We Were Featured in Forbes: Outdoor Entertaining Trends Worth Knowing

As Seen In ForbesEarlier this week, I got a call I always love getting. Terri Williams at Forbes was writing a piece on outdoor entertaining trends and wanted to include our perspective and our work. The article is live now, and our Bronco Revival project is featured throughout.You can read the full piece here: Incorporate These Outdoor Entertaining Trends in Your Backyard Design.

Why Outdoor Spaces Have Changed

For a long time, outdoor design was treated as an afterthought. You finished the inside of the house and then figured out what to do with the backyard. That is not how our clients think about it anymore, and honestly, it is not how we think about it either.The homes we work on in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley have some of the best outdoor climates in the country. Nine months of the year, you can live outside. So the question we ask at the start of every project is: what does this family actually do out here, and what would they do if the space made it easy?The answers drive everything: the shade structure, the cooking setup, the seating, the lighting, the flow from inside to outside. These are not decorating decisions. They are design decisions.

What We See Working Right Now

Indoor-Outdoor Continuity

The most successful outdoor spaces we design feel like a natural extension of the interior. Same material palette, same level of finish, same attention to detail. When you walk outside, it should feel like you are still in your home. That continuity is what makes a space feel intentional versus assembled.On the Bronco Revival project, we carried the warm, organic material palette from inside all the way through to the outdoor living areas. The result is a backyard that photographs beautifully but more importantly, one the clients actually use every day.

Functional Outdoor Kitchens

We have been doing outdoor kitchens for years, but what has shifted is how serious clients are about the functionality. This is not a built-in grill and a mini fridge anymore. Clients want full prep space, real appliances, smart storage, and good lighting. They want to be able to cook a full dinner outside and not feel like they are camping.

Dedicated Dining That Stays

Outdoor dining tables that feel permanent, not like patio furniture you fold up and store. Weather-resistant materials that look like something out of an interiors magazine. Good light overhead. The kind of setup where guests do not want to go inside.

Layered Shade and Overhead Structure

In Arizona, shade is not optional. But the way we are approaching it has gotten much more design-forward. Pergolas with climbing plants, fabric sails layered with fixed shade, louvered roof systems that let you control light and airflow. The overhead structure is one of the first things we design now, not one of the last.

Lighting That Changes the Mood

This is one of the biggest shifts I have seen in the last few years. Clients are investing in real outdoor lighting design: low-voltage landscape lighting, overhead configurations, architectural uplighting on plantings and walls. Done right, lighting doubles the number of hours a space gets used.

The Bronco Revival Outdoor Spaces

The Bronco Revival project in Scottsdale was a full home renovation, and the outdoor spaces were central to the vision. The clients wanted a backyard they could entertain in easily, something that felt warm and modern and genuinely nice rather than trying too hard.We designed the outdoor living and dining areas to flow directly from the interior great room, using the same material sensibility throughout. Natural textures, a restrained palette, carefully placed shade. Terri featured several of the images from this project in the Forbes piece, and we could not be prouder of how they turned out. Photography is by Stephanie Studer of Life Created.See the full project in our Bronco Revival portfolio, and read the Forbes article here: Incorporate These Outdoor Entertaining Trends in Your Backyard Design.

Thinking About Your Own Backyard?

If your outdoor space is not living up to what it could be, whether it is underused, disconnected from the inside, or just never quite finished, this is worth a conversation. We handle outdoor design as part of full home renovations, and we manage the entire process: design, construction, landscape coordination, and installation.