Interest in outdoor living is at an all-time high, especially in warm climates like Florida. Whatever your style, you can make your Florida property more desirable and enjoyable in several ways.

Everyone has their own idea of what makes a good home. You may be an avid gardener and think a dedicated garden space makes a good home. You may be a cooking enthusiast and think a full outdoor kitchen makes a good home. No matter your personal preferences, there are a few recent exterior design trends that can make a Florida home stand out from the rest.

Adding any of the below can make your Florida home one-of-a-kind and your personal oasis away from the rest of the world.

Add an Outdoor Kitchen

When you live in a warm location year-round, you will spend more time outdoors than your neighbors up north. With so much of your life happening outside, you want to make that space as fun and usable as possible. Hiding indoors is no way to enjoy the sunshine! This is why outdoor kitchens have been one of Florida's most significant exterior design trends in Florida over the last few years.

An outdoor kitchen is perfect for Florida weather and allows you to enjoy the outdoors even more. A beautiful outdoor kitchen is also an ideal place to entertain family and friends, whether you are hosting a big gathering or simply a low-key dinner.

Each outdoor kitchen is a unique installation with appliances and finishes that best suit the space. For example, if you are an avid griller, you can have a custom grill installed. If you love to make and serve drinks, you can have a refrigerator and bar area added to yours. If you have ample space, you can add a kitchen island! Each outdoor kitchen is made with durable materials and can withstand the elements.

An outdoor kitchen is a practical addition to your home and an investment in your property. Homes with outdoor kitchens are not only worth more, but they are instantly memorable!

Utilize Privacy Structures

Another recent design trend is the addition of exterior privacy structures to your home. If you live close to your neighbors or near the road, you don’t necessarily want people to be able to see everything you are doing in or outside. Exterior privacy structures are an attractive and practical way to make your home feel more secluded.

The privacy structure you choose will depend on what kind of privacy you are looking for. You can add a picket fence or decorative lattice panel if you want something to block the view partially. A Universal board fence will be a better option if you want something a little more solid.

Privacy structures don’t have to be big ugly boards that destroy the beauty of your home. Instead, a privacy structure can be something that adds to the beauty of your outdoor space and give your home a little more seclusion. 

Make Indoor-Outdoor Living a Priority

One of the biggest trends in areas with warm temperatures is indoor-outdoor living. Indoor-outdoor living is taking the inside, outside, and the outside inside. It is all about blending your interior and exterior spaces harmoniously. Homes with indoor-outdoor structures are highly desirable and stand out from the rest because they are more interesting and exciting.

One way to achieve this symbiosis is with a structure like an attached pergola. An attached pergola is built, with one side attached to your home extending into your yard. The space under a pergola is often used as a gathering area with furniture similar to a living room or traditional outdoor furniture. It can be built on a deck or any surface material you like. If you want extra protection from the elements, you can add a retractable shade canopy that will protect you from the sun and the rain.

An attached pergola is a beautiful structure that will add immense curb appeal to your home and extend your home beyond its walls. Adding a pergola is a great way to define an existing patio space to make it more contained and inviting. It’s like adding another room to your home!

Finishing It Up

If you live in Florida, your home's exterior is almost as important as the interior! So take advantage of those warm temperatures and sunshine and make your outdoors more appealing and enjoyable with a beautiful outdoor structure.

When designing a residential or commercial space, you want to ensure that it impresses your clients and passersby. That is why developers and designers trust Walpole Outdoors to create memorable outdoor structures.

If you are working on a project, you want to ensure that the outside is as beautiful and inviting as the inside. The best way to accomplish this is by adding a beautiful, classic outdoor structure.

Outdoor structures add dimension to any outdoor space – giving you a visual focal point that will always draw eyes in. Outdoor structures are perfect for enhancing an entry, an empty space, or adding a bit of tranquility for people to sit and relax.

Whether or not you have a lot of exterior land, you can utilize one or both of our favorite classic outdoor structures to make your space extraordinary.

The Classic Pergola

One of the most striking ways to add beauty to an exterior space is by adding a custom pergola. Pergolas have been around for thousands of years, defining outdoor spaces and creating shaded places to sit and relax. Pergolas can be attached to a building like an extension of that structure or freestanding in whatever location you want to make a visual focal point.

Pergolas work well in various spaces and come in whatever shape and size suit them, from square to rectangular to circular! Commercial spaces benefit from a pergola because it serves as a focal point that will draw the eye away from a parking lot or piece of empty space. Check out this custom radius pergola at Union City High School in New Jersey.

Adding a pergola in a public space is a great way to create a designated area for people to gather and relax, especially in shopping centers where you want people to spend some time or libraries like this kit pergola installation. In a private space, it can serve a similar purpose for the property’s owners and their families and friends. Many homeowners will get so much use out of their pergola that they will see it as an extension of their home and living space!

