators sing a similar tune and find themselves magnetized by sustainably sophisticated outdoor furniture. From outdoor tables composed of recycled milk jugs to ottomans sourced from sustainably harvested teak, the options for sustainable outdoor furniture could easily stretch across the circumference of the planet.

Besides preserving delicate ecosystems and putting a cap on production-related pollution, eco-friendly furniture options boast maximum durability and are surprisingly low-maintenance. Not to mention, FSC-certified rattan and rust-proof aluminum can withstand the harshest of weather conditions.

Despite recycled opinions that eco-friendly furniture forces buyers to compromise on quality in the interest of eco-conservation, there’s no shortage of luxury brands stocking up on eco-friendly outdoor furniture. Don’t let their humble beginnings fool you. Outdoor lounge chairs derived from reclaimed wood can give luxury chaise lounges a run for their money.

Biophilic Design

By definition, Biophilic design is a sustainability-focused concept used within the building industry to encourage occupant connectivity to the natural environment. By propagating organic elements into exquisite living and dining areas, homeowners can blend indoor and outdoor spaces to achieve gradient-like seamlessness.

In 2021, biophilic-design-inspired elements are sprouting up in homes near and far. Entranced by the natural beauty, homeowners in herds continue to blur the lines between the outdoors and the indoors.

To achieve that seamless transition between polished kitchens and paradise-worthy outdoor spaces, fans of biophilic design pepper patios with statement pieces like swing chairs—that pay tribute to indoor flair. Inversely, homeowners bring the outside in by scattering seeds out of outdoor-friendly style, i.e., statement-making greenery and natural woods.

Inventive Uses of Indoor Furniture Outdoors

While outdoor spaces are notorious for stackable plastic chairs and weather-proof (and equally guest-proof) materials, there’s no excuse for half-hearted design in your outdoor spaces. In today’s outdoor spaces, homeowners aren’t restricted to the outdoor furniture section of their local home goods store. Rather, renovators can paint with every color of the rainbow and decorate their outdoor spaces with products from any aisle.

If the harsh elements are forecasted to rain on your bringing-the-indoors-outdoor parade, opt for a sealant that will ensure optimum durability. For those homeowners not interested in digging up their N95 masks and rubber gloves, shop for weather-resistant furniture that steps outside the box of outdoor lounge chairs, hammocks, and plastic kiddy pools. For a touch of indoor elegance, splurge on weather-resistant coffee tables, side tables, and water-proof, upholstered armchairs.

For those with a craving for the comfort of the indoors in your outdoor spaces, roll out a weather-proof area rug and stock up on throw pillows in a wonderfully daring color. If high-tech additions call your name, install speakers, a TV, and built-in temperature controls in your dreamy outdoor space. With a few simple touches, your outdoor living area will be a cat napper’s wonderland.

Fully-Functioning Outdoor Kitchens with Full Dining Areas

When you’re hosting a backyard get-together, enjoying yourself and maximizing hours of relaxation can be difficult when confined to your indoor kitchen. By building an outdoor kitchen, preparing hors d’oeuvres for your guests while you mix and mingle will be a refreshing possibility.

If you’re an avid chef and want a complete cooking experience outdoors, building an independent kitchen for your outdoor space is the best choice for you. With dedicated prep space, a sink, storage space, refrigeration, and a grill or stove, you can bring the full cooking experience to your backyard.

If you’re only looking to supplement your indoor kitchen, a satellite kitchen will perfectly fulfill your outdoor cooking needs. With extra kitchen elements like grills and pizza ovens, you can prepare party-friendly dishes outdoors without ever needing to leave the thick of the action.

For those routine entertainers, consider expanding your outdoor kitchen to accommodate for a generously sized dining area, complete with bold accent chairs.

Low-Maintenance Materials

For those designers in the making hoping to treat themselves to thoughtful touches of luxury, adding low-maintenance furniture to your cart is a must. While mosaic patio dining sets might catch the wandering eyes of dinner party guests, you’ll have to actively fend off raining dust, airborne pollen, and cracks in the grout. Without the proper maintenance, your mosaic tile firepit will be on its last legs before the summer sun gives its final performance.

Instead of high-maintenance mosaic, steel, or wrought iron finishes, opt for low-maintenance outdoor furniture materials like aluminum or resin wicker. After all, you wouldn’t want your luxury oasis to go to waste as you tirelessly polish and dust your statement pieces from sun up to sundown.

Outdoor Workstations

Days of stuffy 9×6’ cubicles are a stiff breeze away from being obsolete. In the era of mandatory quarantines and socially distanced spaces, home offices are but a figment of our imaginations and take the form of couch-side lap desks, tablets resting on ellipticals, and laptops catching some rays poolside. If you’d like your outdoor space to be as functional as it is fabulous, consider setting up an outdoor workstation.

