The Sullivan County Stone Mason Blog

As a stone mason with professional experience in design and residential landscape architecture, I pay attention to current design trends. Many of my clients are second-home owners from New York City who buy property in Sullivan County to afford them open space. It provides an opportunity to design an outdoor living space for friends and family to enjoy that would not otherwise be available to them in the City. Maintaining awareness of popular design trends helps when discussing design ideas with new clients.

Earlier this year the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) released survey results of the Top Ten Design Trends for Residential Landscape Architecture (read the article here). It is interesting to see how environmental sustainability has grown in awareness and demand, but it’s also interesting to see a demand for outdoor living spaces. This is represented by the inclusion of “Fire Pits/Fireplaces” on the list of expected highest consumer demand.

The ASLA article also ranks the expected order of popularity for 2016 of Outdoor Design Elements. Ranked in order of popularity, “Fire Pits/Fireplaces” tops the list as indicated by 75% of respondents. Reading down the list are other design elements one would expect to see when designing an outdoor living space: Seating/Dining Areas, Outdoor Furniture, Grills, and Counter Space. Their list ranking Outdoor Recreation Amenities included Swimming Pools.

This demand for outdoor living space was evident in a design I did recently for a client. As second home owners, my client was a family in need of outdoor space and wanted to create a place to entertain family and friends. The two most important design elements requested were a pool and a fireplace. Shown above is a portion of the proposed site plan. The design makes both the pool and fireplace the main focal points, but provides other elements (such as a grill, counter space, and furniture) to make the outdoor living space complete.

To help the client visualize the space we prepared a 3D computer model, complete with landscape. I often find 3D computer modeling to be an invaluable tool in helping clients see what their space will look like upon completion. It helps the client visualize themselves living in their space before a shovel hits the ground.

As both designers and builders, Kelly Masonry & Design can make your dream for an outdoor living space a reality.