When snow is long gone in Summit County and skis are swapped for mountain bikes, apres drinks turn into backyard patio pitchers. 

With mountainous views visible from many Summit County backyards, local designers say that people consider their backyard patios and decks to be one of the most important aspects of their home. While Summit’s rocky terrain can limit the size of backyards people can have, there’s ways to maximize that to feel like an outdoor living room of sorts.  

Interior designer Elle Schwab, who owns Elle J Designs, said this has created a standing design trend where people look to create a seamless flow from the inside of their home to the outside. She said the feel can be accomplished through design elements and furnishing. 

She points to a tip a mentor taught her involving the use of materials to create more of a tie between inside and out. For instance, she said, “If you have a stone fireplace on the inside, you can create a flow by incorporating that type of stone into your patio.” She said using similar railings for inside stairs and outside deck railings can also create a sense of cohesion.

Another aspect of creating a flow from inside to out is creating an extension for lounging and dining spaces. 

iFunish interior designer Sara Yarbrough said outdoor area requests have become more frequent from clients recently as they can add to the cozy feel of outdoor lounge areas. She said there’s outdoor area rugs on the market which can withstand the High Country’s inclement weather that can be easily cleaned. Alongside people looking to create a flow between indoor and outdoor lounge spaces through furnishings like fire pits and outdoor couches, interior designers also see a similar trend with cooking spaces. 

Lisa Yates with Collective Design said grills have long been a staple of outdoor dining, yet she’s been seeing people make additions like pizza ovens and more recently, meat smokers. 

“People are definitely spending more time cooking outside, and just the technology of the grills and other outdoor cookers has been insane and it’s made it even easier … Outdoor kitchens are just continuing to become more popular,” she said.

She added she’s seen people get more creative with their outdoor seating arrangements and dining tables. 

Yarbrough said more clients have been looking to boost their outside entertaining spaces with outdoor bars with built in stools for friends to gather around at night. Schwab and Yarbrough also said an outdoor fire pit is always a good idea.

Schwab and Yates said people looking to spruce up their nighttime outdoor entertainment spaces need to be mindful of new lighting regulations as a handful of Summit County towns move toward being DarkSky compliant. DarkSky is an international organization which encourages more intentional use of light for the sake of environmental and human health. A pillar of the initiative’s goal is encouraging people to redirect light away from the sky and towards the ground and to choose a certain hue of light when buying bulbs. Frisco and Breckenridge are beginning to set up requirements around this, but interior designers say it’s worth getting the DarkSky compliant lights anyways for a better view of the stars. 

Materials matter with the High Country’s weather conditions

Strong ultraviolet rays, rain and wind can make for a recipe that ruins outdoor furniture and amenities within years of purchase. 

Schwab said a dangerous assumption people can make is that the fabric used on indoor furniture can be used outdoors, and it especially doesn’t work at high elevations. She recommends a brand called Sunbrella that makes sturdy fabrics for the outdoors, noting “it’s made for that sun exposure and it’s made for wear and tear.” She added you can never go wrong with furniture covers to lengthen the lifetime of products. 

Yates said she is also frequently championing the usage of covers and looks to steer clients away from outdoor furniture which uses teak fabric, which she says is very common. She encourages people to keep an eye out for teak fabric because it does not withstand the area’s strong ultraviolet rays well and can cause color to fade easily. 

Yarbrough said wood doesn’t even hold up well in high elevation areas and a mix of precipitation and strong sun rays can cause it to warp quickly. A material called “polywood,” which is essentially recycled plastic from milk jugs, has proven itself to be one of the best materials for seating like Adirondack chairs, she said.

“It’s super dense and it won’t warp or fade in the sun,” she said. “We have a chair at the store that’s been there 14 years, and it looks brand new.”