10 Sustainable Outdoor Design Trends For 2015

Sustainable outdoor design looks to become one of the hottest outdoor design trends for 2015, considering its
skyrocketing popularity in 2014.
Sustainable design is definitely moving into the mainstream no,! says "shley "llen, an outdoor green
designer ith #utdoor $omescapes of $ouston. %efore, it as &ust considered a tree'hugger thing ( but
no people are reali)ing it can save them time and money, too.!
Sustainable and lo'maintenance design both ranked highly as important features, for instance, in the 2014
*esidential +andscape "rchitecture ,rends Survey by the "merican Society of +andscape "rchitects. "mong
the sustainable design elements rated by survey respondents as popular or somehat popular!-
.ative or adapted drought'tolerant plants /00 percent1
2rip3ater'efficient irrigation /04.5 percent1
4ermeable paving /50.6 percent1
*educed lan /52.7 percent1
*ecycled materials /75.1 percent1
*ainater3!grey ater! harvesting /70.7 percent1
8ompost bins /51.2 percent1
Solar'poered lights /42.5 percent1
9eothermal'heated pools /25.2 percent1
,o this list, "llen adds one more-
*eneable materials
#ne really popular reneable resource for the outdoors is outdoor cork flooring,! says "llen, since it:s
ater' and rot'resistant, repels bugs, absorbs outdoor noise and is softer on the feet ' and on breakables that
may fall on it;! 8ork is reneable, e<plains "llen, because it gros back after being harvested from the core
of the cork oak tree.
%amboo is another popular reneable resources being used in $ouston outdoor living spaces ( and
nationide ' adds "llen- =t:s being used for flooring, decks, fencing, cabinets, furniture and more.!
"llen can certainly see hy native or adapted drought'tolerant plants top the "S+" survey- She:s also seen a
soaring demand for <eriscaping /the use of plants re>uiring little or no ater1 in her pro&ects.
"ll throughout $ouston, people are tearing don older houses to make ay for neer ones, since land is at
a premium and sometimes it costs less to tear don an e<isting structure,! she says. ?ell, you can go to
these houses, pull those materials and use them in ne ays instead of sending them to the landfill and using
up more resources.!
@or instance, ood from homes can be used for building and construction. @or outdoor living space design
pro&ects, they can be used for pergolas and arbors. @or a commercial pro&ect she:s orking on ( a restaurant
ith an outdoor beer garden ( they:re being used to construct an artsy interior all.
9lass is another popular material that:s reclaimed or recycled. ,hey break all the glass and use it to make
backsplashes and countertops,! says "llen.
,o .umber 0 ( Solar'poered lighting! ( "llen ould add +A2 lights and sensor lights. +A2 lights not
only provide greater output ith less energy, they also don:t emit heat and are therefore a safer choice (
especially for children ho may touch the bulbs or for the house itself hile the oner is on vacation.
Aven if you:re not ready for solar panels or a rooftop garden, "llen says you can go a long ay toard
increasing the eco'friendliness of your outdoor design pro&ect by using companies and manufacturers ho
have sustainability policies. *estoration $ardare, for instance, uses sustainably forested paper for its
catalogs and contracts ith B4S to provide carbon'neutral! shipping. /,his means B4S invests in pro&ects
on *estoration $ardare:s behalf that offset environmental damage caused by 8#2 emissions from its
deliveries.
Cou may not think it:s much, but it:s a start,! says "llen.
Dore information on sustainable outdoor design can be found on #utdoor $omescapes of $ouston:s ebsite,
at .outdoorhomescapes.com