New Hampshire Landscape Design Trends for 2023
The new year is underway, which means its time to explore some New Hampshire Landscape Design Trends for the coming year.
At Nest Outdoors, the beginning of the year is an optimistic, forward-looking time because we are busy working on landscape designs for the coming build season, making it natural for us to identify current trends in landscape design. Based on requests from our clients during the design process while keeping a keen eye on the industry, we've identified several local landscape design trends for 2023.
This year's trends are connected to the overarching national trend of improved outdoor living. We see a blend of traditional and time-tested materials with lifestyle and tech features that enhance how we use our backyard. In this blog post, we'll dive deep into the top landscape design trends in the granite state of New Hampshire for 2023 from the team at Nest Outdoors.
Key takeaways from this landscape design trends article from Nest Outdoors:
- Outdoor living is a popular trend in landscape design in New Hampshire and nationally.
- Landscape lighting design provides many aesthetic and functional benefits.
- Outdoor kitchens are becoming a significantly more common feature in landscape design, allowing homeowners to cook and entertain in the great outdoors.
- Natural stone continues to be one of the most requested materials in landscape design.
- Fire Features like firepits and outdoor fireplaces are highly requested features in landscape design.
Outdoor Living
Take it outside!
Outdoor living spaces are the single most popular trend in New Hampshire landscape design. This trend emphasizes creating functional, comfortable, and truly livable outdoor areas for daily family bonding, entertaining your besties, recreation, or just a chance to slow down, relax, take a few deep breaths and enjoy being outside. A well-designed outdoor space gives you that tingly feeling by incorporating desirable features such as patios and decks, shade structures or pavillions, pools, fireplaces, fire pits, outdoor kitchens, and more. Outdoor living areas are designed to be a natural extension of your indoor living space elevating how you live on your property daily.
Driving this trend is our desire to make better use of our outdoor spaces, especially after the pandemic, and to take advantage of the benefits of spending more time outdoors. Outdoor living allows us to enjoy the fresh air, natural light, and nature in our own backyard. Overall, the trend of outdoor living is becoming a primary aspect of landscape design and the focus of our services.
Outdoor living space has been a huge value add in the residential real estate market for the past several years.
Studies show that Landscape design can increase the value of a property by 15%.
Kristi Whitten, Realtor and Team Lead of The Whitten Team
Landscape Lighting
Let there be light!
Requests for landscape Lighting design significantly increase each year. It's a highly impactful, budget-friendly way to enhance the aesthetic and functionality of your outdoor spaces. As such, it's been one of the most requested features of our recent landscape designs, as it is highly controllable and creates a sense of ambiance and safety while highlighting chosen features of the landscape.
The use of landscape lighting creates a broad range of moods and effects, from providing soft lighting to a front walkway or garden path to creating a dramatic and striking effect when uplighting a majestic tree or an architectural feature. When designed with thoughtfulness and experience, an outdoor lighting plan for your home raises the aesthetic value and utility of every part of your landscape.
Technological advances have also contributed to the versatility and increasing popularity of landscape lighting as well. LED lighting, which is energy-efficient and long-lasting, is a cost-effective option for outdoor lighting, and can be used in fixtures for in-ground lighting, uplighting, downlighting, and spotlighting. We've increasingly incorporated the use of dimmers, which can help control the lighting in the atmosphere in harmony with the natural surroundings, the mood or effect desired, and nighttime ecology.
If safety is a concern, the use of landscape lighting provides the functional benefits of increased safety by allowing better nighttime vision, security, and better access to outdoor spaces at night. Well-designed lighting has the added benefit of making a property feel more secure and even helps deter crime.
Overall, we believe landscape lighting design is an essential part of complete landscape design as it provides homeowners with a unique and enjoyable way to experience their outdoor spaces after dark and enhances your landscape's overall beauty and functionality.
Overall we see the desire for outdoor living spaces as the single most popular trend in landscape design for our New Hampshire clients.
Wayne Lamarre - Owner Nest Outdoors
Outdoor Kitchens
Fire up the grill!
Outdoor kitchens become more popular every year in landscape designs in New Hampshire. In fact, all of our current designs include concepts for an outdoor kitchen. Coincidence? We think not. This trend is practical and beautiful when designed to complement the surrounding landscape features, as when veneered with natural stone, or compliment the home's architecture when combined with a shade structure or pavilion.
Outdoor kitchens allow for a higher level of cooking and entertaining in your backyard by incorporating a variety of useful components, such as built-in gas grills, gas cooktops, refrigerators, and storage areas. Even with our colder winters, you can enjoy grilling in your outdoor kitchen year-round. You can also make the overall space more comfortable and practical in every season by installing heating units or incorporating features like a firepit or fireplace. This adds up to the elevation of your dining and entertaining experience with family and friends and promotes healthy living through the ability to serve up homemade meals in the great outdoors of your backyard.
Nest Outdoors' ranking of outdoor kitchen features by popularity is:
- Gas grill
- Drawers and cabinets for storage
- Beverage refrigerators
- Built-in trash and recycle receptacles
- Side burners
- Sinks
- Bar seating
- Pizza Ovens
As the overall outdoor living trend continues to grow, we predict outdoor kitchens will become a more common feature in the landscape designs we produce for our clients at Nest Outdoors. You heard it here first.
