What Columbus Backyards Look Like in 2026 (and Where They're Headed Next)

Not that long ago, just about every call we took opened the same way. "Yeah, hi, our deck's kind of falling apart." Soft boards by the door. A step that bounced. Or that little builder-grade 10x12 off the slider that seemed fine when they bought the house and now feels about the size of a postage stamp.

We still get those calls. But increasingly, the conversation starts somewhere else. People tell us about the stuff they want to do out there. Eat dinner without swatting bugs. Watch the Buckeyes game with the neighbors. Have coffee outside in late October without a winter coat. Give the kids room to run while the adults get to sit down.

That's a very different starting point, and it's changing what Archadeck of Columbus designs and builds all over Central Ohio. So, here's what we're seeing this year, and a few predictions for 2027.

People Are Building for Themselves Now

For a long time, outdoor projects got sold on resale value. "You'll get it back when you sell." Maybe. But most of the folks we meet in Dublin, Westerville, Hilliard and Grove City aren't planning to sell anytime soon. They like their house. They like their neighborhood. They just want more out of it.

The national numbers back that up. Houzz asked homeowners why they were fixing up their yards this year, and only 15 out of every 100 put resale first (that was 18 back in 2024). Everybody else? Pretty much doing it for themselves. We think that's a healthy shift, honestly. You should build what you'll use.

You can also visit the Archadeck of Columbus Houzz profile here.

The Backyard Is Basically a Second Family Room

Picture pitching a sectional sofa for the deck back in 2010. You'd have gotten a funny look, maybe a polite laugh. These days we bring it up before we've even pulled out the tape measure. What furniture are you putting out here? How many people do you usually have over? Do you want a TV?

That last question matters more than you'd think. Plenty of our clients want a covered spot where they can mount a TV for Ohio State Saturdays, and that changes everything from the roof design to where we run electrical.

Here's something we tell almost everyone: size the deck around the furniture, not the other way around. A 12x12 deck looks decent on a drawing. Then you set a couch, two chairs and a coffee table on it and realize nobody can walk to the stairs. We'd rather catch that on paper.

Lighting is the other piece. Post cap lights, stair lights, some soft light under the railing. It's not expensive compared to the rest of a project, and it's the difference between a deck you use until dusk and one you use until midnight.

Splitting the Yard Into "Rooms"

One big open patio is out. Folks want the grill in one spot, the table somewhere else, and then (this is the one that's grown on everybody) a little nook off to the side where Mom or Dad can hide out with a book for twenty minutes.

This is where combination projects get fun. Some of our favorite layouts lately:

• A raised deck off the kitchen door for grilling and eating, with steps down to a paver patio and fire pit
• A screened porch attached to an open deck, so you've got a bug-free option and a sunny option side by side
• A pergola over the lounge area with a small outdoor kitchen tucked next to it.

And if you've got a sloped lot (a lot of Columbus-area yards do), that's a gift. Instead of fighting the grade with fill dirt, we use the drop to separate the spaces naturally. Upper level for dining, lower level for the fire pit. It looks intentional because it is.

Outdoor Kitchens Got Real

The "outdoor kitchen" used to be a grill on wheels and a folding table. Now we're building countertops with real prep space, sinks, beverage fridges, and more often, pizza ovens.

The biggest thing people ask for? Storage. Houzz had it jumping by 15 points since 2024, to where about 37 of every 100 outdoor kitchen projects now get cabinets of some sort. Doesn't surprise us one bit. Ever cooked out and realized, mid-flip, that the tongs are still in the kitchen drawer? Then the foil. Then the plates. By trip four you're wondering why you didn't just use the stove. Put cabinets out there and suddenly you're cooking outside four nights a week instead of twice a summer.

One more thing, and we'll say it every time: get something over your head. Pergola, roof, whatever. Around here the sky loves to open right about the time the burgers go on, and nobody enjoys grilling one-handed with an umbrella in the other.

In Ohio, Shade and Shelter Aren't Optional

Our weather is... a lot. Humid Julys, surprise downpours, springs that flip between 40 and 80 degrees in the same week. And then there's the mosquitoes.

It is no surprise that a covered space is now on almost every project we quote, usually from the very first meeting. You've got a handful of choices, and they sort of climb a ladder from "barely there" to "basically another room":

Pergolas are the easygoing option. Some shade, a little structure overhead, and a handy frame for string lights or a ceiling fan. They define a space without closing it in.

Covered porches keep the rain off while still feeling like you're outside.

