Kalamazoo Outdoor Kitchens

“After spending a month or more inside our homes, we’re all looking for ways to expand our livable square footage,” says Wayfair Professional’s style expert, Lindsey Zborowski. “The extension of livable space to the outdoors is now punctuated by more thoughtfully designed spaces, looking beyond your average patio set and grill—people want another ‘room’ outside.”

Wayfair Professional’s first Outdoor Trend Report, which tracks the shopping habits of millions of Wayfair customers to identify the biggest trends in outdoor living, reports a sizable increase in searches for outdoor modular kitchen equipment with built-in sinks, grills, and counter space. The report also shows a big uptick in the popularity of deep seating for outdoor sofas. “Gone are the rigid patio sets,” Zborowski says. “Your patio sofa can have the same comfort as the one in your living room.”

For Lake Country Builders, a design-build remodeling firm based in Excelsior, Minn., outdoor projects are a “safe” project now for clients who, even as state orders are lifted, remain at home and don’t necessarily want crews inside their homes. LCB president Peter Jacobson sees problems as opportunities waiting to happen. “Our new reality of spending more time at home can be inspiring to how you utilize interior and exterior spaces.”

One big question remains: Are homeowners ready to spend? The Freedonia Group reports that COVID-19 is having “major near-term effects” on sales, but does not project the virus will have a significant impact on the long-term forecast for sales of outdoor kitchen equipment. Sales in this segment are expected to remain flat in 2020 but are projected to rise an average of 6.3% annually through 2024.