According to a recent survey sponsored by the American Home Furnishings Alliance, 91 percent of Americans have an outdoor living space to enjoy, even if it's just a postage-stamp-sized balcony. But nearly 80 percent of us wish we could spend more time outside. While there's no way to create more hours in a day, there are ways to make the most of the time we do have with furnishings that invite us in and insist we stay and enjoy. “The wonderful thing about the outdoors is that it can be anything you want it to be,” says Michael Glassman, landscape designer and co-host of “Garden Police” on the Discovery Home Channel. “There's a lot of flexibility to either make this space an extension of your indoor style or to decorate in a completely different way.” The flexibility extends to price, too. New this year to Home Depot, for example, is Thomasville Furniture Industry's first outdoor furniture collection, both in stores and online. The line consists of two collections: Nature's Retreat, crafted of Forest Stewardship Council-certified eucalyptus and all-weather wicker; and Summer Silhouette, made of powder-coated aluminum. Both luxurious yet practical collections include sets and separates of dining, deep seating and occasional pieces. The cost? A Nature's Retreat seven-piece dining set is $999. A Summer Silhouette set that includes one right-arm sofa, one corner seat, one left-arm love seat and one ottoman, along with six solid and six floral toss pillows and cushions is $999. At the opposite end of the financial spectrum is Estanica, from the Richard Frinier Collection for Century Leisure. Estancia embodies the romantic imagery of Argentina's legendary domains. Materials are distressed and antique-finished teak, hammered copper, faux leather and mosaic stone tabletops, real or faux leather upholstery and decorative brass nail heads. Built and finished like quality indoor furniture, but designed and engineered for full-time outdoor exposure with routine maintenance, Estanica ranges in price from $2,600 for a square end table to $13,000 for a sofa. “Terraces, patios, gardens and other outdoor rooms have grown more and more important to affluent homeowners,” says Edward M. Tashjian, Century's marketing vice-president. “They want their furnishings for these spaces to be indistinguishable in terms of quality from their indoor décor.” When it comes to outdoor furniture trends, there's always something new under the sun. Last year, we saw daybeds move from indoor bedrooms to the great outdoors. Bar-height tables and stools captured our imagination, too. This year, we're seeing sectionals for multiple seating, counter-height tables and nostalgic retro metal furniture. “Outdoor sectionals -- similar to the upholstered sectionals we see indoors – are hot this year,” says Mary Anne Dery, owner of Casual Concepts in Rochester. “We're carrying Brown Jordan's Day Lily II sectional, which has a graceful, arching cast-aluminum frame and an artful floral arm. A classic group, Day Lily II was reintroduced this year in a more generously proportioned scale.” Dery is also partial to Lloyd/Flanders' Grand Traverse collection of hand-woven custom vinyl. A Michigan company, Lloyd/Flanders offers the traditional Grand Traverse group in a caramel color with a choice of more than 230 fabrics for cushions. Sedona, also from Lloyd/Flanders, includes a crescent-shaped sectional with large, rolled arms. “For consumers with limited space – say, condo owners with just a balcony – we think Winston's V (for vertical) Living collection, which offers scaled-back, tall, narrow chairs, will be a hit,” she says. Jim Sica, owner of Jimmies Rustics in Novi and Shelby Township, says the industry has significantly changed in the last three years. “Dining sets used to make up 85 percent of outdoor furniture purchases,” he says. “Now, it's 54 percent. Seating is the priority now so people can lounge and entertain out-of-doors.” Sica says bar-height tables are giving way to slightly lower counter-height tables. “It's a more social height where people aren't actually sitting down to eat, but rather leaning into the table -- it's the perfect niche height to see a view or watch the kids in the pool.” Lou Mascolo, owner of Gardenviews in Northville, says U.S.A.-made, retro metal furniture just like we saw in the 1950s and ‘60s is making a comeback. “White metal tube frames with sheet metal seats and backs in bright colors of red, lime green or canary yellow with little white round side tables are back,” he says. “We have two-seat gliders for $242 and $262 -- the kind mom and dad courted on – and chairs for $90 and side tables for $62.” Once you've chosen your core outdoor pieces, turn your attention to accessories (rugs, lighting, pillows, throws, wall decor). Fire-pits continue to be popular, but, more and more, people want a soothing water feature to be part of their exterior retreats. “People are interested in doing something nice for themselves this year,” Sica says, “and, in this economy, that translates to being pro-active about their `free' space outdoors.” __