But pergolas don’t always have to be used as a place to gather. Commercial spaces like corporate offices utilize pergolas as more of a decorative structure than a functional one like this custom entryway pergola at the Inn at Perry Cabin in Maryland. This is a great way to transform a wide-open space into something more visually appealing.

Regardless of the space you are trying to define, a pergola is a great way to add some structural beauty that will be hard to ignore.

Elegant Arbors

Another classic outdoor structure that will get your project noticed is an elegant arbor. Like pergolas, arbors have been around for thousands of years, framing entries to buildings and gardens alike.

Arbors are a great way to enhance or draw attention to the entryway. They can be used with a fence and gate or freestanding on their own, like this extra wide arbor with a concave fence. The sweeping nature of the arch adds a bit of wonderful whimsy to a space. In addition, arbors serve as excellent structures for landscaping.

One of the best things about arbors is that they fit almost everywhere. An arbor will still fit in nicely if you have a project without a lot of additional land. Depending on the size of your space, you can find a Walpole arbor that will fit in perfectly. Who wouldn’t want to walk under an arbor to enter your garden, home, or business?! Imagine passing under this picturesque arbor into a rose garden!

The Walpole Difference

For 90 years, Walpole Outdoors has been designing and constructing beautiful outdoor structures that have enhanced and defined countless outdoor spaces. As a result, you can see beautiful Walpole pergolas at country clubs, colleges, shopping centers, corporate offices, high schools, universities, and countless private residences across the country.

Walpole creates iconic and timeless structures with the best materials and the most efficient process in the industry. Don’t know exactly what you are looking for? Then, Walpole will work with you to design the pergola or arbor of your dreams and make sure your next project is memorable.

In addition to design and construction, Walpole Outdoors is unmatched in quality. Each piece is crafted from the highest quality materials to ensure that your Walpole structure will look brand new for years to come.

Get started on your next project today

If you are designing a commercial or public space, you want to ensure that whatever you build is aesthetically pleasing and makes people want to spend time there. One way to accomplish this is by adding a pergola.

Adding a bold, inviting outdoor structure is a great way to add an exterior focal point to any space. If you are designing a shopping center, restaurant, or corporate building, you want people to feel good while there and encourage them to stay longer or return. 

That inviting atmosphere extends well beyond the walls of the building and includes the building’s exterior and the surrounding land. Using that outdoor space is an intelligent way to create something visually interesting that attracts attention and extends that inviting feeling outdoors.

Corporate Buildings

Have you ever been to an office building and been struck by how steely and soulless it all seems? That is why corporate buildings and offices are great candidates for an inviting outdoor structure like a pergola. The addition of an exterior structure benefits both the employees as well as visitors.

Walpole Outdoors worked with Bank of America to create this sweeping 60-foot radius pergola outside of their corporate office. This pergola creates a sizeable shaded area perfect for employees on breaks and at lunch and adds some much-needed visual interest to a steely corporate building.

Dog Parks

Pergolas are also a great choice, even when no building is in sight! For example, Walpole Outdoors supplied western red cedar kit pergolas to an east coast dog park to create shaded areas where people can rest and relax while watching their dogs play. 

Adding these structures encourages people to stay close, ensuring that dogs are continuously monitored. The addition of these structures also makes the park itself look better! Without the pergolas the dog park is just a piece of land with some benches – the pergolas define the space and attract more patrons.

Shopping Centers

If you are building or designing a shopping center or even one store, your goal is to drive customers in and keep them there as long as possible. One way to do this is by intelligently utilizing your exterior land.

A shaded seating area is a smart way to encourage shoppers to stick around longer. This New Hampshire shopping center features beautiful Walpole Outdoors radius pergolas paired with Adirondack chairs, establishing a central location.

Libraries & Government Buildings

Pergolas are excellent structures for many types of buildings, especially those that could use a little extra space. For example, adding a pergola to a library is a great way to extend the library itself! You can add tables, chairs, and even couches for patrons to utilize while they read and do their schoolwork.

This library used one of Walpole’s lovely kit pergolas to create an exterior space out front. This space is not only beneficial for the library, but it also adds much need charm and interest to the exterior of the property.

Functional Beauty

Sometimes, you need more than an outstanding exterior paint job and decent landscaping when designing a space. Many different spaces can genuinely benefit from a pergola's beauty and functionality.

The Walpole Difference

For 90 years, Walpole Outdoors has been designing and constructing beautiful outdoor structures that have enhanced and defined countless outdoor spaces. As a result, you can see beautiful Walpole pergolas at country clubs, colleges, shopping centers, corporate offices, high schools, universities, and countless private residences across the country.

Walpole creates iconic and timeless structures with the best materials and the most efficient process in the industry. Don’t know exactly what you are looking for? Then, Walpole will work with you to design the pergola or arbor of your dreams and make sure your next project is memorable.

In addition to design and construction, Walpole Outdoors is unmatched in quality. Each piece is crafted from the highest quality materials to ensure that your Walpole structure will look brand new for years to come.

Get started on your next project today