Outdoor rooms a new trend in home design

It's a cool spring or summer evening, and family and friends are curled up by a warm fire in the backyard, with a sizzling dinner sending up enticing aromas from the grill.

More than just a growing trend in home design, outdoor rooms like these are fast becoming a cost-effective and stylish way to expand a home's living space while creating a warm environment for socializing and family fun.

"By definition, an outdoor room is simply an outdoor area that homeowners can use for relaxing, cooking and entertaining," said Katherine Whiteside, bestselling garden and cookbook author. "By adding some furniture and propane appliances to an existing patio, garden or deck, you have the beginnings of a great outdoor room."

A basic outdoor room can cost less than $1,000, with more luxurious options and designs costing more. One beauty of creating an outdoor living space is that one can always start with a simple design with basic amenities and add to it over time as budget allows.

According to a survey conducted by the Propane Education and Research Council, 35 percent of homeowners surveyed said they currently had a finished outdoor room, and one in three of those homeowners who did not yet have one planned to design one this spring.

Taken together, more than half of U.S. homes could have an outdoor entertaining area this year. That's a lot of opportunities for family get-togethers and parties.

Adding an outdoor room can be more than just a way to bring the living room outside- it can also increase the value of a home. Industry professionals say that the design and features of a home's outdoor space can add as much as 30 percent to the total value of the property.

Here are some helpful tips for creating an outdoor room:

•Ambiance is the top priority. Quickly gaining popularity are outdoor hearths, such as fire pits, outdoor fireplaces and chimineas. Arrange the furniture to create a cozy atmosphere and consider ways to abate noise, such as wind chimes or trickling fountains.

•Privacy is a big issue and easy to attain. In a suburban yard, build a simple privacy fence and grow sunflowers next to it. If an urban area, think about people who might be looking in on the space from above. A big market umbrella could solve that dilemma.

•Now think about protection from the elements- sun, rain and cold. Sun and rain are partially covered with a market umbrella. For chillier evenings, consider a propane tabletop heater, which is only 2-feet tall but heats 5-feet in diameter. A patio heater by the grill will keep cooks warm on chilly nights.

•Protection from the elements leads right into comfort. Think about installing a porch floor with propane radiant heating. A place to sit down is needed, so choose comfortable furniture. Add a mosquito chaser to keep insects away.

•Once these basics are down, concentrate on dining and what to cook. Today's propane grills come with accessories that make creating appetizers and a main course a snap. One can get a rotisserie, a grill with a burner next to it or even woks.

Pulling together an outdoor living space also is an opportunity to express creativity with landscaping and lighting, all with an eye on improving one's enjoyment of home while increasing its value.

This story is provided by State Point Media.