While mid-morning Zoom meetings and graffitied planners aren’t necessarily staples of luxury living, weather-proof marble tables and pop-up canopies will give homeowners a taste of resort life without triggering episodes of vacation brain.

But where to begin in your outdoor workstation journey? Start by reducing glare with a laptop sunshade and furnish your rejuvenating remote office with fade-resistant fabrics and metal tables that won’t rust post-rainstorm. After embellishing your outdoor area with back-supporting, rain-proof seating, it’s time to give your Wi-fi a boost and insulate your company computer from the elements.

If dungeon-like home offices are draining your professional battery, remember that rain-or-shine design is but an outdoor patio heater away.

Luxury Privacy Structures

Spending time outdoors means you’ll need protection from the elements. Installing a privacy structure in your backyard can help keep you sheltered from sun, rain, wind, or any other weather that comes your way.

Try constructing a pavilion with outdoor drapery panels for extra protection from the sun. If you live in a windy area, nurture a plant wall for protection from the wind while also adding some pleasant greenery to your yard. You’ll be able to practice yoga distraction-free or work for hours on your laptop without needing to worry about the sun’s harsh glare.

Peaceful Gardens

Cultivating peace and tranquility in your backyard is easy with a gorgeous garden. Planting an abundance of flowers in soothing colors along with ornamental grasses will cast a feeling of serenity over your backyard living space. Hearing the rustling of leaves and watching your plants sway will transport you to a pleasant and relaxing place when the wind blows.

If you want a garden that isn’t just visually attractive, consider cultivating a meaningful organic garden. Planting a meaningful garden is an enriching project. Choose edible plants high in vitamin C like tomatoes and spinach to create an immunity garden. For a meatless Monday garden, plant hearty vegetables for plant-based meals. Adventurous foodies will love having a world herb garden. You’ll be able to infuse your dishes with attention-grabbing flavors, all thanks to your backyard garden.

If you’re not picky about your garden, simply plant any edibles like kitchen herbs, vegetable plants, and fruit plants that you can harvest and use in your various cooking endeavors. You can also install a compost station to enrich your garden’s soil while reducing your waste output.

Ambiance Lighting

Lighting sets the mood of any room, and your outdoor living space is no exception. While you may have plenty of natural light to illuminate your backyard during the day, you don’t want to cut your time outside short once the sun goes down. Soothing ambiance lighting can make your backyard feel intimate and cozy while you stargaze.

For the ultimate ambiance lighting, add a fire pit to your outdoor living space. Not only will the crackling of the fire contribute to the homey aura, but it will also keep you warm when the weather begins to turn.

However, don’t underestimate the impact of natural lighting even after sunset. When you plan your outdoor living space, make sure the structures you build don’t block the glow of the moon and stars. Place small, warm lighting fixtures to highlight pathways and your dining area, and allow the rest of your yard to bathe in the gentle light of the night sky.

Multipurpose Furniture

These days, furniture needs to be more than just a place to put your feet up and rest. When choosing the right furniture for your backyard, seek out multi-functional pieces that accommodate your everyday living needs and can also adapt to entertaining.

Convertible pieces such as modular tables or table/fire pit combos offer much-needed versatility and flexibility for your outdoor living space. Items like ceramic stools offer guests a seating option when needed but can also be used as tables when you lack surface space.

Outdoor Technology

As you’re spending more and more time outdoors, you’re also probably looking to replicate the technological comforts you have inside your home in your outdoor space. While bringing technology outside may seem like quite the undertaking, it’s much easier than you may think to integrate the features you want into your living space.

Invest in Wi-Fi boosters if you like taking your home office outside to keep your internet fast and reliable. If you’re a cinephile, a projector and outdoor movie screen can provide you with a unique, on-demand movie theatre experience any time you want it. For entertaining, incorporate outdoor speakers for music and TVs into your exterior design. LED color-changing lights can also add a fun touch to your outdoor lighting once it becomes dark out.

Stylish Planters That Make a Statement

Are unsightly planters overshadowing the natural beauty of your greenery? If so, it’s time to upgrade your dated terracotta pots and opt for a more luxurious alternative. Whether your planter of choice is a color-blocking plant stand or a self-watering hanging pot, give your cascading string of pearls the home they deserve.

That way, your touches of green don’t vanish into the backdrop of privacy-promoting garden hedges. Instead, these planters will command attention and win over the hearts of your houseguests.

The bottom line

Transforming your backyard into a luxurious retreat designed for escape and entertaining is a must for your 24/7 at-home lifestyle. Whether you want to work from a breezy outdoor pavilion or kick back and relax in front of a crackling fire pit, you deserve the outdoor living space of your dreams.

With a few upgrades and close attention to detail, your backyard can be a resort-worthy retreat that you don’t need to purchase a plane ticket to enjoy.