Kiwis Investing In Their Outdoor Spaces Like Never Before

Over the past two years, Kiwis have been spending significantly longer in and around their homes. While a few drinks around the BBQ have long been a staple of every NZ Summer, homeowners are now investing more time and money into creating their own outdoor sanctuaries.

“The pandemic saw a lot more people considering their outdoor areas of their homes”, explains Shade Design Director, Tom Holbutt.

“Outdoor settings were the only real option for catchups with friends and family. This caused many Kiwis to reconsider the outdoor areas of their homes and investigate ways in which they can enhance the comfort of their outdoor spaces.”

Additionally, bars and restaurants were limited in their indoor capacities which led to councils to loosening street trading laws and fast-track applications for street trading.

This led to a large upsurge in investment by both business and homeowners in products that improved the comfort of outdoor spaces such as outdoor heaters, canopies, awnings, roller blinds and louvre roof systems.

Holbutt believes that that through improving the comfort of outdoor spaces may work to normalize year-round entertainment outdoors.

“Traditionally in NZ, most people tended to retreat indoors in the cooler months with significantly less entertaining and events taking place”

“Now, with outdoor spaces in bars, restaurants and people’s homes becoming not only inhabitable in winter, but cozy, we could start seeing more Kiwis embrace year-round outdoor entertainment.

A vibrant, year-round nightlife is something found in many big cities around the world. Could this be the unintended consequence of the pandemic and investment in outdoor comfort?

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