As outdoor living continues to grow in popularity, places for this outdoor living to take place are needed. One such area is the backyard deck. Once common and simple, the backyard deck is quickly becoming larger, more elaborate, and more sought after by luxury homeowners, even in cold winter climates.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, the size of decks is rising as they are being adorned with things ranging from infinity pools, putting greens, outdoor living rooms and kitchens, and fireplaces.
In a survey from the American Institute of Architects of more than 500 residential architecture firms in the first quarter of 2016, 69 percent of the firms said they saw an increase in demand for outdoor living space, which marked the second highest response since the question was first asked in 2005.
In cold weather areas, fire pits and heated floors are used to try and offset the chill and keep the outdoor space usable for a larger portion of the year.
Despite the growth in popularity, there were only two cities across the country where upscale deck additions resulted in a positive net-gain come sale time; Columbia, S.C., and Santa Rosa, Calif.