Screened porches are, frankly, the Central Ohio favorite. Anybody who's ever grabbed their plate and bolted for the back door mid-meal, slapping at their ankles, already knows why.

Eze-Breeze3-season porches are sort of a screened porch with a trick up its sleeve. The vinyl panels slide up and down, so you open them wide for a sticky June evening and close them tight when there's frost on the windshield in November.

Sunrooms are for the folks who love watching snow come down, just not while standing in it. Heat, windows all around, usable 365 days.

A lot of homeowners start the process thinking a roof is a "maybe someday" add-on. By the end of the design meeting, most have moved it into phase one.

Nobody Wants to Stain a Deck Every Other Spring

Tear-offs are a big chunk of our work. Old pressure-treated decks, gray and cracked, boards cupping, a couple of nails working their way back up to say hello. Ohio's freeze-thaw swings are rough on lumber, no way around it. So, when people rebuild, most go with composite. We use TimberTech more than anything else, mainly because owners never have to think about stain again. Bare feet in July, no splinters. That alone sells a lot of people.

The yard's getting the low-effort treatment too. Folks are trading chunks of lawn for pavers, gravel paths, a few beds of native stuff that shrugs off a dry August. Less mowing, fewer Saturdays lost to the weed trimmer. And our clay? It's heavy, it holds water, and it wins most fights. Plant things that are happy in it and you won't spend every weekend nursing sad shrubs.

Goodbye, Gray

For about a decade, every deck in America was some shade of gray. That's finally changing. Deckorators, another big decking brand, pointed to people ditching the gray for deeper, moodier colors in its 2026 report. We've been hearing the same requests at the kitchen table. Think walnut, dark roast coffee, a smoky charcoal, and more often than not a black aluminum rail running along the edge.

It just looks rich. If you're redecking an older structure, it's a great time to rethink color. The new composite boards have much more convincing wood grain than the early stuff did.

Don't Forget the Front Porch

Not all outdoor living happens out back. More homeowners are asking about front porches that are big enough to use. Not a 4-foot stoop, but something deep enough for a couple of rocking chairs or a porch swing.

There's something about sitting out front that the backyard can't replace. You see the neighbors walk by. You watch the kids ride bikes. In older Columbus neighborhoods especially, a good front porch changes how the whole house feels from the street.

Stuff We'd Tell a Friend Before They Build

This part isn't really a trend. It's just what we'd say if a buddy asked.

Figure out where the sun sits at 6 p.m. in July before you decide where the table goes. West-facing decks without shade can be downright miserable at dinnertime.

Think about the view from inside, too. You'll look at that deck from your kitchen window far more hours than you'll spend sitting on it.

Don't cheap out on what's underneath. Footings, framing and flashing against the house aren't glamorous, and nobody compliments them at a cookout, but they're the reason a deck is still solid 20 years later.

And plan for the stuff you might want later, even if it's not in the budget now. Running conduit for a future hot tub or ceiling fan costs very little during the build and a lot more after.

Where We Think 2027 Is Headed

Crystal balls aren't in our toolbox. What we do have is a pile of design requests from this past year, and a few patterns keep showing up.

Three-season (or four-season) planning becomes the default. We expect more Eze-Breeze and screened porches, more fire features in the original plan, and more covered structures pre-wired for heaters and fans. People are tired of their outdoor space shutting down in September.

Quiet zones. We keep hearing some version of "I just want one spot where nobody needs me." Sometimes that's a hot tub. Sometimes it's a single Adirondack chair under a pergola with a lattice panel blocking the neighbor's kitchen window. Either way, it's the fastest-growing request on our list.

Smarter lighting. Lights on timers or controlled from your phone, so the deck, the pergola and the fire feature all come on together.

Designing with pets in mind. Scratch-resistant boards, gates at the stairs, a shaded spot for the dog. Small details, big difference.

Phased projects. Instead of building everything at once, more people will plan the full backyard now and build it over two or three seasons. Deck this year, outdoor kitchen next spring, pergola after that. Designing it all up front means every piece fits together when it's done.

Got an Idea Kicking Around? Let's Hear It.

Maybe it's a porch where dinner doesn't end with bug bites. Maybe you've got a folder of saved photos and no idea where to start. Could just be that the old deck finally scared you on the stairs last week. Honestly, any of those works as a starting point.

We're Archadeck of Columbus. We build decks, porches, sunrooms, pergolas, outdoor kitchens and patios all over Central Ohio, and we'll come out, walk the yard with you and sketch some ideas at no charge. No pushy sales pitch, promise.

Ring us at (740) 265-3905, or grab a time online.

The Archadeck of Columbus Team