Natural Stone
What's old is new again!
The use of natural stone is widespread in high-end landscape design, and 2023 is no different. Thank goodness for that because we absolutely love designing and building with natural stone!
Stone can't help but add a sense of timelessness and elegance to any outdoor space. It's a sustainable material that is generally sourced locally and highly versatile in that it can be used in various ways, from creating beautiful retaining walls to building rustic patios and walkways. It's a naturally durable, low-maintenance, and eco-friendly option that can withstand harsh local weather conditions of New Hampshire and heavy use of happy people gathering together.
Hardscaping with stone for patios, walkways, and retaining walls promotes a natural, rustic aesthetic and offers more outstanding durability with beautifully aged surfaces compared to many concrete or synthetic products. From a design perspective, we use natural stone to maintain visual and ecological continuity with the surrounding environment. It's a material that helps bridge the gap between nature and the areas we construct. Artistically stone is the perfect medium for creating outdoor firepits or retaining walls, while larger aged boulders can provide an attractive focal point in the landscape surrounded by beautiful native plants. Other popular applications for natural stone in it's various forms include outdoor kitchens, outdoor fireplaces, as well as natural stone boulder walls and steps.
The use of natural stone in landscape design is a simple way to bring the timeless beauty of nature a just little bit closer to our daily lives. If we have any say in it, this will be a trend with no expiration date.
If we had to choose, we'd rather work with natural stone than any other material. It takes a skillful, artistic eye and years to master but so worth it.
Nest Outdoors
Fire Features
Smores anyone?
Fire features are a popular trend in landscape design because smores are delicious...
All kidding aside, it may have more to do with the aesthetic and functional benefits they provide. They are a natural gathering point, giving warmth and light while creating a sense of drama and interest in outdoor spaces, especially in the evening. And who couldn't use a bit more drama and interest in their lives?
We have a crush on features like fire pits and fireplaces because they extend the use of the outdoor spaces in your backyard. They encourage you to spend more time outdoors, even in cooler seasons, by adding a unique and inviting ambiance to a well-designed backyard that everyone of any age can enjoy.
Fire features can be designed in a variety of ways to suit different styles and preferences. They can be made from natural materials such as stone or brick, or from modern materials like metal or glass. They can also be designed to blend in seamlessly with the surrounding landscape or to be a focal point in the design. Beyond everyday use, fire features can be a part of family traditions like annual New Year's Eve gatherings making them a place of family significance.
It is said humans first began harnessing the power of fire over a million years ago, and it's popularity and utility has never waned. It's no wonder that even now, in 2023, adding a fire feature to your backyard is a valuable, sought-after feature in outdoor living spaces.
Conclusion
Because our mission at Nest Outdoors is to design and build beautiful landscape projects that get you outdoors and expand great home living experiences to your backyard, we keep a close eye on trends in landscape design, especially in our home turf of New Hampshire. When we create an outdoor space that results in more fun, more fresh air, and more togetherness for you and those you care about, we've done our job. The trends identified in this post can surely help us do that. And by incorporating these trends through the landscape design services at Nest Outdoors, you can turn your outdoor living space into an extension of your home and enjoy outdoor happiness designed just for you.
About the author of this article
It's time for better outdoor living!
Contact Nest Outdoors for your landscape design
Outdoor kitchen concept for a landscape design client in Bedford, New Hampshire, from Nest Outdoors
FAQ - New Hampshire Landscape Design Trends:
Q: Why should I consider updating my landscape in 2023?
A: Because you and your family deserve the benefits of expanded outdoor living. This year's landscape design trends focus on creating a better connection between your indoor and outdoor spaces, allowing you to get outside more, gather together more, and have more options with how you live daily on your property. Now that's the ingredients of a happy home!
Q: What's the overall theme of the landscape design trends for 2023?
A: The overall theme is outdoor living in 2023. Each trend is connected to delivering a better outdoor living experience.
Q: What are some benefits of outdoor living spaces?
A: Outdoor living spaces allow you to enjoy more time with family and friends, breathe in more fresh air, experience more natural light with all your senses, and connect with the natural environment through your own backyard.
Q: How does landscape lighting design enhance the aesthetic and functionality of outdoor spaces?
A: Landscape lighting design elevates the experience of your landscape at night. It creates a sense of ambiance, improves functionality and safety at night, and highlights beautiful features of the landscape.
Q: What are some examples of traditional materials that can be used in landscape design?
A: Examples of traditional materials include bluestone and granite (among other stone types), clay pavers, and wood. Incorporating these materials can add natural character to your outdoor spaces and help them blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. Read about some landscape materials here.
Q: How can landscape design improve my overall quality of life?
A: At Nest Outdoors, we focus on landscape design and construction projects that focus on outdoor living because the end result is our clients spend more time in the fresh air enjoying life with family and friends. You can read more about how adding elements as simple as a patio can improve the quality of your life.
It's always a great time to add a patio to your backyard, but 2023 may be extra great. It has never been more apparent that our homes are the center of our lives. It's the place where we can craft our environment to support the healthiest, happiest, and best version of ourselves and our families. It's why our mission at Nest Outdoors is to design and build beautiful landscape projects that get you outdoors and expand great home-living experiences to your backyard.
Contact us to uncover the hidden potential in your backyard!
