Outdoor Living Trends for 2024

A well-designed outdoor kitchen is a game-changer when it comes to expanding entertaining space and increasing property value. “The outdoor kitchen is not really the outdoor kitchen anymore,” It’s now your other kitchen outside; it’s a secondary kitchen of the home,” says Dale Seiden, whose background in high-end commercial kitchen design and equipment manufacturing led him to found Lynx Grills and Alfresco Grills.

Brands such as Urban Bonfire and Haven Outdoor (formerly Outdoor Solutions) offer convenient, pre-assembled kitchen configurations with modular designs and customizable details. For a tailor-made kitchen, Danver and NatureKast offer customizable outdoor kitchens, and Urban Bonfire kitchens can also be fully customized.

The 2024 outdoor kitchen is so much more than a built-in grill; outdoor kitchens can be designed with accessories such as built-in refrigerators, trash drawers, storage, sinks, pizza ovens, side burners, and ice makers. “An outdoor kitchen will allow you to store, prep, cook, serve, and entertain,” Seiden says. It’s everything you want to do inside, outside.” For more advice on designing an outdoor kitchen, view AuthenTEAK’s Outdoor Kitchen Planning Guide.

“The visual connectivity between indoors and outdoors has never been as blurred as it is today,” says Urban Bonfire’s co-founder and president, Ryan Bloom. Not only does this mean outdoor kitchens are on the rise, but it also means that you can expect to see a move towards more outdoor dining areas and outdoor living rooms in 2024. And because of this visual connectivity, outdoor furniture, kitchens, and accessories now rival the design quality and aesthetic appeal of their indoor counterparts. “Today you’re seeing the outdoors every day all the time, so aesthetic cohesion is important,” notes Bloom.

From recycled, mindfully sourced materials to ethical manufacturing processes, sustainable outdoor furniture has become a cornerstone of outdoor living. Reputable brands—like the ones carried by AuthenTEAK—are transparent about their materials and production practices. For instance, sustainably sourced teak comes from facilities in Indonesia under the jurisdiction of Perum Perhutani, a state-owned enterprise responsible for developing well-managed forests, promoting biodiversity, and also improving the quality of life for those who are involved in the production of teak.

Brands such as POLYWOOD, Unwasted, and Capi create outdoor furniture and accessories from recycled plastic. This furniture is most often made from high-density polyethylene (or HDPE) lumber, which reuses post-consumer bottle waste such as milk jugs or water bottles. “HDPE furniture is amazingly low-maintenance and virtually indestructible—but better yet, this furniture has a great sustainability story,” says AuthenTEAK CEO Eric Brenner. “Not only does the POLYWOOD brand of furniture put ocean-bound plastics to good use, but because their furniture is so well made, it does not have to be replaced very often.”

Customization is arguably the future of design. Modular lounge furniture allows you to adapt, reconfigure, and expand your furniture as your space and your needs change. Modular pieces from brands like Gloster, Cane-line, and Kingsley Bate are adaptable, versatile, and—best of all—stylish, making it easy to find the perfect piece for any space.

From Tulelo Goods ergonomic furniture to sleek fire pits from brands like DEKKO Concrete and Elementi, artistic outdoor furniture and accessories are as functional as they are fashionable. “I mix clean, modern, more structural silhouettes with more textural, traditional designs,” says Atlanta-based interior designer Abbi Williams of Red Door Design Studio. “For example, mixing the Kingsley Bates Sag Harbor collection and the Elementi Hampton Fire Pit Table. This creates an updated feel. It’s also a fantastic way to blend existing pieces you invested with new, more up-to-date pieces,” she says.

“Smart home” has become a common buzzword in interior design, but smart features have also made their way into outdoor living trends. Above’s smart umbrellas, for instance, feature industry-leading automation and intelligent design. Motorized canopies, easy-to-use remotes, and mobile connectivity make it easy to adjust shade with the click of a button. High-tech lighting, such as Treasure Garden’s Evo Dual Light Sound Pod, functions as both an umbrella light and a table light, with the added feature of built-in surround-sound Bluetooth speakers. The LED lighting is adjustable, allowing you to set the perfect mood, while a USB port offers a convenient way to charge devices.