How to add an outdoor living space that feels like it's always been there

Childhood homes can hold a lot of nostalgia, and not because these spaces were kitted out with the trendiest furniture or styles.

Rather, it’s about the memories associated with these places. For me, it’s the backyard of my early years that comes to mind.

It’s where we kids were (gladly) relegated for hours on end, the lawn and DIY treehouse our playground. If we spilled something on the plastic garden chairs with their faded mint-green seats, it didn’t really matter.

However, things are different in 2025, and durable but stylish design solutions are much more common. Now, you can have practicality and aesthetics.

Outdoor living trends are more oriented towards connection than ever before, because generally, families are spending more time in these areas.

Here are a few of the ways you can boost the functionality (and value) of your outdoor living spaces, inspired by The Block.

Seamless transitions between indoor and outdoor

It’s powerful when your outdoor zones feel like an extension of your interiors.

So powerful, it’s possible to change someone’s perception of your home entirely.

Take Sonny and Alicia’s al fresco area on The Block. Judge Marty Fox isn’t the couple’s greatest fan, judging by his past room-reveal comments for House 4 throughout the season, but that all changed when he stepped onto the deck.

“This is the most connected outdoor area I’ve seen today,” he said. “This makes me love the inside more because it feels like one big space.”

Fox’s comment is on the money, says Abdul Nathani, category leader of outdoor living at Freedom.

“The whole trend is for outdoor to be a seamless extension of your indoor … your indoor and outdoor [spaces] should feel like you: your same personality,” he says.

“If someone walks in your house and thinks of you as a different person, indoor versus outdoors, you’ve done it wrong.”

Separate zones for lounging and cooking

While consistency between indoor and outdoor is essential, this doesn’t mean smaller zones shouldn’t be subtly defined.

Sonny and Alicia’s al fresco area had two lounges as well as a small outdoor kitchen.

“Having this additional lounge,” Fox said, “you can feel how much you want to sit here, shut your eyes and just switch off.

“Lounging is living. Lounging is what you do with multiple generations of your family, so that’s where the value is, that’s what luxury is.”

Outdoor kitchens are another feature on the rise – just ask Chris Taylor, chief executive officer of Australian Outdoor Living. Recently, his team broke a national record with 94 outdoor kitchens sold in the month of September alone.

“I see this growth in outdoor kitchens continuing; I don’t see any signs of it slowing down,” he says.

Amy Stewart is a landscape architect who recently had an outdoor kitchen installed in her Queensland home.

In her work, she’s seen an uptick in demand for such features over the past decade, with the COVID pandemic making this even more pronounced.

“People were looking for another space that felt like getting away from the home,” Stewart says.

“I think then we have shows like The Block and others that have really demonstrated the value-add. I think a lot of people want to replicate that at home.”

After

Before

Function at the forefront

Ultimately, practicality is the priority when putting together an outdoor space.

Nathani says this is because al fresco areas have become a destination in and of themselves, and they need to be equipped for more than a quick coffee before you go back indoors.

“People are lounging for hours, really enjoying the soft, plush upholstery, which is still weather resistant,” he says.

Picking the right materials, he advises, is key to creating an area you’ll want to use year-round. Taylor also speaks to the value of this, mentioning smartpnone-controlled blinds as one recent innovation.

“What it does is seal the area for you,” he says. “So you can close off any area, and with the blinds down, there’s no gap, so nothing can sneak in. It gives you that ability to live outside in comfort, and that’s adding another room to your home.

“If you already like your house, you’re making it bigger and easier to live in.”