Now that people are spending more time at home and going to the office less often, a new trend is growing towards outdoor workspaces. Outdoor workspaces offer a versatile solution for people who need a designated space for working from home, crafting, doing homework and more. They provide the security and comfort of being at home without the distractions of family members working on their own projects, children playing or the sight of undone chores. They also provide what everyone has come to value: fresh air.
For the first time, Cabot, the exterior wood care brand, has announced their first-ever Outdoor Trend of the Year for outdoor spaces. After the Covid pandemic sent countless people to find places to work away from the office, it was a logical progression to outdoor work spaces.
“Our first annual Trend of the Year seeks to provide inspiration with on-trend project ideas using Cabot stain to help make the most of living spaces,” said Jose Gonzalez, associate brand manager at Cabot. “We know our customers enjoy and value time spent outside and take immense pride in creating outdoor spaces that extend the livability of their homes. Cabot offers products to not only protect exterior wood but to help beautify outdoor spaces using wood stain colors and opacity that suits your style.”
Within the outdoor workspace trend, Cabot has identified three projects varying in size, style and budget. Each can be customized to suit individual requirements. From. The simplest to the most complex, they include an outdoor desk, a team workspace and a private workspace.
The outdoor desk is a DIY wooden work desk that offers flexibility to take work outdoors when the mood and the weather take the worker there. A semi-transparent stain protects and enhances the desk’s natural beauty, and casters make it easy to move in and out of the house.
The team workspace can be a crafting space for the kids, an outdoor dining room, a meeting space or an informal place to bring people together. Think of it as an extension of the living room; it can serve the family, the work team or small groups of co-workers. All appreciate being outside for activities usually conducted in the office or via teleconferencing.
A private workspace is essentially a shed that’s customized for specific uses. It can be a yoga studio, a meditation space, an office or a teleconference center. This one-room option delivers a more permanent outdoor workspace, complete with a door, a work surface and electricity. The important element is that that it is entirely separate from living space. A folding door lets warm breezes and sunshine in, but shuts out wet and windy conditions. It’s cozy and calming, yet conducive to getting things done. A short commute to a work shed brings the worker to a place where she can be alone with her thoughts – and her workload.
In each of these outdoor projects, the wood was protected from the elements with Cabot’s Pewter Gray stain, a balance of weathered gray and comforting neutral. The color offers relaxed refinement to outdoor living spaces and connects nature to the beauty of aged wood textures. Pewter Gray is available in Cabot Solid, Semi-Solid and Semi-Transparent exterior wood stain.