Century Communities, Inc. — a top national homebuilder, industry leader in online home sales, and featured on America’s Most Trustworthy Companies and World’s Most Trustworthy Companies by Newsweek — revealed its list of top outdoor living trends for summer 2025, drawing from the company’s expertise in designing quality new homes that thoughtfully connect indoor and outdoor living spaces.

“Inside and out, our goal is to create elegant spaces that cater to the evolving lifestyles of our homeowners,” said Kieran Hardesty, Vice President of Architecture at Century Communities. “Many of our floor plans incorporate features that promote a strong balance between indoor and outdoor living, providing functional layouts that our homeowners can enjoy throughout the year.”

Summer 2025 Outdoor Living Trends

1. Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Flow

This evergreen trend rightly tops the list, with a perpetual demand for floor plans and décor that seamlessly transition from interior living spaces to outdoor sanctuaries. Whether incorporating multi-slide glass doors (available on select company floor plans) to furnishing your patio space so that it mirrors interior colors, textures and arrangements, this is one outdoor living trend that will never go out of style.

2. Extended Dining Areas

Whether installing a full-fledged second kitchen outside or creating dedicated space for dining and entertaining al fresco, using your outdoor living space to extend and enhance the dining experience is another timeless trend that many homebuyers will have on their new home wish list this summer.

3. Embracing Bold Designs

The outdoor living space is an opportunity to add a little extra flair to your home’s aesthetic, bringing the party outside with vibrant colors and dynamic patterns. You can even have fun complementing colors from your garden and landscaping!

4. Outdoor Rugs

It’s easy to pigeonhole rugs as for indoors only, but they add a touch of style and help define living zones just as well outdoors. Plus, they’re one more tool in your design kit that you can complement with furniture and décor to create a cohesive and inviting outdoor aesthetic.

5. Firepits

There’s nothing like comfortable seating around a firepit to turn your outdoor living space into a year-round hangout. And there are no shortage of options—from rustic pit designs to fire pit tables, chimineas and more—to give your space just the right vibe.

6. Raised Garden Beds

Raised garden beds provide an elegant and practical aesthetic that pair easily with the rest of your outdoor living design. And even if you’re not a green thumb, you can always fill them with low-maintenance perennials.

7. Outdoor-Themed Neighborhoods

Don’t forget about outdoor living amenities beyond your property line. This could be anything from pools and sports courts to trails and dog parks. These days a significant number of homebuyers prioritize outdoor living in both their home and the surrounding community, with 34,000 homebuyers in 2024 purchasing in amenitized planned communities—like Sunterra in Katy, TX and Cadence in Henderson, NV—according to John Burns Research & Consulting.

Harsh elements like snow, ice and wind can wreak havoc on your home – if it’s not properly prepared and maintained. Make home maintenance both indoors and out a priority this winter to ensure it’s safe, warm, secure and operating efficiently.

While winterizing can be a daunting task, you don’t have to do it alone.

“Winter can really take a toll on your home, but a few proactive steps now can save you headaches later,” CEO Dan Thrasher said. “At Thrasher Foundation Repair, we help protect what matters most – your home and peace of mind. We’re happy to share our pro tips to help you keep your home safe, dry and ready for whatever winter throws your way.”

It all begins with homeowners taking proactive steps to recognize small problems before they spiral out of control. Use this checklist from Thrasher’s experts to prepare your home for a warm, secure and stress-free winter season.

Clean and Maintain Gutters and Downspouts
When debris like leaves clog gutters, it causes water to overflow and freeze, leading to ice dams and roof leaks. These blockages can cause water to damage your roof, siding and foundation, meaning it’s critical to remove debris. Run water through gutters and check for proper water flow – if you notice pooling or slow drainage, there may be a blockage that needs attention. Make sure downspouts direct water away from the foundation and walkways by extending them at least 10 feet away from the home. Also be sure to inspect and tighten any loose gutter brackets and fasteners so they can withstand the weight of snow and ice.

