Outdoor Living Space Ideas for Space Coast Homes

The best outdoor living space ideas for a Florida home start with how you will use the space, not with a material. Plan the patio around the seasons you will use it, add shade for summer, and give people one reason to stay after dark, such as a fire pit with a seat wall. Our paver patio service builds the floor for that plan.

Do outdoor living spaces add home value?

Yes, with limits. One named study is the National Association of Realtors' 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features, produced with the National Association of Landscape Professionals. It is national, not Florida-specific. NAR's report compares Realtors' estimates of what a project recovers at resale with landscapers' estimates of its cost. The results, from NAR's report:

• A new patio: an estimated 95 percent of cost recovered at resale. The sample was an 18-foot-by-16-foot concrete paver patio.
• An outdoor kitchen: 100 percent. An overall landscape upgrade: 100 percent.
• A fire feature: 56 percent. Landscape lighting: 59 percent.
• Curb appeal: 92 percent of Realtors have suggested sellers improve curb appeal before listing, and 97 percent of NAR members believe it is important in attracting a buyer.

These are estimates, not guarantees. The report says recovery is influenced by "project design, quality of materials, location, age and condition of the home, and homeowner preferences." It also measures how owners feel afterward. Owners of a new patio gave it a "Joy Score" of 9.9 out of 10, and 85 percent reported an increased sense of enjoyment when they are at home. Seventy-three percent said they feel a major sense of accomplishment when they think of the project, and 85 percent said they have a greater desire to be home since finishing it.

NAR's report puts a new patio in context. A new wood deck recovered 89 percent, against 95 percent for the patio. Across all 11 projects, 68 percent of owners reported a greater desire to be in their homes after the work.

Plan the patio around how you will use it

Start with what the space is for. In the NAR survey, 52 percent of patio owners named better functionality and livability as the most important result of the project, and the top reason for building was to add features and improve livability.

Before you pick a size, set the furniture you own, or plan to buy, on the lawn and walk around it. Mark the outline with spray paint or rope. That shows what fits before anything is built.

If you are deciding between paver types, the post on the best pavers for a pool deck covers the surface. This post stays on use, layout and value.

Florida patio ideas by season

A Space Coast patio has two jobs: a long mild season and a hot, rainy one. The National Weather Service's updated 1991 to 2020 normals for Melbourne give the average high and low by month:

• November: high 77.3, low 60.8.
• December: high 73.9, low 55.6.
• January: high 71.8, low 51.7.
• February: high 74.0, low 54.0.
• March: high 77.1. April: high 80.9.
• July: high 89.7. August: high 89.3.
• Whole year: average high 81.5, average low 64.6.

The NWS Melbourne office also notes that April is often the driest month of the year in east central Florida, and that the dry season usually begins in October, when the first cold front brings drier and slightly cooler air. Plan the fire pit and lounge area for those cooler evenings.

Summer is a different job. The NWS study says that in east central Florida the heat and humidity are "relentless", and that frequent rain begins in the latter part of May. Heat arrives before the rain does: warm temperatures in the mid to upper 80s begin earlier than the frequent summer-like rains, and the hottest month on record in Melbourne was June 1998, during a prolonged dry spell. So plan shade for May and June, not just July. The same study counts the six months from May through October as about 66 percent of the yearly rainfall at Vero Beach. Its median wet season start, measured at Orlando and Daytona Beach rather than Brevard, is May 24 and May 27.

For year-round use, plan an open lounge for the mild months and shade for the rest. Put the table under the cover.

Shade: covers and trees

Plan shade into the layout from the start. You have two tools.

• A cover attached to the house. Our patio covers are aluminum or insulated roof panels attached to the house. A cover matters in the wet months too: the National Weather Service study found that roughly two-thirds of Melbourne's yearly rain falls from May through October.
• Trees on the west side. A UF/IFAS Extension case study from Gainesville reports that "Trees planted on the west side block the increase of solar heat in the afternoon during summer." That is a Gainesville study, not Brevard data. Pair trees with a cover.

A focal point: fire pit, seat wall or outdoor kitchen

Give people a reason to stay out after dark. In the NAR report, an outdoor kitchen shows 100 percent estimated recovery and a fire feature 56 percent. Read the scope before you compare. The report's outdoor kitchen was one inset grill, stainless steel drawers, an ice chest, a sink and 60 square feet of concrete countertop made from veneered masonry stone, and 56 percent of owners said they built it to add features and improve livability. The fire feature in the study was a dry-stacked natural stone kit with a gas burner and a 10-foot flagstone patio. Among fire feature owners, 78 percent said they built it to add features and improve livability, 78 percent reported an increased sense of enjoyment when they are at home, and 73 percent said they have a greater desire to be home since finishing it. Build a fire pit for the evenings you will use it. Do not count on resale to pay it back.

We build wood-burning and gas fire pits with a seat wall or a ring of chairs, plus outdoor kitchens, as part of our hardscape construction service. The gas, plumbing and electrical work is subcontracted to the matching trade. Ask your city or county fire department or building department what applies to your lot, and check your neighborhood association's rules.

Landscape around the space

In NAR's report, the "overall landscape upgrade" recovered 100 percent of its estimated cost, the same as the outdoor kitchen. Landscape lighting showed 59 percent estimated recovery. Upkeep scored well too: the report estimates landscape maintenance recovers 104 percent of its cost at resale, and tree care 87 percent. The survey's sample patio was also described as dry set over a compacted gravel and sand base, which is the part you do not see. Plan the beds and lighting with the patio, not after it, so the paths, plant sizes and fixtures agree with the footprint.

Plan before you build

Decide the use first, then the size, shade and focal point, then the material. Get a written estimate from more than one contractor, based on the same plan. If you are in Brevard County and want a patio matched to your lot, we build paver patios and walkways. A site visit and a written estimate come first, so the plan fits your house, your lot and the afternoon sun.

See what our Paver Installation service includes in Brevard County.