Insulate Rim Joists
Rim joist insulation plays a big role in your home’s energy efficiency. If your insulation is more than 10 years old, consider upgrading to a more efficient material to reduce heat loss.

Protect the Basement and Foundation
Now is a good time to inspect your foundation for any cracks or damage. Bringing in the experts to address problem areas can help avoid larger issues when spring storms arrive. A working sump pump is critical for preventing basement flooding caused by snowmelt or winter storms, so it’s important to test it to ensure proper functionality. It’s also important to inspect discharge lines for potential freezing issues to avoid water backup into the basement. Consider grading soil to ensure the ground slopes away from your home, preventing water from seeping through.

Seal and Protect Concrete
Carefully inspect walkways, driveways and patios for cracking. During winter, water can seep into cracks, freeze then expand, causing long-term damage. Seal them with a penetrating sealant (rather than a topical one) for long-lasting protection from moisture, salt and other winter elements.

Optimize Humidity
Turn on your furnace’s humidifier to maintain proper indoor humidity levels and adjust your dehumidifier settings to match winter’s low humidity. This helps keep your home comfortable while preventing moisture-related issues.

Clear Debris Around the House
Along with cleaning gutters and downspouts, it’s important to clear window wells and clean up around the foundation, too. Debris in window wells can block drainage, causing water from snowmelt to pool near the foundation then seep into the basement.

Manage Snow and Ice
Leaving snow and ice on concrete surfaces can erode and weaken the material over time. Regularly shoveling snow from driveways, sidewalks and patios helps prevent ice buildup and protects the concrete from long-term damage.

Find more winter home maintenance tips and contact the pros for assistance by visiting GoThrasher.com.

As traditional candles burn, they can contribute to indoor air pollution by emitting volatile compounds and smoke, which may pose inhalation risks. Scented wax melts are often marketed as safer alternatives to candles because they’re flame- and smoke-free. But in a study in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology Letters, researchers describe how aroma compounds released from the melted wax can react with ozone in indoor air to form potentially toxic particles.

Previous research has shown that scented wax melts emit more airborne scent compounds than traditional candles. The direct heating of the wax maximizes its surface area, thereby releasing more fragrance – such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) made of hydrocarbons – into the air. Researchers know that these chemicals can react with other compounds in the air to form nanometer-wide particles, which have been linked to negative health effects when inhaled. However, the potential for nanoparticle formation during wax-melt use was unknown. So, Nusrat Jung, Brandon Boor and colleagues set out to investigate this process using wax melts in a full-scale house model that mimicked a typical residential house.

The researchers conducted experiments on 15 commercially available wax melts, both unscented and scented (e.g., lemon, papaya, tangerine and peppermint), in the model house. They first established a baseline of indoor air pollutants and then switched on the wax warmer for about 2 hours. During and after this period, the researchers continuously sampled the air a few yards (meters) away from the wax melts and found airborne nanoparticles, between 1 and 100 nanometers wide, at levels that were comparable to previously reported levels for traditional, combustion-based candles. These particles could pose an inhalation risk because they are small enough to pass through respiratory tissues and enter the bloodstream, say the researchers.

Additionally, using literature data, the team calculated that a person could inhale similar amounts of nanoparticles from wax melts as from traditional candles and gas stoves. Previous studies have found exposure to high levels of nanoparticles in indoor air can be linked to health risks like decreased cognitive function and increased prevalence of childhood asthma.

In the experiments, the main VOCs emitted from the wax melts were terpenes, such as monoterpenes and monoterpenoids. The researchers identified that the airborne terpenes reacted with ozone and formed sticky compounds, which aggregated into nanoscale particles. However, after warming an unscented wax melt, the team observed no terpene emissions or nanoparticle formation, which suggests that these aroma compounds contribute to nanoparticle formation.

The researchers say this study challenges the perception that scented wax melts are a safer alternative to combustion-based candles; however, they emphasize that more toxicology research is needed on the risks of breathing in nanoparticles formed from wax melts.

A deeper analysis by the researchers of how airborne nanoparticles form indoors from volatile scent compounds was published in 2024 in ACS ES&T Air.